Would you like to grow roses but aren’t sure where to start? I’ve put together the salient points of rose care based on my rose growing experience, as well as my research. Roses are not difficult to care for but they do have a specific set of needs in order to grow successfully.
- Always use good dirt! A mixture of loam and compost is ideal. Some people prefer peat moss, which I have never tried, but which I’ve heard works very well. It’s less expensive to buy loam and compost in bulk from a local landscaping company rather than Home Depot or Lowe’s. I personally use Tri-town Landscape Materials in Avon, MA.
- Roses need at least six full hours of sun so make sure you are planting them in an area where they will be successful.
- If you have terrible soil like I do, make sure to dig a very large hole – about two feet wide and two feet deep. I typically go larger since the roses will need somewhere to go after they get through all of the good dirt. Don’t plant them too close to trees as they will have to fight with tree roots to be successful (five to ten feet away should be fine).
- Heirloom Roses recommends putting some horse manure at the bottom of the planting hole so that the roses can feed. It should not directly touch the rose roots!
- Spray roses often. Make sure you have a good spray to keep away the many pests and disease that would destroy roses. I spray with Garden’s Alive Rose and Ornamental plant spray about every 7 days. If it rains, I spray more often. This helps combat black spot, and other rose diseases, as well as the many insects that would get inside roses.
- Fertilizing – roses are heavy eaters so need regular fertilizing. A slow growth fertilizer is ideal as it is distilled gradually into the ground as the soil heats up. Garden’s Alive has an excellent slow growth fertilizer that I use. In addition to a slow growth fertilizer, it’s also a good idea to use Neptune’s liquid fish fertilizer or another kind of liquid fish fertilizer. This fertilizer is sold in most landscaping stores and also online. Garden’s Alive recommends 2 cups per 25 sq feet of soil before spring blooming and the same before fall blooming.
- When pruning – there’s a great blog called Diggin It on The Christian Science Monitor‘s website regarding pruning. I’m not a pruning expert so check there. However, one of the facts I gleaned from this article is that you should always use Elmer’s or some other cheap glue, to dab onto the tips of branches after trimming off dead ends. That way, borers, nasty little bugs that hollow out rose branches, won’t get inside to destroy your roses. You should also use a solution of bleach water to dip your pruning shears in after each usage.
- Purchase an informational book that tells all about roses. I recommend All About Roses (Ortho’s All About Gardening) by Ortho. I purchased this book used from Amazon for $5. It was well worth it as it provides comprehensive information on every area of rose care if you have any additional questions on how to care for roses.