Rose Bush Care
Roses are one of the most alluring flowers we have. There are over 100 species of rose and they have been entwined in man’s history for a very long time. Anyone can learn about rose bush care and produce beautiful blooms and keep healthy plants for many years. The rose has a reputation of being difficult to maintain but this is simply not true. With the correct information you will be able to enjoy the satisfaction of growing wonderful blooms that will be the envy of your friends.
Like children and pets we need to care for our plants and not neglect them. Taking the time to learn some basics of gardening will pay dividends and make your rose growing efforts rewarding and easy.
Choosing the correct variety of rose for your situation is important and is best done with the advice of a local nusery or a local rose enthusiast. There are so many to choose from and of course some of it depends on your personal taste in color and style. Usually you’ll find that the place you go to buy your rose bush will have only varieties suitable to your area with the choice getting back to your garden and it’s layout in relation to the sun and soil.
Roses like sun so you need to have a place in your garden or on your terrace if you live in an apartment, that gets plenty of sunlight. Most varieties need about six hours of direct sun a day while some do well with as little as four. This is where you’ll need to do some home work and determine the best place for your rose and how much sunlight that area gets. Once you know this you can have a meaningful conversation with the local nursery staff about rose variety choice.
Soil is another important factor as it provides the nutrients for the plants survival. If you are concerned about your soil it’s easy enough to have it tested just to be sure. If other plants are growing well then you probably have a good base soil to work with. Some compost and maybe half a cup of blood and bone fertilizer will usually be adequate at planting time.
Rose bush care also entails dealing with pests! Roses can be prone to invasion by such things as aphids, rose slugs, mites, caterpillers, midge larva and other insects. These can all sap the life force out of your rose bush. Often, if there are only a few pests, you can simply remove them from the plant by clipping off that piece of foliage. This ensures you also remove any eggs they may have laid. It pays to try and identify which type of bug(s) you have. The easiest way is to find a fellow rose grower nearby who has some experience. Usually rose enthusiasts love to help and chat about their pride and joy. So don’t be afraid to ask!
Make no mistake, these pests can cause you trouble and really damage your rose bush if you don’t take action. Spraying is an option and again you need to identify your bug. You can go down the chemical pesticide route or choose a more natural way of dealing with the issue. In the long run using chemicals will prove to be harmful to your plants health and possibly your own (Great care needs to be taken when handling pesticides). You can obtain sprays that do a good job and are made of natural organic matter or you could try using the pests natural predators.
Ladybugs also called Ladybirds in some countries, are those cute little orange or red beetles with small black spots. These colorful little creatures eat aphids and some other pests that trouble your rose bushes, so it pays to encourage them. (This may be easier said than done!)
Another responsibility you have as a rose grower is pruning, also called deadheading. Most plants benefit from pruning but a cautionary note: be careful, don’t take too much or you can shock the plant. Use your nurseryman or local rose enthusiast to guide you with this. Done correctly, deadheading encourages more growth by getting rid of the dead wood (hence the saying “getting rid of the dead wood”!). You should also prune the flowers from the plant before they fade as this encourages new fresh blooms.
So you see rose bush care is not that difficult. If you have a passion for roses you’ll enjoy nurturing your roses and as a reward you’ll enjoy beautiful rose flowers from early spring through to the start of winter.
Happy rose gardening!
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