Nov 21 2009
Rose Bush Care & Feeding Your Roses
Roses are really one of the simplest flowers to grow and will make your yard the envy of the neighborhood. There are so many varieties to choose from. You only need to remember three things to achieve successful rose bush care. First, is rose bush choice, second, is how much water and fertilizer, and finally, apprpriate pruning. If you don’t have a good book on rose bush care may I recommend The Ultimate Book of Roses. It will list names of various roses and which ones are the hardiest with great photos.
The type of rose bush you select is of utmost importance. For successfull rose bush gardening choose one that will thrive in your location. Several of the rose varieties can be prone to disease and fungus and can continually give the owner problems. But there are several types that are generally quite hardy and need very little rose bush care. If you are just staking out a rose garden make sure they are well spaced for maximum growth potential. Pick an area for them where they will recieve at least 5 hours of sun a day.
The appropriate amount of watering and feeding is a necessary ingredient for successful rose bush care. We encourage watering early in the day, just at the roots. If it is a newly planted rose bush it should be well soaked everyday for at least the first couple of weeks. After two weeks watering once a week is fine unless you live in a very hot climate. For best results, you should mulch around each bush with bark or compost to keep the soil moistened.
Feeding or fertilizing should be done about once a month particularly in the Spring, Summer and Fall. Feed the roses with rose food fertilizer that should contain a mix of fish emulsion and manure. It is adamant to stop fertilizing your roses during the winter months.
The biggest mistake most growers make in their effort to give good rose bush care is pruning. Just prune off the dead flowers or limbs. Cut the dead flowers down to the third or fourth branch or node (the small reddish lines). During the first two months of the year, cut back your roses to about two feet.
You probably have a lot of questions that can be easily answered in the Ultimate Book of Roses.
