Roses symbolize beauty and grace. It's one of our favorites in a garden and one of the most popular flowers in the world. Anyone who has grown roses before will know that they need a little bit of extra lovin’ every now and then to keep them happy. To the rose gardener, their joys far outweigh any extra care they need. In today's post, we are sharing our top tips to successfully grow a rose garden and keep it flourishing year after year with beautiful blooms.
Planting:
Roses do the best and are happiest when they are planted in full sun. They need at least 4-6 hours of direct sunlight daily; they will not thrive in the shade. Ideal locations to plant roses are on the east, south, or west side of your home. For the most robust blooms, plant in an area that receives 6+ hours of sunlight.
We love to plant roses in an area where we can enjoy them from inside our home. Keep that in mind when looking for an area for your rose garden.
When buying a rose shrub, pick one that has at least 3 stems/canes to it. This plant will grow and spread well.
If you don't have a large space for plants or have bad soil, you can also plant roses in raised beds. Roses love raised beds. There are several benefits to planting in raised beds, but one of the biggest pros is that you can amend and control the soil through a raised bed. A good raised bed size for roses is at least 18" in length x 24" in depth.
Invest in soil mixture and your gardening beds
1/3 topsoil
1/3 sand
1/3 organic- from plant (such as mushroom) or animal (manure)
Amend your soil with these three, mixing equal parts into your garden's existing soil. Be sure to break up any clay in your soil very well. This soil mixture promotes good drainage and keeps rose roots from getting too wet (they don’t like “wet feet”!)
To plant a rose, dig a hole 2 across and 2 deep.
To protect their roots, carefully cut the bottom off the bucket the rose came in.
Set the bucket in the hole (with the bottom cut off), cut down one side, and remove the remaining bucket.
Add amended soil around the sides and finish planting.
Wind Protection and Winter Care:
It is important to protect the graft union (where two or more canes meet near the base of the rose shrub). To do this, we recommend adding fresh mulch once a year. Use a natural type of mulch, such as brown shredded pine, compost, or pine needles.
Roses that are in windier locations tend to need more water. We suggest planting roses in an area protected from high winds, such as against the house or a fence, or near a natural wind break (such as nearby planted evergreens).
Pruning:
Pruning is an important aspect of having roses. Prune roses when forsythia blooms in early spring.
Pruning low and aggressively will yield bigger, fuller flowers.
Pruning high will give you more flowers but they will be much smaller.
Cutting and sharing roses promotes more and bigger blooms.
Invest in nice shears. Gloves are necessary to help protect from being pricked.
When pruning roses, cut at a slight angle (around 45 degrees).
First, examine your rose shrub and cut dead, damaged, or twiggy growth on the main canes. Plan to remove any spent blooms from last year's bloom cycle. If any canes are dead, plan to remove those also.
Generally, it is recommended to remove a 1/3 off the top of the shrub. About a 1/3rd down from the top, pick an eye (where the leaf attaches to the cane is the bud eye) on each cane and cut at a 45-degree angle away from the eye. Prune to an outward-facing bud. This promotes outward growth, opens up the plant to air circulation, creates nicer shapes, helps reduce the risk of disease, and prevents the canes from tangling up.
When you have removed the spent blooms and dead canes, take a good look at your shrub. Roses like good air circulation in the center of their plant. Are there stems that are crossing over each other or rubbing against each other, preventing good airflow near the center of the plant? If so, remove the crossover.
Cut off any suckers that are near the base of the plant. These grow from the roots and you may need to brush back mulch to see if there are any. The suckers are new growth but they will literally suck energy and nutrients from the rest of your shrub, so they need to be removed.
Clean up excess foliage on the ground near the base of the shrub. Your roses are ready to be fertilized and are ready to produce gorgeous blooms for you late this spring and all through summer!
Optional: After you have made those angled cuts, if you have white glue at home, put a little dab on the cane where it was cut. This seals the stem to protect it against insects (specifically cane borers). This is optional and is not required to grow perfectly healthy roses.
Watering:
Water is essential when growing roses. You cannot just depend on rainfall.
Deep soak every 3 or so days in spring and summer if we are not getting rain. This promotes good roots and a healthy plant.
Hand-watering makes you look at the plants and notice any issues early.
Water near the base of the shrubs. Roses don’t like their leaves consistently wet.
Mulch helps retain moisture during the summer, keeping plants cooler, which may mean you can water a little less frequently.
Fertilization:
Fertilizing replenishes needed nutrients that roses need. The primary nutrients that all plants need are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). Roses are no different. Fertilizing roses can promote prettier blooms and a healthier plant, as well as help protect the plant from disease. If you don't fertilize your roses, they may not reach their potential in terms of blooms and growth.
For established roses
When forsythia blooms in spring, it is a good time to begin fertilizing your roses. That's usually around mid/end of March.
Fertilize again in late spring or early summer, right after the first flush of blooms.
Cease fertilizing in late summer, well before the temperatures drop, so your roses can prepare to go dormant for winter.
For newly planted roses
Wait about 6 weeks to fertilize newly planted roses in spring. This will give them time to get used to their new environment before shocking them with fertilizer.
For both established and newly planted roses, we recommend a balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer or Espoma's Organic Rose-tone. Follow the directions on the bag and water well once you've sprinkled the fertilizer at the base of the plant.
Please ask us questions about rose care on social media or at the garden center. We look forward to seeing you soon!