Spring is just around the corner, so now is the perfect time for gardeners to begin preparing the fertiliser they will use if they want their roses to bloom beautifully this year.

Roses should be fertilised in March once new leaves and shoots start to appear, as this means the plant is fully out of its winter dormancy.

Charlotte, a gardener and founder of Bluebird Gardens, has shared that late winter is the best time to begin making your homemade fertiliser for roses.

She said: “There’s another snowstorm in the forecast for mid-Missouri but I know spring is close, I am encouraged – no, propelled to start making my homemade rose food.

“Frankly, I can’t tell you where I found this homemade plant food recipe. I have been making it for a couple of decades now from dried egg shells, banana peels, coffee grounds and Epsom salt.”

Why does this homemade rose fertiliser work? 

It may sound simple, but this homemade rose fertiliser has key nutrients that will help roses grow healthy and produce better flowers during the growing season.

Crushed eggshells are rich in calcium, which strengthens the plant and helps prevent fungal diseases common in spring, such as black spot.

Banana peels contain potassium and phosphorus, which help root growth and flower production, so your roses are more likely to grow flowers.

Coffee grounds add more nitrogen to the soil, which roses love. This makes their environment slightly acidic, so the plant is less likely to become stressed. Nitrogen is also essential for healthy leaf growth in plants.

Epsom salt gives roses magnesium, which improves energy production, so you are more likely to get bigger flowers.

How to make a homemade rose fertiliser 

To begin, dry out banana peels by adding them to a basket lined with paper towels and leaving them somewhere out of sight to dry out. When the banana peels have dried out, cut them up into smaller pieces.

Run the eggshells under tap water before adding them. You need to make sure to get rid of any eggy residue, as it can attract pests.

Cush the eggshells into tiny pieces and then add them to your basket filled with banana peels as well.

Prepare the coffee grounds by adding them to a baking tray lined with newspaper. Once the coffee grounds have completely dried out, place them in a large plastic container with a lid.

Then, mix the coffee grounds, banana peels and eggshell pieces all together in the large plastic container. Add a few tablespoons of Epsom salt as well.

Once it is spring, make a small trench around the roses’ dip line and sprinkle the mixture into the soil.

Homemade fertiliser should be applied once it is early spring as it means the risk of frost has passed and the soil is warm enough for flowers to begin growing again.

This natural feed will help give roses the nutrients they need to grow strong after winter, so you are more likely to get breathtaking blooms in the spring.