Rose Gardens
Rose gardens provide beauty and color to your outdoor areas. Fans of roses spend a great deal of time growing the perfect roses, but rose gardens do not have to take all your time and energy to be gorgeous. With the range of roses available you can find some that grow under challenging circumstances and bloom almost continually from late spring to fall.
Use natural pesticides and insecticides in your rose garden or purchase commercially available products and use exactly as directed. Rose gardens can be susceptible to fungus so you may also need fungicide. With these tools, almost anyone can be successful as a grower of fantastically beautiful roses.
The Number One rule in creating a great rose garden is to start with good stock. When you choose rose plants, select two year old field grown plants that are already budding. These plants, if not pruned, should have three or more canes of 18 inches or so. If you purchase pruned rose plants, the canes should be about one-quarter inch in diameter at the top. If possible, purchase plants potted in paper pots so they can be transplanted easily at most any time of year.
When planting your rose garden, select a location that provides good drainage and has lots of sun. Trim any broken or bruised roots from the stock and cut the top growth to about eight inches. Create a hole that is at least six inches deeper than needed for the roots. This allows the roots lots of space without crowding or bending them. Place a fistful of small rocks in the bottom of the hole to help with drainage.
Mix one tablespoon of rose fertilizer with the soil placed over the drainage pebbles. Then add soil until the level desired for planting the rose plant is reached. Set the plant into the ground, spreading the roots out and then fill the hole with soil. Pack the soil firmly two or three times as you fill the hole.
If you plant hybrid tea roses, polyantha or floribunda types in your rose garden, the first feeding should be in early spring as the leaf buds begin to swell. Clear any mulch away and work plant food that is especially formulated for roses into the dirt around the plant. Use about 1 tablespoon per plant and do not over feed. The next feeding should be at the same rate and should occur after the first heavy rose bloom. The third feeding, again at the same amount, must be done in late summer. Perform the third feeding no later than mid-August. In the south where the blooming season can last until October or even November, you can add a fourth feeding during early October. Some rose gardeners feed monthly and have good results. You can experiment to learn which method works best for you.
When feeding tea roses in your garden, use half the amounts recommended for hybrid tea roses. Apply in the same manner and on the same schedule; simply reduce the quantity of rose food applied. With hybrid perpetual, climbing and shrub roses, feed one tablespoon of rose food for each square foot of space around the rose bush in the early spring and again when blooms appear.
Your rose garden may require watering during the summer months. If the soil is well drained, there is little danger of over-watering. Soak the soil so that it becomes damp at least six inches deep. Don't just sprinkle the rose plants. Keep the soil in your rose garden loose and aerated and remove any weeds that invade. Mulching your garden will help prevent weed growth and keep the moisture in the soil around your roses.
Rose gardens are susceptible to black-spot, mildew and blight. Insects such as thrips and red spider mites can cause problems. Control of the insects can be accomplished by use of insecticides or natural insect deterrents. Chemical dust that can control fungus diseases as well as most insects can be applied every week to ten days if you prefer this method of control.
Rose gardens containing bush roses must be pruned in the early spring when the leaves begin to bud but before growth starts. You must remove all wood that was killed or injured during the winter months. Cut back to solid, healthy tissue and remove any weak or twiggy growth. You can shape the roses in your garden to create plants of a uniform height or shape them as desired but remove as little healthy woody growth as possible. Old canes can be pruned back to ground level when necessary. Hybrid roses can be pruned back to 18 to 24 inches while rambling roses should be pruned after blooming by removing unwanted canes at the base of the cane.
Protect your rose garden in winder so that the frost does not kill the plants. Mulching with straw, peat moss or other material is necessary in all but the southern-most climates. This allows the soil temperature to remain above freezing and prevents the plant from repeated freezing and thawing which can kill or seriously damage the roots of the rose plant. To mulch properly, pile soil around the base of each plant to a height of about six inches just after the first light frost. Apply a thick layer of mulch when the first frost is expected or not later than immediately after the first frost.
Growing rose gardens can be satisfying. You'll be proud of your beautiful blooms and gorgeous colors. Roses are available in a rainbow of colors and varieties, so enjoy planting and tending a rose garden in your landscape.
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