Hi team, I recently planted new 'Iceberg standard rose' a week ago and I used 70% of Tui Rose & Shrub mix and 30% of Tui Compost in the hole and sprinkled Tui Novatec fertiliser and covered with Tui Rose & Shrub mix. Here is a question. I've also purchased Tui Rose food and I wonder when & how often I have to apply rose food. I am a newbie gardener and very anxious about looking after my rose...😢😢 Which one is better for roses between Novatec fertiliser and Rose food? I've used Tui Novatec for my Griselinia Broadway Mint hedge and Pittosporum. Thanks in advance. 🙇🙇 Regards Michelle

Hi Michelle, both fertilisers are good for roses, the advantage of Tui Novatec is that it can be used for plants in pots and containers. Tui Rose Food and Tui Novatec are two different fertilisers. Tui Rose food is a blended fertiliser and takes about a week for the plant to start taking up the nutrients from the soil and lasts for approximately 8 weeks, so apply every 6-8 weeks.

Tui Novatec has new nitrogen stabilising technology, it is a prill that is a complete unit of NPK and has a high potassium content which roses need for flowering. It is more instant feeding, the fertiliser is available for the plant to use straight away. The fertiliser stays in the soil for 3-4 months, depending upon soil type, so you only need to apply every 3-4 months. The more organic matter in the soil, the longer the fertiliser stays in the soil. It also has nitrogen stabilising technology where the nitrogen clings to the organic matter in the soil and is not leached out into waterways, therefore is more environmentally friendly. The Tui Team.