Now is the time to prune those old garden roses to keep them from taking over your yard. Once their spectacular spring display is over, it’s a lot easier for the rosarian to work up the courage to attack them with the pruners and loppers. Remove older canes, and those that are popping up outside the space you’ve allowed for the plant. Leave the canes long, if possible, or you’ll be removing next spring’s flowers.
Modern roses will keep on blooming until after frost and therefore need to be kept pest flee. Establish (and stick to) a spray regimen based on the frequency of application on the labels of the fungicide, insecticide and miticide you
use. You may be able to prevent damage from insects and mites using organic products, but you really do need a good chemical fungicide to prevent rose diseases such as blackspot and powdery mildew. Fungal diseases often don’t show up on the leaves and canes until after they’ve been working for a month or more. And because it’s a lot easier to prevent these diseases than it is to cure them, you and your roses will be much happier if you spray a fungicide preventively.
Many of the older spray materials have been removed from the market and have been replaced with products created using “new” chemistry that is much more benign. These products are more expensive than the old ones, but then again, what isn’t? Not only are they more environmentally friendly, but they’re more effective and have to be sprayed much less frequently. Additionally, the dosages are substantially smaller-sometimes only a half-teaspoon mixed with five gallons of water-so, if you have more than a couple dozen rosebushes, consider forking over the extra shekels. When you have lots of plants to spray, always calculate the mixed, per-gallon cost of spray materials.
Most modern roses don’t need summer pruning, per se, but spent flowers should be removed promptly to encourage continuous blooming. It makes no difference to the plant if you cut every rose in your garden or if you enjoy the blooms on the plant and cut them off when they’re not pretty any more. Removing flowers, whether they’re dead or alive, can be considered pruning and should be done thoughtfully. Remember that a new cane that grows from an older cane will never be any fatter than the older cane. Therefore, it’s important to cut a long stem on a hybrid tea or on a floribunda spray so that the new cane that grows from the top remaining leaf axil will be sturdy enough to support the new flower(s).
New stems will grow from the axil of the topmost set of remaining leaves, so flower stems should be cut on an angle, and about 1/4-inch above the leaves that will remain on the cane. Keep in mind that the plant’s leaves are the factory that hosts photosynthesis and keeps the plant alive, so never remove more than 1/3 of a rose plant’s leaves at one time.
Roses can use almost as much fertilizer and water as you can give them. They grow fast and bloom freely, so they like lots of good stuff to chew on. Alternate a chemical fertilizer that has been formulated specifically for roses, and lots of good organic stuff, such as liquid fish, liquid seaweed, alfalfa meal and/or aged horse manure to ensure that your roses get all of the macro- and micro-nutrients they need. Many rosarians feed their roses something nearly every day, so feel free to feed a smaller amount of a wider variety of fertilizers, but more often.
Most of all, love your roses. Revel in their beauty as it graces your garden, or cut every flower to perfume the house or to give away. After all, that’s why you’re growing them!
–Article by Ann Hooper Phone Primary Products at 800.841.6630 for all your rose care needs.
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