The Awakening Rose Garden

The Awakening Rose Garden by Diane Brueckman

May is the time our roses awaken from their winter nap. April 15th is the day I start to uncover my roses and by May I am looking for the first buds. It’s always exciting to uncover the roses and watch the canes grow and the leaves expand. I feared the roses might have taken a bad turn with the week of extreme cold in February, but they all seem to have survived. Let that be a lesson, once the roses have shut down and the bud unions are properly covered, they can take bitter cold and survive. The canes did die back some, but not all the way down to the bud unions. The Easy Elegance® shrub roses that I do not cover all came through, however they are on their own roots, which gives them an advantage over budded roses. Roses love the gradual warm-up we had this spring, with no drastic temperature highs or lows.

Now is the time to feed the roses. I feed my roses with organics, which are easy and will not burn the plants. There are several products to choose from. I mix a product called Grandma B’s Chicken Soup. This is a mixture of different organic ingredients (Milorganite, alfafa meal, cotton seed meal and bone meal). You can also use fish meal and kelp to name a couple other alternatives. Follow the directions on the package for the amount to use. The other advantage of many of the organic fertilizers is they contain the micro-nutrients roses need to be healthy and vigorous. Organic fertilizers feed the soil and the nutrients are available when the plants need them. Using organic fertilizer also keeps the pH of the soil stable. A pH of 6.3 to 6.8 is ideal for roses, however, they will do well anywhere from 6 to 7. Another huge factor is organics promote the growth of mycorrhizae fungi and worms that are beneficial to plants. The worms help to aerate the soil and their castings add nutrients to the soil. In short, organic fertilizers feed the soil as well as the roses.

Many people like to use synthetic fertilizers such as 12-12-12 or Osmocote instead. When selecting such fertilizer look at the N-P-K numbers, N being nitrogen, P being phosphorus and K being potassium. Look for a balanced fertilizer where all three numbers are equal. Do not give the roses a high nitrogen fertilizer. Too much nitrogen will promote excessive green growth, which is an invitation to bugs and disease. A word of caution on the chemical fertilizers, it is possible to give the plants too much, causing problems. Follow the directions on the package. When I used 12-12-12 I would give the Hybrid Teas, Floribundas and Grandifloras ¾ cup applied around the dripline of the bush, being careful not to get any on the leaves or canes. Climbers received one cup and miniatures about ½ cup.

Bugs and diseases are the other thing to look for in spring. The roses that are susceptible to powdery mildew and blackspot should be given a preventive spray with a fungicide before the symptoms are visible. Neem oil is a great preventative treatment for powdery mildew. It also helps prevent blackspot. Neem oil is an organic product that is classed as an insecticide, fungicide and miticide. It is a ‘wonder drug’ in the plant world. I use it for everything, although if I see blackspot getting out of hand, I use a fungicide for blackspot. Good garden hygiene is another method of disease control. Picking off and destroying diseased leaves goes a long way to preventing disease. Proper watering is another way to keep disease at bay. Water early in the day so foliage can dry in less than 6 hours.

I tolerate some insect damage while waiting for the good bugs to come. Neem oil will harm honeybees so I spray it very early in the morning before the bees are out. My garden is twenty years old now and over the years I have reduced the use of insecticides to almost none. When I lose patience with Japanese beetles, I spot spray some plants where the beetles are feasting. The army of good bugs has grown to where I have very little insect damage on my plants. It took patience and tolerance to reach this point, but it has been worth it. Birds nest in some of my larger roses and I believe they help keep the bugs in check, too.

Diane Brueckman is a retired rosarian with Missouri Botanical Garden, and currently owns Rosey Acres in Baldwin, Illinois. You can reach her at (618) 785-3011 or droseyacres@ egyptian.net.

TREES WORK

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Feeling tired? Spending just 20 minutes outside can give your brain an energy boost comparable to a cup of coffee.

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