Its easy to be intimidated by roses which have a reputation of being difficult to grow: if you follow some basic guidelines, you too can have the most wonderful flowers. We’ll focus on the trinity of care for roses: watering, fertilizing and grooming.
Roses Need Lots of Water
Whilst some plants can handle long periods of drought, roses are not that hardy and need water on a regular basis. Establish a regular watering schedule appropriate to the time of year, roses will need more water in months.
Generally, you should give your roses water from two to four times weekly, watering for around half an hour every time. But this is only a guideline as watering also depends on the type of soil you have, for example, sandy soils need more frequent waterings than heavier clay soils.
Container roses need to be watered even more frequently. Water evaporates more rapidly from these plants. When you first get a container rose, water it thoroughly to ensure the plant gets established.
However, since roses don’t do well in standing water, you must make sure that they are planted in well drained soil. If you need to water your roses due to inadequate rainfall, the ideal time to do so is early in the day so the leaves have time to dry before nightfall.
Giving Your Roses Food
Roses also need food as well as water if you want them to give you beautiful flowers. Fertilizing your roses is thus essential to provide the plants with the nutrients required to grow and provide good blossoms. When you first plant the rose bushes, ensure that you include a slow release fertilizer in the ground.
The means to feed rose bushes is to fertilize them lightly but often. However, you should stop before the winter dormant season sets in, you don’t want to encourage growth at this time.
Nitrogen is a critical nutrient that roses need in sufficient quantities. This promotes the “healthy green growth” of the plant. Roses also require sufficient posphorous to help them retain a strong root system and healthy flowers. And finally, your rose — no matter what kind — needs potassium for its continued vigorous growth. So ideally you should get a complete fertilizer that includes nitrogen, potash and phosphate.
Rose Pruning
The final part in our trilogy of rose care is grooming, in other words – pruning.
Pruning is one of the most difficult tasks involved in rose gardening, but it is also one of the most essential. You are also able to train your roses to face a specific direction by pruning. You can train the new growth to grow facing the outside of the plant and this will provide the plant with enough air circulation.
by soaking your pruning shears in equal parts water and bleach. This is important to prevent disease as well as insects. Spring is the optimal time to prune your roses.. You want to time it right and do your pruning before you see any new growth or swollen buds.
For the thicker and larger branches you will need a pair of loppers. These are best for branches that are thicker than a pencil. Overlapping branches should be cut because they are often at risk of disease. You want to keep at least five healthy branches that are dark green and you want to clip off the black wood first. Your healthy branches can be cut to about four feet long or the size that you prefer.
- Always use sharp bypass pruners. Disinfect them before and after use to remove any diseases that may be present.
- Seal your cuts to keep out disease. Elmer’s glue is best for sealing and preventing diseases.
- Shape your bushes as they grow. This will add symmetry and your bushes will not grow wildly.
- Remove cross branches to promote strength.
- Keep the center of the bush free of growth. This ensures air circulation keeping your bush disease free.
If you follow these basic guidelines, you are sure to enjoy gorgeous blossoms in summer.
Posted under Miscellaneous Content
This post was written by admin on August 2, 2011
