How to Maintain Rose Bushes
Maintaining rose bushes doesn't have to be time-consuming and can be quite rewarding. Though these plants have a reputation as being somewhat finicky garden perennials, many roses can be surprisingly low-maintenance if properly cared for throughout the growing season. To maintain rose bushes, water properly, fertilize often and prune with care. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Amend your soil with some bone meal to ensure it is well-drained. Placing some sand or rocks in the bottom of the hole before planting is another method to accomplish good drainage. Don't let the root ball drown in an underground pond created by your best watering intentions. Mix store-bought manure into the soil for richness. Top the soil with a thick layer of mulch to shade the roots, trap moisture, and protect the rose from winter's harsh temperatures.
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Water properly and often. Roses are thirsty plants, and the bigger they grow the more their hydration needs increase. In especially hot, dry weather, many roses will benefit from a daily soaking. Water close to the roots without splashing the leaves. Dripping water on the leaves creates a new set of problems, as wet-leafed roses are susceptible to diseases like mildew and black spot.
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Fertilize often. Roses are hungry plants. They will happily drink up a phosphorus-rich fertilizer and reward your tender care with abundant blooms. Mix liquid fertilizer in a watering can and douse the soil down by the roots once every two weeks. Soil that is properly enriched and amended will also provide a measure of fertilization for your rose bushes. If you compost, add a little of your mixture to the rose bushes' soil a few times a season.
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Prune your roses carefully. If you lop stems and buds haphazardly, you probably won't kill the rose, but it will be aesthetically lacking. Arbitrarily hacking the plant could stress it, leaving it weaker in the face of threats from pests or diseases. Prune thoughtfully, making a clean, angled cut just above the new buds on the plant. A good goal in pruning is to ensure that as much light and air can reach the center of the plant as possible.
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Respond promptly to problems. Insects such as Japanese beetles can demolish rose bushes in just a week or two. Diseases can take over quickly, especially during the humid parts of summer. Black spot is a tenacious spreader; a systemic treatment and diligent removing diseased leaves may be the only things that will save your plant. Deal with mildew promptly; it often requires a fungicidal soap. There are also numerous homemade "recipes" so you can create your own disease-fighting products if you prefer to garden organically.
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Tips & Warnings
Help your rose bush winter over by laying a thick dome of mulch around its base. Stop pruning your rose a month or two before its blooming season ends. Roses need to put energy away into making strong roots in preparation for winter; blooming until a cold snap stresses the plant. Use thick gardening gloves to protect from the sharp thorns found on most rose cultivars.
Don't use fresh manure from a cow pasture. It is heavy on ammonia and can scald or even kill your plants.
