You should stop feeding - no permanent plant such as a shrub should be fed past mid to end of June anyway - it may encourage more growth which won't have sufficient time to make the necessary adjustments before the weather gets cold.

I'd repot now or in September - it shouldn't disrupt the roots just potting into something larger, and because they'll be flowering next spring, its not a great idea to leave it till then.

Thanks for that advice.
You say I shouldn't feed. But if I was to repot now, into new compost, that will be feeding the plant?

I wondered whether to mention that in my answer in the first place, lol! To an extent, yes - but the amount of fertilizer in a compost is much less than any you'd be applying, particularly if you're using a liquid formulation that's watered on.

Hi Richie. What Bamboo means is that you shouldn't add any extra feed. Potting into new compost will be fine.

Sorry, Bamboo - cross-posted!

;-)

Thanks for clarifying!
I understand so I'll repot them now.

Been thinking about this again as I've been led to believe that new compost contains enough feed for a couple of months.

Indeed, when I've looked at the labelling on any pack of compost, wether it's ericaceous, John Innes or multi purpose, it clearly states that the compost contains enough feed for 2-4 months, depending on the compost. Then feed every 7-14 days.
So is this information incorrect?

In theory, yes - but in practice, it rather depends on how long the seller has had it in stock, how long it was kept in stock by their supplier, and what conditions its been kept in. Nonetheless, it won't be a problem for your plants, pot them up now - the amount of feed is still much less than any you'd be applying yourself, and the amount of compost you're using is relatively minimal - the rootballs of the plants as they stand should mean you're only adding an inch or two all round of fresh compost, so the ratio of feed to roots is very low, certainly not enough to cause a problem.

Thanks again for the info.

Didn't realise compost has a shelf life. Maybe the manufacturer should have a use by date stamped on their composts if the nutrients decline over time.
Maybe the packs are stamped with a use by date and I haven't noticed!
On the same subject, I planted a climbing rose in a large container 2 months ago, in John Innes No 3 compost. I didn't apply any fertiliser as I assumed the John Innes is rich in nutrients.
Should I have applied fertiliser when I planted or should I apply now?

John Innes No 3 is rich, so you didn't need to feed when potting up, and you certainly shouldn't feed it now, the last time to feed a rose in a year is June.

You said earlier that the amount of feed in compost is much less than any fertiliser I apply.

So is John Innes No 3 an exception?

John Innes No. 3 is a loam, sand and peat based formula including Hoof and Horn, superphosphate and potassium sulphate at a third again as much as in John Innes No.2. JI composts also contain nitrogen, trace elements, phosphates, and potash, in varying ratios depending whether you've chosen 1, 2 or 3. So yes, absolutely, JI No 3 is different (or better...)

I just noticed way back in this thread, you said the information on the bags (of potting compost generally) said there was enough feed in there to feed for 2-4 months.That's incorrect for most of them (and I'd like to know which one you've got that says it will feed for up to 4 months) - its 4-6 weeks, and 4-8 weeks for John Innes No. 3. How long average potting compost will actually feed anything for varies - if the bags have been stored outdoors in lots of rainy weather for some time, some of the nutrients will have dissolved and disappeared by the time you use it for potting up.

Thanks for explaining.

When I said composts are labelled as having between 2-4 months feed I meant ranging from some having 2 months feed up to some having 4 months feed. These aren't composts that I've bought, just information from their description on the internet.

You asked which one claims to have 4 months feed, well it's Westland Gro Sure all purpose compost ...

Thanks - disappointingly, there is no information available for the composition of that compost, other than the fact its peat free and is wood based - no info re trace elements, NPK or anything else. I rather wonder what they're using in it - it must just be slow release granular fertilizer to last that long, but as to what nutrient levels they provide, who knows.

Yes, strange there is no info on NPK etc. I might send Westland an email and ask why.

Back to my Rhododendron, I'm going to repot it tomorrow. I usually liquid feed from early Spring but have noticed Miracle Gro have slow release granules for Azalea, Camellia and Rhododendron.
The NPK is 9-14-19.
If it feeds for up to 6 months, as claimed, and you advise not feeding after late June, should the granules be applied in December?

