Although commercial fertilizers often appear to be more specific today, it really doesn't matter too much ... especially at this time of year.
When Ralph Moore was asked this question ... over and over ... his answer was "Roses can't read. They don't know that the fertilizer you are using was "designed" for something else."
I usually give my roses some calcium nitrate in spring to mitigate the loss of nitrogen in the soil due to my garden being sited near the base of a mountain which is part of the watershed for the Trinity River and drains accordingly. Nitrogen molecules do not adhere to soil particles and the winter rains tend to wash it through to deeper levels. For this garden, the extra nitrogen in spring is necessary.
