Feb 25th, 2010
Rose Gardening Tricks To Make Your Garden A Winner
If you\’re thinking of starting your own rose garden, then you\’ll need to start checking some rose gardening tips to be sure you learn what to do and how to do it properly. There are websites and books all over the place to help you learn what you need to do. You\’ll start with good soil, and learn how to water properly. And each new tip will teach you things like proper pruning and fertilizing, how to deal with rose diseases, and how to protect your garden during the winter months.
Along with consistent watering and good soil, you\’ll also need suitable fertilizer for whatever types of roses you have. Start in March or early April, after which you can do the next application in May, and one more in June or early July.
The nitrogen-phosphorous-potassium ratios vary. For grandifloras, climbers, hybrid teas, floribundas, and polyanthas, each bush requires one half cup of nutrient mix using a 10-20-20 ratio for every feeding. Miniature rose bushes, then again, require a slightly different blend of 1 tablespoon of 10-20-20 spread the first time, followed by one cup of a 20-20-20 ratio of soluble nutrient mix for the second and third feedings. Old garden and shrub roses only call for the 20-20-20 blend during the spring, and perhaps another time after the first blooming. Following these tips can help the bushes to thrive.
Pruning roses is done when the plants are dormant, such as in the spring just before they start to grow again. To encourage lush growth, cut all but the healthiest stalks, leaving no more than five, and cut those remaining stalks to between 12 and 24 inches. One exception is when you first plant a rose bush, as you are encouraged to remove all new flower buds for the first two months, so the energy goes into making the plant strong. For other rose gardening tips, you need to research the different rose types you have in your garden, to find out their particular needs.
When you get the bushes ready to face the winter, other rose gardening tips teach how to do this. It\’s especially important in colder growing zones, where some gardeners recommend making a trench in the soil and tilting the bush into it, covering it with soil and a thick layer of leaves until the spring. This would work just with certain types of roses, and in other cases, particularly in warmer climates, there are other recommended methods. If you research and learn all you can about taking care of roses, these and other tips can help you create a healthy, flourishing rose garden.
Rose gardening can definitely be challenging to those that are not blessed with a green thumb. But planting rose gardens isn\’t that difficult if you have the right tools and choose the right type of roses for the environment. Follow the links to learn more!
