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March
2001 Rose Tips
Getting Started on the Growing Season
Rosarians dream of perfection in performance of their
roses. Much time, labor and money is involved in planning our rose
gardens--future gardens and revitalizing our present ones.
Many people buy a new rose bush, put it in a freshly
prepared hole and it goes down hill in a year or two. You are ready to dig
it out and try another rose, only to repeat the same scenario again.
To solve this dilemma, it could be the soil pH. Almost everything we
add to our rose beds tend to lower the soil pH. It usually takes
several years for our soil pH to get out of balance unless we do something
about it.
Have you had a soil analysis recently? Roses do best
in soil of pH 6.5 to 6.8. If you are in doubt about your soil, now
is a good time to get it analyzed. Dig down in the rose bed about 8
inches with a trowel or shovel (be careful not to damage rose
roots). Go through the rose bed four to six different areas - both
ends of the rose bed, both sides of the bed and a couple of other areas in
the rose bed. Mix the dry soil and place in a plastic bag.
Arrange to bring the sample to your local
extension office for analysis.
Selecting Roses:
Selecting good healthy plants is important for successful rose
growing. Roses are available through catalogs or garden centers for
spring planting. Plants should be free of disease and insects. Canes
should be thick and healthy.
Location of the Rose Bed:
The rose bed should receive full direct sunlight for a minimum of six
hours daily. The more sun the better. If shade is unavoidable,
afternoon sun is best. The morning sun is necessary to dry dew from
foliage. If the rose leaves remain damp for long periods of time,
fungal diseases will develop. To reduce the incidence of disease,
the bed should have good air movement. Avoid planting roses near
shrubs, or hedges, that block air movement as well as compete with the
rose for sunlight, soil moisture and nutrients and tree roots.
Another requirement for a rose bed is good drainage.
Roses tolerate a lot of water, but sitting in water is not good for the rose
bush. Dig a hole two feet in depth. Fill the hole with
water. If the hole drains completely in an hour, then your drainage
is okay. If the water does not drain, you have poor drainage.
Dig down about 3-4 feet and add gravel to the bottom. Amend the soil with humus - compost, dried cow
manure or pulverized tree leaves.
Planting Bare Root Roses:
Roses should be planted in the spring, after March 15th, or as soon after
our weather and soil conditions are favorable. Never work the soil
while it is still wet. When preparing the soil, spade the entire
rose bed to a depth of two feet. Please remember to dig the hole
large enough to plant the new bush. Do not crowd the plant in a
small hole. Add organic matter such as dried cow manure or
compost. Soak the entire bare root rose(s) in water for 24
hours. There is a need to add moisture to the roots and canes. Add 8 ounces of phosphorus at the
bottom of the hole before planting the rose bush. Phosphorus
promotes root growth. Once you have added phosphorus, build a small
cone of dirt in the hole - plant the bare root rose over the cone so the
roots are spread out. The union bud or graft union should be planted
an inch below the soil line. This protects the bush during our cold
winters. Water the new bush thoroughly. Then continue to add
soil in the hole and also cover with soil the entire bare root rose.
This protects the canes from rapid drying due to wind, etc. Continue to leave soil around the bush until you
notice leaves appearing from the soil. At that time you can gently
remove soil with your hand or a small stream of water from the garden
hose. Be careful that you do not break off any new growth on the
bush.
Planting Containerized Roses:
Dig a hole 2 feet deep. Add water to the hole to check for good
drainage. If good drainage, add 8 ounces of phosphorus at bottom of
hole. As mentioned with bare root roses, phosphorus promotes root
growth. Remove container and place rose bush with soil into the
hole. Be careful not to loosen the soil around the new rose bush you
are planting. Water thoroughly. Fill hole with soil, cow
manure or compost. Plant rose an inch below the union bud or graft
union. You do not build a cone when planting a rose in a container.
The roots are already growing in the container and leaves are already
growing. Please dig a large hole to plant new rose bush. Do
not crowd in small hole.
Fertilizing Roses:
Do not fertilize bare root or newly purchased container roses. Roots could
easily be burned. Fertilize the new roses after their first blooming
and the need to cut off the old spent blooms.
Fertilizing Established Roses:
After a long, bitter cold winter, many rosarians are anxious to get
outside and work with their roses. Modern roses - hybrid tea, floribunda,
grandiflora and miniature should be cut back (pruned) and fertilized
around April 15th. This year, because of the extreme cold
temperatures, you may need to cut the rose canes back to the soil line of
your rose bed. In other words, cut the canes at a 45 degree angle to
the "green" portion of the rose cane. In many cases you
may not see any green canes. They are dead canes. If the canes
are black cut all the way to the soil. When they do start growing
you may want to cut back some of the small canes (less than the size of a
pencil) and leave about 5 or 6 canes to grow. This will promote larger canes and larger blooms. Otherwise, you will have
small canes and small blooms. Once you have cut back the old canes,
make a shallow trench around each rose bush with a trowel or your
hand. Apply 8 ounce cup of 13-13-13 granular fertilizer to each
plant. Water in fertilizer thoroughly. When you are through, go back and water again. Your objective is to see that the
fertilizer has dissolved and worked down toward the root area. When
you are finished watering, go back and cover up the shallow trench with your
hand. Fertilization of roses is a must to encourage production of large,
vigorous basal canes. These are the new canes that are formed at the base of
the union bud. If a cane from the rootstock appears, this is called a
"sucker" and has much smaller leaves. The cane should be broken off at the
union bud as soon as you see it.
Spraying:
When you notice new leaves on the bushes, start your weekly spray
program. Use a fungicide every week. You may need only a one
or two gallon spray container. Read the instructions
on all chemical containers before using. I spray early in the morning (I am
retired!). Spray late in afternoon if not able to spray in the
morning. I use one fungicide every week for three weeks of each month.
I use
another fungicide on the fourth or last week of each month. If you use one fungicide spray throughout the rose growing season your
roses could build
up an immunity to blackspot or mildew and all your work would not be as effective.
I use the second fungicide the last week of the month,
then I
do not have to remember if I substituted sprays during a given month.
When you notice insect damage on the leaves or blooms of your roses, add
an insecticide to your weekly spray program - usually the first part of
May. The fungicide and insecticide can be added in the same container and
sprayed together. Read directions on your chemical containers.
Roses should
be watered or have moisture in the soil before spraying. If the soil is
too dry you could burn the rose leaves. Each spraying, I add one tablespoon
per gallon of a soluble fertilizer referred to as foliar feeding.
The
ones I have used: Rapid-Go, Miracle-Go, and K-Go (K-Mart). When you have the fungicide, insecticide, water soluble fertilizer (Rapid-Go) in the
tank sprayer, add one squirt per gallon of an inexpensive detergent in
the sprayer and shake well before spraying. The detergent acts as a
spreader sticker. Spray under and on top of all the rose leaves.
Do not
spray rugosa roses. If you have spray left over do not spray roses again.
Instead spray your perennials such as phlox, zinnias or lilac shrubs.
Do not save
spray to use the following week. Clean sprayer after every use.
Do not prune back roses too early.
Wait until after April 15th. Bare
root
roses can be planted after March 15th because they will be
completely covered until leaves appear.
Rose growing pays big dividends in beauty and satisfaction to the
grower.
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