Chicken manure pellets for roses | Grow better roses with natural fertilizer

Chicken manure pellets are perfect for roses in the spring and fall as they contain composted manure full of nutrients to feed the plant and soil. Pelleted chicken manure is aged so it won’t burn the roses and will slowly release nutrients including nitrogen, calcium, magnesium and sulfur to the plant.

Chicken manure pellets are the perfect natural and organic fertilizer for roses at home and when paired with a flower promoting fertilizer added in late spring will give you big, beautiful roses all summer long.

This article will explore how to add chicken manure pellets to roses, the benefits for your plant and what to avoid.

How to add pelleted chicken manure for roses

Adding pelleted chicken manure the right way for roses is important so you don’t damage the plant and make sure the nutrients reach the roots. Here are my 3 easy steps to add pelleted chicken manure to roses.

Step 1: Pull back the mulch

The first step when adding pelleted chicken manure to your roses is to pull back the mulch from around the roses. This will allow you to add the chicken manure to the soil around the root zone of the roses.

Adding the chicken manure pellets to the soil instead of on top of the mulch will help to feed the rose’s roots directly, avoid wasting any fertilizer that could wash away and to help to reduce the smell.

Step 2: Follow the dosage requirements for roses

Look at the instructions on the back of the pack and add the suggested amount of pelleted chicken manure for perennial shrubs. A handful or two will be enough for most roses and can be sprinkled around the whole root zone.

Sprinkle the pellets as evenly as you can and try to avoid dropping it all in one pile. Avoid putting the pellets directly against the main stem of the rose as this could encourage pests or hold moisture against the plant.

Step 3: Water it in well

The final step is to move the mulch back around the rose with your rake and water the chicken manure in well. This will help to reduce any smell and start the process of breaking down the pellets and releasing the nutrients to the rose.

When to add pelleted chicken manure to roses

Early spring and fall

The best time to add pelleted chicken manure to roses is in early spring and again in fall. When the weather begins to warm in spring and new leaves are appearing adding pelleted chicken manure will help to promote good leaf growth.

Another addition of chicken manure can be added in fall before the cold winter weather hits. In fall the weather is still warm enough for the plant to absorb the nutrients and the worms and soil bacteria can go to work to break it down.

Benefits of pelleted chicken manure for roses

There are many benefits of adding a natural fertilizer like pelleted chicken manure to your roses. Here are my top reasons to use this natural fertilizer on your roses at home.

1. It is slow release

Pelleted chicken manure is an easy to apply slow release fertilizer which will break down over a period of around 6 weeks. This will give your roses a quick nitrogen boost to help with leaf growth but is balanced and will release phosphorus and potassium to help the plant to develop strong roots and stems.

Adding a flower promoting fertilizer or ‘rose food’ in late spring will give roses the phosphorus and potassium boost to encourage more and bigger flowers over the summer season.

2. It contains lots of organic matter

One of the fantastic benefits of pelleted chicken manure is that it is rich in organic matter to feed worms. While synthetic fertilizers will be rich in nutrients, chicken manure pellets have the added benefit of adding high carbon material to the soil.

This will help to improve the soil over time as the soil bacteria and worms feed on this matter, releasing trapped nutrients and improving the soil structure. Organic matter will help with drainage and the water holding capacity of the soil to help the roses grow healthy stems, roots and beautiful flowers.

Tips for success when using pelleted chicken manure on roses

Here are my top tips to follow when using pelleted chicken manure on roses to avoid damage and to make sure the roses are feed to get the best out of them each year.

Only use composted or pelleted chicken manure

Avoid putting fresh chicken manure on roses as the rich nitrogen levels can burn plants. It can also contain pathogens. Only use composted or aged chicken manure including pellets which have been aged and compressed making them easy to apply.

Add a fertilizer for roses in late spring that is higher in potassium

Adding some extra potassium to your roses in late spring or early summer will give them an extra boost of this nutrient to grow larger and fuller roses. Use a rose or flower promoting fertilizer that will have a higher potassium ratio compared to nitrogen.

Can chicken manure burn roses?

Chicken manure can burn roses if it is added fresh or it is not aged properly first. Using pelleted chicken manure is the easy way to apply this amazing natural fertilizer which has already been broken down. Fresh chicken manure can contain too much raw nitrogen which can burn plants or pathogens that can spread throughout your garden.

Only use pelleted chicken manure or composted chicken manure on your roses to avoid burning them.

Chicken manure pellets for roses | Summary

Chicken manure pellets are the perfect natural nitrogen source for roses to encourage good leaf and stem growth and slowly release nutrients over the spring and fall seasons. Chicken manure pellets can be used throughout your garden on vegetables, flowers, fruit trees and herbs so is an easy way to fertilize your garden in spring.

I use pelleted chicken manure everywhere in my garden but remember that it will smell for about a day.

Happy gardening.