Nope - apply them in March, or February if its not freezing. You won't need to feed again for the whole growing season next year if you use those. Even evergreen plants are dormant in winter and not capable of taking up any feed until growth begins. And yes,the six months won't be up till end of August, but the amount of feed released decreases over the six month period. Personally, I wouldn't waste my money on those, they're expensive, I'd just use Miracle Gro general purpose mixed in water, applied monthly from March (if growth has begun and its not freezing) up to mid June, but use those granules if you want to - saves having to think about feeding again till the following year I guess.

Thanks again for your help and advice on composts and feeding.
Much appreciated!

I mentioned earlier that I planted a climbing rose in a large container 2-3 months ago, in John Innes No3 compost.
It has made a fair bit of growth and produced quite a few flowers.
I deadheaded all the faded flowers but it hasn't made any growth in the last few weeks, including new flower buds.

Is this normal?

Unfortunately, roses do not do well in containers, apart from some very small varieties. Most roses want to put down a very deep root or two, well down into the soil, so deep its really difficult or impossible to dig them out properly, as well as putting out more shallow roots, and if they are not able to do this, the top parts don't do anywhere near as well as they should. As yours is a climbing rose, I'm afraid the only way to grow it well is in the ground, sorry.

Not what I wanted to hear!

But thanks Bamboo, for being honest and straight to the point.
I was going by the advice of the garden centre who told me it would be fine in a container, obviously not.

As I have already fixed vine eyes and wires to the wall to tie in the stems, I am not giving up. I will dig a large hole and transplant the rose from the container to allow it a deep root run then maybe I'll see signs of new growth.

Will I need to add fertiliser or is it too late in the season?

You could put some bonemeal in the bottom of the hole if you have any, not essential, otherwise some good garden compost mixed in with the backfill soil. Bit too late for fertilisers such as fish blood and bone or growmore, that sort of thing. One other tip - don't plant it less than 10/12 inches away from the wall, water in well and keep it well watered as necessary till November.

The things I've heard garden centre staff telling customers over the years, dear oh dear... basically, they're just sales people.

Thanks again for your advice and honesty, much appreciated.

Hmm, I was trying to be tactfully truthful - I do find the 'tact' part difficult! Sorry if it was a bit blunt, not sure how else I could have said it though, lol!

Hello Bamboo,

Was considering buying Toprose to feed the climbing rose next Spring. But when I've read the feeding instructions it says feed twice, once in Spring and again in Summer.

I remember your comment about not feeding roses after June but if I fed with Toprose in March then again in June, the second feed would feed until August/September so confused now!

Erm, too many feeds - if you fed in March, and again 6 weeks later or in early June, and the instructions say feed twice (which I know they do), you've done the two feeds anyway - doing one in September comes to three feeds, not two.

I didn't mention a third feed in September.

I said if I feed in March then again in June, (Two feeds) the June application will feed the plant until August/September.

Therefore I'm feeding the plant after June which conflicts with your advice not to feed after June.

After mid June, actually, but I feed toprose in March or very early April and repeat 6- 8 weeks later, which makes mid to end of May. Meaning they're fed, decreasingly, over the suceeding eight weeks up to end of July. Don't neglect the point that feeds of this nature have their maximum impact in the first couple of weeks...

Plus I think you might be over interpreting or over thinking what I've said - I said 'don't feed permanent plants like shrubs from June (mid June) onwards' - that does not mean you have to work out when to feed based on making sure the feed is taken up by plants before beginning or middle of June - it means, very simply, don't give any more from that point , or June, onwards.

The only exception to that might be with slow release capsuled feeds (depending on formulation and purpose) which profess to last six months, you wouldn't want to use those in mid June - but most people don't use those for outdoor plants anyway.

Thanks, that's more specific than Toproses' feeding instruction of feed once in Spring and again in Summer!

You say most people don't use slow release capsules for outdoor plants. Does that include Miracle Gro granuls because I've used those before and had good results ...

I don't know - most granular feeds last about six weeks, but maybe yours last longer, depends precisely which product you've got and what it says on the pack.