For summer long bloom one should look no further than a rose, but many people dread the supposed maintenance. Rose care need not be that complicated.
In general, roses are hungry and thirsty. A once-a-month feeding schedule, starting around March 15th, with a high quality rose food such as Espoma's Rose Tone, is a great start. With this first feeding you will want to add a handful or two of kelp meal to help wake up the rose and it's root system for a new season. The second feeding in mid-April should continue with the Rose Tone and a good handful of Sulphate of Potash Magnesia to encourage basal breaks or branching. Then subsequent monthly feedings with Rose Tone up to August 15th should be sufficient. You do not want to encourage your rose beyond August as it needs to start winding down for it's winter hibernation.
Roses also enjoy frequent watering which is best done in the morning. Do not water the foliage but water at the base with as little splashing as possible. Soaker hoses are ideal for this type of watering, plus they help to conserve this limited and expensive resource. Like many plants, try to water frequently rather than infrequently. Infrequent watering, stretched out over long intervals, tends to stress plants and leave them susceptible to various diseases and insects.
Pruning roses is easy and something that can be learned relatively quickly. General pruning is best done in early Spring, removing broken, crossed and dead canes. Also large unproductive canes should be pruned out of the plant. This actually encourages plant vigor and helps to improve air circulation. With improved air movement the likelihood and level of many diseases is reduced. Also when making a cut, do it about 1/4 inch above the outward facing bud at a 45 degree angle. This will open the bush up since the outward facing bud will be the direction of the new growth. Dead-heading the faded flowers is an important part of pruning. This assists in maintaining plant vigor and encouraging future flowers. When pruning canes larger than a pencil in diameter, treat the fresh cut with nail polish. This seals the opening and discourages cane borer entry.
Hybrid Teas and Grandifloras should be pruned to 2 feet while Floribunda Roses should be pruned slightly lower to about 18 inches. This severe pruning will encourage strong growth for the new season. Climbing roses need little pruning other than the removal of dead wood or an occasional unproductive cane. Any time you notice a branch that suddenly dies back, cut it out. Also when pruning, it is good to get into the habit of sanitizing your shears in a weak bleach solution between plants.
If you grow Hybrid Teas, Grandifloras or any other of the more disease susceptible roses you will probably be best served by spraying your plants with a fungicide. The key is to start early in the season and alternate the type of fungicide with each application, spraying them every 10 to 14 days. Such products as Immunex, Orthonex and Bonide IMF all contain fungicides for roses. In addition to the fungicides Orthonex and IMF also have insecticides and miticides allowing you to address multiple problems with a single spray. Aphids can be an easy problem to deal with provided you catch them early. Spraying water under high pressure will knock them off the bush. If this doesn't work then a thorough dousing of insecticidal soap will kill most aphids. The granular type rose treatments do not contain a fungicide and fail to take care of the most troublesome problems with roses.
If you don't want to spray then you should consult with an individual who has grown roses or a nursery that specializes in roses to find out more about low maintenance shrub roses. These shrubs provide season-long color with a minimum of care and usually no spraying.
Here at Carroll Gardens we are happy to announce the addition of Baby Love, a new shrub rose that is in that hard-to-find color - YELLOW and rated to Zone 4. Although it is not due out until 1999, we have been able to acquire an early shipment for our customers this year. Baby Love is a 4-foot tall vase shaped shrub rose that is ever blooming. The real excitement comes with the quality of its foliage and bloom. The foliage is a rich glossy green that covers this full bushy upright shrub. And amazingly it is completely black spot resistant, so you won't have to worry about drenching this rose with a fungicide every week or ever. The sunny lemon yellow flowers that are born in clusters throughout the summer have a pleasingly mild licorice fragrance.
With over 150 roses to select from at Carroll Gardens decisions can be difficult. Please take your time in selecting and reviewing our extensive collection. More than likely we have that rose you have been searching for. Call early, some varieties do sell out. You can order a catalog for $3.00 using Visa, Master Card, or Discover. This charge is to cover the shipping cost of the catalog and is refundable with your first order. Our phone number is 1-800-638-6334 or FAX 1-410-857-4112.
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