Rose Care – Watering, Feeding, Pruning and Winterizing Roses

Now that you’ve decided that you’re going to start planting your own rose garden, you’ll need to know all you can about rose care. Most people think that roses are really difficult to tend to, but they aren’t hard to care for at all. Roses are a type of shrub, which means that consistent maintenance is very important. Here are some tips for rose care that you’ll want to incorporate into your gardening practices.

Pruning

Make sure that your prune your roses as early as possible in the spring season. As soon as you see your rose bushes showing signs of new growth, it’s time to start pruning. These buds will become new branches, and when you see tiny red buds swelling, it means you’re about to see a new installment of roses in your garden. Cut the dead and damaged branches off first. Proper rose care also requires that you cut out all except four or five healthy stems, and the stems should be about as thick as a pencil.

Fertilizing

During the growing season, you should also fertilize the roses regularly. When you’re reading up about rose care, you’ll find that these flowers are very hungry plants, which means they need lots of nutrients for healthy growth. Once you have more experience growing roses, you’ll see that your method may vary from other gardeners. The easiest way to make sure that your roses are fertilized adequately is to buy a slow-release granular rose food. Work this food into the soil that it can feed the plant for the entire growing season. If you can’t find the granular rose food that you need, you can fertilize your plants with a liquid fertilizer every month during the growing season. Make sure that you follow the directions on the package exactly.

Watering

Rose care will also require you to water your roses diligently. During the growing season, your flowers will need a steady source of water in order to promote color richness, and to keep the stems healthy. You will need to give your roses one inch of water a week, but rain will usually take care of this during the spring. If you live in a dry area of the country, and have several roses in your garden, you may want to think about installing a do-it-yourself drip irrigation system.

Winterizing

Winterizing roses is an essential chore for gardeners to tackle before the start of winter. Ideally you should start taking the necessary steps before the first deep frost. You can start by cutting off any dead, broken or diseased branches. But you should avoid pruning the top of the rose bushes. You also need to clean up the rose beds to prevent over-wintering of diseases. Mound the soil around the base of the rose bush to make a little hill to withstand freezing temperatures. Don’t forget to add mulch and compost around the rose beds before the ground freezes. However, avoid using maple leaves for mulch as they can promote mold growth. Finally, depending on the climate you live in, you may want to cover the rose bushes with winterizing structures such as cones and collars for protection.

Don’t forget to to some research on rose care before you spend your money at a local gardening supply store. You’ll need to know the right fertilizer for the type of roses that you’re planting. You should also learn about mulching, so that your can keep your roses colorful and strong.