How to Maintain Roses
Keep the roses watered twice a week, soaking the entire root base., Lay down mulch around your roses to lock in moisture and promote growth., Fertilize your rose bush in the early spring, and once a week if the roses are in containers., Prepare the...
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Keep the roses watered twice a week
Rose roots run deeply, so make sure you get all of the ground around the roses nice and drenched.
Roses tend to do best up to 90 inches of water a year, but they don't like being constantly wet.
A good drenching in the summer months 1-2 times a week should be perfect.
Consider getting a soaker hose, which slowly lets water into the soil to drench down to the deepest roots.
Make sure to water the roots and soil, not the leaves.
Wet leaves and blooms promote bush-killing fungus. -
Step 2: soaking the entire root base.
Mulching your roses is highly recommended, as it will make them much easier to keep hydrated.
It also chokes out many species of weeds.
A 2-4" layer of garden shavings, or professional mulch, will be perfect.
Leave a small space, about an inch, between the mulch and the base of the roses., This should be done early spring when the buds are beginning to appear but leaves have yet to grow.
A general-purpose garden fertilizer added once a month will do wonders.
If you have potted roses, you'll need to fertilize more often, and slow-release fertilizers added once or twice a season may be your best bet.
Always water the plants before adding fertilizer
-- this plumps them up and prevents stress.
Adding fresh compost to the roses can eliminate the need for fertilizer.
Otherwise, consider adding it once a month if you feel your soil isn't very nutritious.
Add a tablespoon of Epsom salts to the fertilizer in early June to promote new growth.
You can over-fertilize, harming the plants.
Follow the directions on the bottle for the best results. , Winterizing roses keeps them frozen, instead of trying vainly to keep them warm throughout the long winter.
To do so, stop fertilizing the plants 6 weeks or so before frosts come, but keep watering them.
Add some fresh mulch, straw, pine needles, or compost as the frosts begin.
Once the weather is permanently below freezing, you want to loosely cover the bushes:
Use chicken wire or a mesh cylinder to surround the plant, filling the enclosure with mulch, wood chips, compost, etc.
Covering with specific "rose cones," made for winterizing. -
Step 3: Lay down mulch around your roses to lock in moisture and promote growth.
-
Step 4: Fertilize your rose bush in the early spring
-
Step 5: and once a week if the roses are in containers.
-
Step 6: Prepare the plants for winter by freezing them
-
Step 7: not trying to keep them warm.
Detailed Guide
Rose roots run deeply, so make sure you get all of the ground around the roses nice and drenched.
Roses tend to do best up to 90 inches of water a year, but they don't like being constantly wet.
A good drenching in the summer months 1-2 times a week should be perfect.
Consider getting a soaker hose, which slowly lets water into the soil to drench down to the deepest roots.
Make sure to water the roots and soil, not the leaves.
Wet leaves and blooms promote bush-killing fungus.
Mulching your roses is highly recommended, as it will make them much easier to keep hydrated.
It also chokes out many species of weeds.
A 2-4" layer of garden shavings, or professional mulch, will be perfect.
Leave a small space, about an inch, between the mulch and the base of the roses., This should be done early spring when the buds are beginning to appear but leaves have yet to grow.
A general-purpose garden fertilizer added once a month will do wonders.
If you have potted roses, you'll need to fertilize more often, and slow-release fertilizers added once or twice a season may be your best bet.
Always water the plants before adding fertilizer
-- this plumps them up and prevents stress.
Adding fresh compost to the roses can eliminate the need for fertilizer.
Otherwise, consider adding it once a month if you feel your soil isn't very nutritious.
Add a tablespoon of Epsom salts to the fertilizer in early June to promote new growth.
You can over-fertilize, harming the plants.
Follow the directions on the bottle for the best results. , Winterizing roses keeps them frozen, instead of trying vainly to keep them warm throughout the long winter.
To do so, stop fertilizing the plants 6 weeks or so before frosts come, but keep watering them.
Add some fresh mulch, straw, pine needles, or compost as the frosts begin.
Once the weather is permanently below freezing, you want to loosely cover the bushes:
Use chicken wire or a mesh cylinder to surround the plant, filling the enclosure with mulch, wood chips, compost, etc.
Covering with specific "rose cones," made for winterizing.
About the Author
Lisa Hughes
Creates helpful guides on crafts to inspire and educate readers.
Rate This Guide
How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: