Summer Care of Roses

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Summer Care of Roses

[ www.jacksonandperkins.com ]

* Deadheading:

Most modern roses, even some heirloom varieties, will bloom

all summer if properly groomed. "Deadheading" refers to the

process of removing old or spend flowers from the bush.

Whether you've been cutting the flowers to enjoy indoors or

have left them on the bush to beautify the garden, proper

trimming ensures strong reblooming. By deadheading roses

instead of allowing them to form seed hips, you're signal-

ling the plant to produce more flowers. It's also a way to

continually prune and shape the plant.

* Fertilizing:

While most rose gardeners fertilize in the spring when

growth begins, midsummer feeding sometimes gets overlooked.

Roses are heavy feeders — it takes a lot of energy to

produce all those large, magnificent blooms! Many different

fertilizers do the job — you can choose from granular,

liquid, organic or slow-release. While each formula has its

advantages, keep in mind that roses prefer a fairly balanced

fertilizer where the N-P-K (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium)

ratios are fairly even (i.e. 15-15-15 or 5-10-5). High-

nitrogen fertilizers without enough phosphorus and potassium,

such as lawn fertilizers, will produce lush green foliage

while sacrificing blooms.

* pH:

pH measures the acidity (or alkalinity) of your soil. It's

an important consideration because of its affect on

fertilizer. If soil is overly acidic or alkaline, then

nutrients might be "tied up" in the soil and won't be avail-

able to the plant, no matter how much fertilizer you apply.

Roses prefer slightly acidic soils (pH of 6.5-7.0). Since

some fertilizers can acidify the soil and since some areas

have alkaline water, it's a good idea to check your soil pH

and adjust accordingly by adding garden lime (dolomitic lime

works well) if too acid, aluminum sulfate or acidifying

fertilizer if too alkaline. Adding more organic matter

(compost, peat moss, decomposed bark, etc.) to the soil also

helps to stabilize the effects of low or high pH.

* Watering:

Roses like a good, deep soak to promote deep rooting and

they will actually develop drought tolerance if established

this way. Frequent light waterings promote shallow roots

that will depend on frequent watering. Applying the water

slowly with soaker hoses or drip irrigation allows the water

to soak in rather than running off, keeps water off the

foliage (wet leaves spread fungal diseases), and reduces the

puddling which can cause clay soils to form a hard surface

less permeable to water. Mulching helps by reducing

evaporation, retaining moisture, and preventing the soil

surface from caking. If you use overhead watering, do it in

the morning so that the foliage will have plenty of time to

dry off before nighttime. Roots need air as well as water,

so don't keep the soil continually soaked. Allow the top

inch to dry off before watering again.

* Pests and Diseases:

Early detection and prevention keep these problems under

control. While good things come in threes, so do bad. Since

aphids are mainly a spring pest, the "Big Three" summer

pests are thrips, spider mites, and in the eastern and

southern United States, Japanese Beetles.

 

The coward believes he will live forever If he holds back in the battle, But in old age he shall have no peaceThough spears have spared his limbs Stanza 16 of the Havamal (the Sayings of Har) from the Poetic Edda

 

 

 

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