Last week, I ran a series of articles on rose gardening for beginners and I promised to follow up this week, with a refresher article, on some of the most important points. So, here we go.

Roses are said to be the queens of the garden, as wherever you look, beautiful rose bushes are in full bloom, when in season. With proper care, roses are fairly easy to grow. They thrive almost anywhere, like pots, along paths, as climbers, over pergolas, up pillars, as hedges and of course, in flower beds.

Nowadays, roses are more disease resistant than before and many of the newer varieties, like Perfume Passion, Garden Queen, L’Aimant, and Memoire have lovely strong fragrances.

To have the best roses in the neighbourhood, follow these handy hints:

Planting roses
• Select a spot that gets at least 6 hours sun.
• Dig a hole 30 cm deep and put the topsoil aside.
• Loosen the subsoil and mix in compost, bonemeal, or   
superphosphate.
• Mix compost into the topsoil and place back in hole. Water well nd  leave overnight.
• To plant, remove topsoil mix, carefully remove the plastic bag and place rose in the hole.
• Set correct height, fill in soil and firm down.
• Water well.

Maintenance
• Water roses at least twice a week in summer and once a week in winter.
• Don’t over-water. A little water every day, will promote shallow root growth. Roses need deep roots for full nutrition. Rather water well, less often.
• Spray fortnightly in summer, to prevent pests and diseases, like Black Spot. Use an organic pesticide, or make your own. Mix 1 cup garlic and onion mush, to half cup chopped chilli and 2 tablespoons Sunlight liquid soap. Add boiling water and allow to cool. Strain and apply.
• Use a good rose fertiliser once a month, from spring to beginning of winter. Generally, rose fertilisers include nitrogen, for leaf and stem growth, phosphorous, which promotes roots, flowers and fruit, and potassium (or potash) for plant hardiness.
• The best time to prune is the end of winter, except in areas where there is heavy frost, and this should be done in early spring. If forced to prune in summer, this should be done on cool overcast days and as lightly as possible.

Roses in containers
• Make sure the pot is deep and wide enough for the rose to grow.
• Fertilise every 2nd week, with half the recommended dose.
• Water daily in summer.
• Re-pot after two years.
• Ensure there is enough air circulation. Don’t place pots against a hot wall.

Water conservation
• To save water, apply mulch around the plant, as this will keep the roots cool, and prevent the weeds from growing.
• Mulch is made up of dried leaves, mixed with lawn clippings, groundnut shells, pine needles, or bark chips.
• Try to install a mist sprayer system, as this uses far less water.
• When very hot, water early morning, or late afternoon, to prevent drooping of leaves or flowers and too much drying out of the soil surface.
• Roses that are very bushy, with short leafy branches, need less water, than hybrid teas.

Some of the main types of roses
• Hybrid Teas - tall, upright growing roses, with a classically shaped bloom.
• Standard roses - such as the floribunda, or hybrid tea, bud on top of a strong cane-like stem. These are ideal for small gardens.
• Antico Moderno - is like the hybrid tea rose, but has flowers of very old-fashioned shapes.
• Climbing roses - range from miniatures to large. The Midinette, which is a miniature climber, is best for medium-sized gardens.
• Floribunda rose - is bushy, with clusters of flowers, that give a massive effect.
• Miniature roses - can be upright, or spreading growers, with perfect tiny blooms.
• Groundcover - roses which are low-growing, either mounded, or prostate, giving a groundcover effect, blooms freely.

South African Roses
• Albertina Sisulu - cream
• Amarula Profusion - apricot cream
• Archbishop Desmond Tutu - deep red
• Helpkids - multicoloured
• Karoo Rose - watermelon pink
• Rooibos Rose - bright red  
• South Africa - gold
• Walter Sisulu - blood red
• Ubuntu Panarosa - light yellow

Well, hopefully, by now, you have already become a convert and have already started to plant your roses! Use these handy tips to ensure nothing goes wrong and enjoy!

If you want to learn more about rose gardening, then get this e-book “How To Plant And Care For Your Rose Garden.” This new guide reveals tips, tricks and techniques you can use, to consistently grow gorgeous, healthy roses, with ease. It is an instant download and currently on an introductory special. Take a peep here:
http://dersalsites.com/gardeningtips/prod/roseweek/

Sally Robson is a South African Internet marketer, who together with her husband Derek, have a vision of empowering all fellow South Africans and other non U.S folk, to have equal opportunity and success on the internet, by overcoming the many obstacles facing them. They have started a string of sites, resources, courses and articles, as part of Dersalsites. Sally has a passion for gardening. For more articles and advice on gardening topics, visit Sally at: http://www.dersalsites.com/sallysgardeningtips/

Bookmark to: