Think more in terms of feeding the soil and the soil bacteria that will in turn feed the plants you have. What do you have that can be used for organic matter that is fairly readily available and cheap if not free? Use lots of that along with some manure (dehydrated cattle and sheep is available if there is no farm you can get it from) in about the same ratio as you make compost.

Well, I have mulched with lawn cuttings all summer, and I could throw a few bags of manure on this fall.

I use Plant Tone 5-3-3 (not available in California) and alfalfa (3-2-1). Chicken manure pellets (6-4-4) are also good, and not expensive.

Yard compost leached by the rain and leached manure compost like Black Kow are not fertilizers. They actually cause the withdrawal of nitrogen from the soil for the first year. Lawn cuttings applied immediately to the garden would probably have fertilizer value.

With the typical clay soil of southern California, you can apply alfalfa meal two or three times a year, at the rate of about 20 lbs per 1,000 square feet, and then cover it with a 2 or 3 inch layer of course-screened compost. Unless you're missing some particular nutrient (which only a soil analysis can tell you), that and plenty of water should keep your roses happy.

Feeding the soil involves much more than some lawn clippings and a few bags of manure. Think in terms of large volumes of organic matter, mixed sources. Besides grass clippings add deciduous tree leaves, any yard waste you do produce (never throw that away since you are throwing nutrients out with it), any yard waste you can get. Straw, hay, wood chips from tree services. There is lots of stuff available, we just need to rethink how we use, or misuse, it.

My roses get alfalfa meal,banana peels,coffee grounds and aged horse manure on a regular basis. I also add compost,shredded leaves every fall and anything else I can get my fingers on. They reward me by throwing out basals that are THICK and long. My roses were all planted w/in the last 9 months and my garden looks like it's been there at least 3 years. It doesn't hurt that the year I began a new garden, we had the most glorious summer ever known in Texas. If we had that as a normal summer, I could grow anything. Oh well, I'm sure we'll be back to 100+ temps again next summer. Whatever tipped this balance to beautiful weather is welcome here.
Hilary

I go thru 12- 25 lb bags of rose tone for 100 + roses, supplemented by 100gal of alphalpha tea every 2 weeks during the growing season

Many of you have emailed me andtTo answer questions re rosetone-have been using it for yrs. It is made by Espoma who has been in business since '29. When living in Cleveland 10 yrs ago it was $10 a bag and highly recommended by the Cleveland Rose Society. Now I live in Western NY and order it thru a local greenhouse/nurseryman and it costs $12 a bag and is delivered from Buffalo. Go to the espoma.com web and enter your zip code and they will post you their closest dealer