Seven tips for a Beautiful Rose Garden

I recently bought tea rose bushes for a rose garden It’s a backyard project I  have wanted to create for many years. Roses have always been a bit of a challenge for me. I think its because I never took the time to plant them properly.

photo credit: Larra Jungle Princess

This article will give you a few ideas for rose selection and planting.

Here are a few tips to help the roses thrive.

1.  Once planted, tea roses will need to be watered thoroughly every 7 to 10 days during dry weather. Your garden will be easier to maintain, look lice and help prevent water loss if you use mulch around the rose bushes.

2.  Deadhead the flowers on the rose bushes. When you remove spent flowers it conserves the plant’s energy and will encourage prolonged blooming. To deadhead, remove the faded flowers just above the uppermost three-leaflet leaf. If you are deadheading established tea roses, cut the stem back to the five-leaflet leaf.

Note: all flowers will bloom better if they are deadheaded. Plus the garden looks tidier when the dead blooms are removed.

3.  Encourage healthy growth and vigorous blooms by fertilizing hybrid tea roses three times a year. This will encourage healthy growth, vigorous blooms and will also help with insect control. Healthy nourished plants fens off insect and disease much better.

Fertilize in the early spring, right after pruning, and again during the first bloom period. The last time you will want feed your roses is in July. Do not fertilize in late summer or fall.

Use an all-purpose rose fertilizer such as a 10-10-10. Apply 1/4 cup evenly around each rose bush, stir the fertilizer gently into the soil and water well.

4.  Be sure your hole is big enough; deep enough and that you surround your rose with the best possible soil. This is the step that most people do not follow through on and is actually the most important. Keep in mind as you plant that this is the new home for your plant and you want it to be the best it can be!

5.  Watch carefully for insects and aphid damage and spray or dust accordingly. I use natural insect control but I have found that if you keep your plants watered well, fertilize them when they need it and keep the area cleaned up around your plant that you will have very few to no insects.

6.  Always use clean sharp tools for pruning. Wash them after you use them and a mix of bleach and water will help prevent the tools from carrying disease.

7.  Last of all; get advice from a local nursery or grower for specific care of your rose bushes and other plants for your geographic location. Your nursery is there to help you and they actually enjoy helping. It builds up good communication and trust between them and their customers, which in turn will lead to more business