A good friend of mine, who usually knows what she's talking about, told me to sprinkle epsom salts around the base of my roses before I water. Finding it odd, but trusting her, I purchased the epsom salts.

Now, an issue has arisen. See, at my house, I am the planter/weeder/clipper of dead heads gal while Mr. Stuspot is the waterer/fertilizer guy. So I told him what my friend said, and he refused to use the epsom salts, saying that putting salt on plants will kill them.

Hmmm. I said. You have a point dear. But perhaps epsom salts is not really salt? Well then, why would they call it that? he asked me.

So. I put it to you. What is the long and short on this topic? Is it salt? Do roses love it? Is it safe?

See, he's afraid that if he puts it down and then waters, it'll be HIS fault when all my pretty roses die. Smart man.

And now, what he has said about salt has scared me off from using it, even though I trust my friend and I know if she told me to use it, that means she is doing the same.

Someone with more knoweledge than me posted this site. I bookmarked it. I cannot find the post where I got it from here.

http://www.epsomsaltcouncil.org/beauty_benefits.htm

I have been using the epsom salt on my roses for years and it does wonders for bloom power in my garden. So it is true it works.

Tell him that you will also give him the credit when the rose blooms more than it ever has before. LOL!!!!

Thanks Cinta!!

That's just the kind of info I was looking for. Turns out it's not really salt, and derives its name from the town it was discovered in plus the chemical structure:

Thanks to the Epsom-savvy friends in this forum, I bought a carton of Epsom salts, and my roses, potted citrus and gardenias have never looked better !
It's amazing how quickly they all have responded to just the first two applications.
How often would anyone recommend using Epsom salts on container plants?

I meant to say also, how much thicker and greener the leaves are. Plus more blooms that seem to stay fresh longer.
Good stuff !

Thanks for that site about epsom salts, Cinta. I bookmarked it because it gives the ratios. Great info. I`m going to try it. Thanks again. Sue

I was going to answer here,
but everyone's covered it, quite nicely

I am adding my testimonial too - I scratched epsom salts into the dirt around my rose bushes this year (3 different types of bushes too) and I am blown away at how many buds and flowers I have. Even my honey said "wow, those are bigger than last year" and it's all due to people on this forum suggesting it. I didn't realize I should continue each month though - thanks for the reminder weezie

I've been using Epsom Salt for years on all my plants and have always been very pleased with the results!

Oh, Oh, Me TOO!!

When I first came to this forum, I didn't even know for sure if the grey prickly sticks in front of my trailer were even ALIVE!!

I mixed epsom salts with the soil generously and watered as I was advised to by the super-duper folks here, and they are green and lush! There is at LEAST a foot or more new growth on every stem (many have a foot of new growth from many points along the original stem) and there are three or four buds on each! It looks GLORIOUS and that's in just about a month!

YAY for this forum and for Epsom Salts!


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