Each fertilizer has a different formula and should be applied at the rate on the label.

Some are significantly more concentrated than others. Organics tend to be much less concentrated than synthetics.

No one application rate fits all fertilizers

If it is safe to use the recommendation for roses on clematis then that would simplify it. Is that a safe assumption?

I just checked online, made phone calls and went to the nursery and this is what I came up with (all rose foods and all per rose):

Plant Tone 5-3-3......... 1c every month

Whitney Farms 4-6-2......... 1c every 6 weeks

EB Stone 5-6-3......... 1 1/2c every 2 months

Dr Earth 5-7-2......... 2c every 3 months per inch of trunk diameter 4-6 inches above soil line

So my question to all of you is, do you apply the 1 cup to each of your clematis vines? (or more for EB Stone and Dr Earth.)

For some reason, I really want to get this straight in my head!!

Thanks again,
Ginny

It is safe to use the recommendation for roses on Clematis IF the Clematis are mature.

Clematis are often sold in tiny little pots as scraggly little vines. You would not fertilize such a tiny plant the same as a rose bush.

Thanks for your help with this buyorsell!
Ginny

Hi Ginny,

I'm not an exact science kind of gardener. I guess at amounts. I might read the package and then throw a handful of the fertilizer around. I'm not much help but thought I'd mention it anyway. Where are you in Calif?

Buy or Sell,

How much fertilizer do I need for my tiny little new clems that came in pots from 2-4 inches sq? A certain percentage of rec for adult rose? Or do I need fertilizer right now if I use enriched soil? Lowe's sells Scotsman's Landscape Mix that's been recommended to me to mix in when I dig the hole & I've got Osmocote (19-6-12). Should I use Osmocote now since I'm working on foliage & don't expect flowers the lst yr? Pkg: 1/3 capful/10" pot outdoors. Little clems have been recuperating from long mail order trip. I've been told to plant them in the ground ASAP because my z8 Central Louisiana gets so hot in the summer. Advice greatly appreciated. Ginny, thanks for your great list!

Julieiwic, thanks for your comments. I need to become less precise with my garden that's for sure. I live in San Jose.

I'm looking forward to a reply to Buy or Sell's question as I too have a tiny one I hope will grow. I actually bought it at Walmart as a bare root. Looked almost dead but I planted it in a pot, deep, watered, and will wait and see. I love a bargain!!

Ginny