We are busy making the very popular Indianapolis Rose Society Organic Fertilizer!

TIME TO PLACE ORDERS NOW! (Available in mid April.)
Contact: Teresa Downham at indplsrosesoc@gmail.com to place your order.

$25 / 20 lb bag
$15 / 10 lb bag

Since the early 90s the Indianapolis Rose Society has been making fertilizer for their members! Our members feel this product makes a huge difference in the overall health of their gardens.

This organic mix  contains a balanced mix of various organic sources, including alfalfa, cotton and feather meals. It is considered a slow-release product, which should be applied in the spring and again before the fall growing season.

HOW TO USE

Apply the fertilizer around the base of your rose bushes (or other plants). First, remove the mulch around the plant and spread 1 cup for small roses or 2 cups for larger established roses.

Usually a large bag (20 lbs) will take care of about forty large plants. So, if you have twenty large plants, you will need 1 bag for two applications.

Water as you normally would. We don’t recommend that you work the fertilizer into the soil as it might disrupt roots near the top. If you are planting new roses, the fertilizer is a great addition to any amended soil you will add to the planting hole. 

REVIEWS AND TIPS:

Teresa Downham: I absolutely LOVE the Indianapolis Rose Society’s soil conditioner and use it on all my plants (not just roses).  In addition, we use it in the Hamilton County Master Gardener’s Rose Garden.  Not sure what the magical ingredient is  but it has made a difference in my flowers and veggies. I do two applications each year one in spring before the first bloom cycle and the second one in July.

Nick Stanley:  I have been a member of IRS for at least 25 years.  I have been using the IRS organic fertilizer twice a year on my 300 roses ever since they started selling it over 20 years ago.  I apply organic fertilizer at the start of the season in April with about 1-2 cups for each plant .  My second application is the first of July.  About every 2-3 weeks I apply a liquified (20-20-20 type fertilizer). This organic fertilizer is an essential part of growing good, quality, and healthy roses.  I highly recommend the IRS Organic Fertilizer product!!!

Mark Nolen: We highly recommend this product as part of a well balanced fertilizer program for your roses.

The nutrients in the compost tend to be in slow release form, and it requires biological action from the soil microbes to release the nutrients. The nutrients feed the microbes and this keeps life in the soil healthy. I have many earthworms living in the soil in my rose beds which is an indication the microbes in the soil are present in good numbers. Organic fertilizers slowly add to the level of humus in the soil. This adds to the soil’s ability to store nutrients, the soils ability to break down rocks into nutrients, it also helps build the proper soil structure, and it increases the soil’s available water capacity.

The major difference between synthetic fertilizers and organic fertilizers is the long term effect on the condition of the soil. Long term use of synthetic fertilizer without adding organic material to the soil will deteriorate the soil structure and overall health of the soil.

Although organic materials are lower in fertilizer value than many chemical fertilizers, they are, nevertheless, important in increasing the organic content in your soil, improving the soil structure, and increasing microbial activity in the soil. The nutrients in the mixture are not available to the plant until they are broken down by microbes living in the soil. Since the microbes are not active until the soil is warm, wait until May to apply the mixture to your roses.

I recommend two applications a growing season; once in the spring when the soil begins to once in mid-to-late summer before the soil begins to cool. Both applications should precede peak plant growth and bloom production.

I apply the mixture at the rate of two cups for a large plant (hybrid tea, shrub, etc.) and one cup for a small plant (mini).

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