Feeding the Roses + Dahlias - September 2026

I just applied the final feeding/treatment of the five Disneyland Roses and the 42 dahlias that are scattered around the garden.  I sprinkled the first application of the 3-in-1 systemic (and synthetic) granules at the beginning of May this year.  From there, I did a monthly application:  Early April, Early May, Early June, Early July, Early August and now....right as the calendar turns to September.  That's 7 applications.  

This is the final feeding of the season.  And, that's the schedule that I've kept the past few years:  final application of fertilizer right around Labor Day.   Here's the post from 2025.  Here's the final feeding from 2024 (also in September). 

With all the plants that I need to treat, it seems that I'm using almost one full container of this BioAdvanced all-in-one Rose & Flower Care product with each feeding.   At about $22 per container, that's $150 of fertilizer, insecticide and fungus control.  

This is a 6-9-6 fertilizer.  That middle number, the Phosphate is what drives blooms. 

What I'm struggling with, however, is how this stuff does/doesn't handle mites.  The active insecticde ingredient is imidacloprid.  Which....is not a miticide.  I end up using a Bifenthrin spray as my miticide.  

Spider Mites are my enemy on the dahlias.  And, one of the 'natural predators' of Spider Mites is...well...other mites.   Google has this to say:

So....is the systemic insecticide that I'm feeding the dahlias helping fend off insects also (potentially) keeping these 'predatory mites' away from the dahlias?  Which...is leading to an opportunity for Spider mites to find a home?