Alfalfa and Roses
Using alfalfa when planting roses and as a spring additive
Alfalfa is one of the additives that is suggested to be used when planting roses. These additives are placed below the roots in each hole.
One cup each of:
Super phosphate 0-45-0
Dolomite lime
Three cups of alfalfa meal or pellets
One cup of some of these additional additives makes an even richer growing medium; blood meal, bone meal, fish meal, cottonseed meal, kelp meal, gypsum.
For a spring additive for existing roses, add 1 cup of alfalfa meal to large bushes and
1⁄4 cup to miniatures and minifloras. We usually do this when we are fertilizing.
ALFALFA TEA
We usually make up a batch of alfalfa tea in mid-May. Alfalfa tea releases 1-Tricontanol, which is a growth stimulant which is very good for your roses.
Just add 10 to 12 cups of alfalfa meal or pellets to a 32-gallon plastic garbage can
(with a lid), add water, stir and steep for a week to ten days, stirring occasionally. The tea will start to smell in about three days. Keep the lid ON! (For a smaller batch, scale down the amounts.)
To make it easier to make and apply the alfalfa tea we put the alfalfa meal in a
pillowcase, add a rock for weight, and tie it off. This tea bag keeps the alfalfa contained.
Also, the use of a submersible sump pump attached to a hose with a water wand makes delivering the tea to the roses much easier on your back. Be very careful when using electric cords around water!
After the brew has finished steeping, and just before we “distribute” this magic potion to the plants, we add 1⁄2 cup chelated iron, a water-soluble fertilizer, such as Miracle Gro (at less than half strength), Norwegian kelp concentrate, and 2 cups of Epson salts.
Use about a gallon of the mix on large rose bushes, 1/3 that much on miniatures.
The alfalfa meal or pellets can be used to brew two batches of tea but be sure to add
more fortifiers for the second batch. You will see greener growth and stronger stems
within a week.
A second round of alfalfa tea after the first flush of blooms will lead to stronger stems for the second flush.
