Question
Then what kind of fertilizer would yourecommend, please ?
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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
Is there any difference in your opinion between fertilizers that are for example bonemeal, which is only a small amount of Phosphoros but is still organic? Compared to a commercial fertilizer that is higher in Phosporous?  This makes more sense to me to put the larger number in because it is richer, so to speak.  A "balanced" fertilizer seems to me would be much better for roses.  Especially if it is designed by the manufacturer to cater to the rose.  I want to go organic but at the same time I'm conflicted because it does nto seem to make any sense.  I don't know if you can follow this question but it is somewhat confusing.  If you can explain this to me in a way that really makes sense I would like to hear it.  Thankyou for reading this.
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Roses unfortunately are some of the last areas of gardening to commit to an Organic Philosophy.

There's a reason for that.

Roses are so high maintenance, so incredibly demanding and labor intensive, so fussy, there seems to be NO WAY you can give up a life of Copper Sprays, Rose Food, Aphid Killer, Canker Rot Cure and all the rest of those Roselover Recipes for Ribbon-Worthy Blooms.

No one would put up with all that.  But Roses are just about the most popular flower in history.  When we're not growing them, we're ordering them from Ecuador and Costa Rica for Valentines Day and Mother's Day.  They have books about the "meanings" of each color.  They are symbols of love, death and Princess Diana.  Jeez, I almost named my daughter Rose!  (But we picked Holly in the end - she was born in December.)

Despite all the daunting work that Roses require, it is quite possible to IMPROVE your Roses by adopting an honest Organic approach.  But that requires an understanding of soil chemistry.  Because there is PLENTY of hocus-pocus out there is mere superstition.  Lots of people believe that any old flaky product qualifies as "organic" if it does not use chemicals.

If you could not pass High School Chemistry with those flaky products, you cannot really garden organically.  Because you have to know what you're doing.  This is science.  The Earth is Round.

Back to your question: Is there a difference between Organic and Artificial/Chemical Fertilizers?

The Answer is:  Yes.

What's the difference?

To make a long story short, Organic Fertilizers feed the soil, which pours steady doses of nutrients into Rose roots for months and often for years.

Chemical Fertilizers inject a quick fix of nutrients into Rose roots for a few minutes and then leach out of the soil.  The salt in these kinds of fertilizers - which have a LOT of salt - destroy the soil structure and kill the microbes that make it healthy.

Then you have to work harder, faster, to get more and more into the Roses.  While killing in a very short time all the good things in the soil.  Almost like you ran out and bought Weed N Feed, Grubkiller, etc.  Only difference is you won't get cancer and weird diseases from Chemical Fertilizers.  You just won't have healthy Roses.

Next thing you know, you have a bad case of Blackspot.  You're running around like a maniac trying to control it.  Out comes the Copper Spray and the Fungus Dust.  More Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Rose Garden.  The Balance of Nature -- poof!

Cutting-edge Fertilization for the Rosegrower is low key, but it's out there.  David Austin sells customers "Root Grow" (http://www.davidaustinroses.com/english/rootgrow.asp) along with their Roses.  To convert them, Austin pitches "five species of mycorrhizal fungi" in the Root Grow.  "Introducing them at planting time will mean that the roots of the new plant will very quickly become colonised by the mycorrhizal fungi" needed if you are growing Roses "in highly cultivated, highly disturbed, poor quality or virgin soils."  And he points out, correctly, "At maturity the surface area from which water and nutrients can be absorbed from the soil is increased by up to 700 times that of the plant root system."  The official Root Grow website explains it further (http://www.friendlyfungi.co.uk/).  

Now, you brought up Bone Meal.

In the case of Bone Meal, the plot thickens.  Maybe too thick.   I'll try to keep it simple.

Bone Meal is mainly Calcium and Phosphorous.  If you look at a bag from the garden center, the N-P-K analysis of Bone Meal can range from 0-12-0 to around 3-20-0.

Even I have erred where Bone Meal is concerned.  Want more flowers?  Want bigger flowers?  Want to build up your roots?

Reality Check: Too much of a good thing here will still be too much - NO fertilizer will boost the performance of a plant beyond its genetically programmed max.  If flowers are only going to be 2 inches, you cannot "boost" the size of the flower by giving it bigger doses of bud-building Phosphorous.  We tend to forget that in the Rose Garden.

Let me explain:  A Rose growing in poor soil will take desperate measures to get the Phosphorous and Calcium it needs to survive and bloom.  It gets stressed.  There's a shortage.

In response, the Rose secretes organic acids out of its roots, into the root zone.  These organic acids are like little invitations.  They find dormant spores of Mycorrhizal Fungi (like those in Root Grow or similar products).  The spores wake up, develop, and then they penetrate the Rose roots and live there.  And while they are living there, they tap back into the soil and use their special powers to draw ENORMOUS quantities of Minerals and Nutrients, ESPECIALLY PHOSPHOROUS, which a Rose growing in poor soil NEEDS.  Thanks to those special Mycorrhizal Fungi, this Rose in poor soil can now bloom, grow leaves, make seeds, fight crime and do all the other things it likes to do.

BUT!....

if you come along and pour Phosphorous (from a bag, from Bone Meal, or otherwise) into the soil, the Rose has all it needs.  It is not desperate now.  It pushes no panic button.  There is no secretion of organic acids inviting Fungi to the party.  There is no interest at all in fact in those Fungi, and the Fungi look elsewhere for a place to live - or simply do not develop at all and remain dormant spores.  The Rose spends its resources growing deeper roots to obtain the additional Phosphorous.  Instead of putting effort into the bigger flowers and other better things.  So you won't ever get the same bang that you will simply by building up the soil where the Fungi live.

(Just as a point of interest: Protea Family plants (see the Wikipedia entry on this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protea) are actually poisoned by Bone Meal and other high-Phosphorous substances.)

There are a lot of new concepts to swallow if you're going to really "convert".  Even something like Rototilling is now viewed as a potential disaster because it wrecks the soil structure.

You don't have to Rototill anymore.  It's good to aerate.  But improving soil now means ROUGHLY incorporating Humus and Manure into the soil.  Rototilling disrupts the soil structure and upsets the Earthworms.  And if there's anything you want to keep, it's the Earthworms.  Birds love
them, and they churn your soil in the most amazing, chemical free way.

Since this is a growing (no pun intended here) business, there are more internet suppliers every day where you can buy state-of-the-art materials and information.  It's all about SMART gardening.  INTELLIGENT Rose Growing.  CHEAPER and EASIER than un-green old fashioned Chemical Warfare.

Thank you for writing.  Any questions?

Answer
It all boils down to the soil, dear.

If you add a modest amount of bone meal, and your soil needs that, you can rest assured your garden will have all the nutrients it needs for a bloom boom.

You can have your soil tested by one of the elite testers in the country.  Soil Food Web (www.soilfoodweb.com), BBC Labs (www.bbclabs.com/) or AgriEnergy Resources (www.agrienergy.net/) do state of the art analysis and recommendations.  If you cannot understand the printout, shoot me a note here and I'll translate.

Compost Tea is the key here.  Cornell University can give you the scientific details and background advice on their Composting pages (http://compost.css.cornell.edu/Composting_homepage.html).  And Fine Gardening Magazine (http://www.taunton.com/finegardening/pages/g00030.asp) posts full instructions for their recommended recipe by the doyenne of composting, Elaine Ingraham.  I have my own personal recipe that I will happily share if you ask.  Bon Appetit!