Roses

With so many conflicting views on how best to care for your roses during the blooming season, how should one choose? Try them all.

We’ve had roses at our home practically since we moved in. We’ve also had issues with roses for the same amount of time. You see, some roses like to be fussed with, others like to be left alone, and others still require some attention at certain times and are good to go. Knowing your roses, and which types you have can save you some heartache, but something most rose owners fear is harming their prized plants… even if they aren’t so special and should’ve been pulled out and discarded years ago. Yes, we have a couple of those.

How should I put it? When we planted the roses we originally got seven. We knew where they were going to go and figured that would be the perfect amount for the area. And we were right. However, it became painfully obvious after the first year that two of these hybrid teas were, well, underperforming. Actually, one looked like it reverted back to its original species, as if the hybridization didn’t work and the “superior” graft died. The other just, well, looked sad and diseased. Twelve years later they are still in the rose garden. Why? We just haven’t replaced them yet. That and I really don’t like killing live plants unless they are invasive weeds that must be stopped before they take over the world.

Anyway, so caring for your roses during the growing season has a few options with it. There is the old rule of cutting spent flowers down to the first 5-leaf section, which sometimes means massive pruning depending on the variety of rose you are growing. Personally I don’t really think it matters where you cut and in fact usually just deadhead the wilted flower by hand pulling or just cut it off. It is generally accepted now that the important part of deadheading is to just do it if you want more blooms. If the stalk is too tall and unable to support the blooms at the top, cut down up to half of it while deadheading, unless, of course, it is a carpet rose and supposed to be like that!

More vigorously blooming plants may not require deadheading as they simply grow and produce so quickly. Deadheading a carpet rose for instance is a matter of appearance if the plant is well established and will probably only produce a minimal difference in the amount of blooms. Of course, pruning your carpet rose may be a matter of controlling their whereabouts as they can quickly take over not only their space but any neighbors too! Don’t be afraid to attack it with gusto if need be otherwise you’ll be overrun with them.

I’ve noticed that ours do not require the same amount of water they used to, probably because they are so well established, but you may want to keep watering yours as needed. About an inch a week, either done as daily watering or as a hefty gulp once a week is what they require. Fertilizing is another thing to help them stay healthy, whether that is a simple scoop of compost every couple weeks or a slow release fertilizer. Also important is mulch. Trying to weed beneath a rose bush is, well, damn near impossible as can be seen by the grass growing directly underneath a majority of ours where even the chickens won’t tread. Two to three inches of mulch will help control weeds and also retain moisture in the ground, and yes, you can use grass clippings as mulch, as well as pine needles or bark chips. Another option is to plant chives under and next to your roses as a living mulch, which will not only help protect it from diseases, but bring forth beneficial insects and create sweeter scented flowers on your roses. Plus you can use the chives in your culinary endeavors and they have pretty purple flowers twice a year too. I was going to do this but for some reason never did. Hmmm… I should look into seeing if it is too late to do so now.