Pruning Roses for Garden Beauty

If you have older rose bushes, with canes of 3/4 inch diameter or more, then you will want a pair of loppers to help you in your pruning tasks.

Like the pruners, loppers come in anvil and bypass types.

A pair of loppers will make short work of taking out an old, diseased or dead cane. They come with jaws of different sizes, so you can choose. My Fiskars loppers are rated up to 1.25 inches, which is plenty for all my roses. I would not be without them!

Roses just need a bit more care than some other garden plants. If you learn a bit about pruning, watering and fertilizing, your roses can be just as wonderful as those you might see in any garden.

There are lots of excellent gardening books about roses to guide you in your selection. Take into account the climate and location where you want to grow them.

Hybrid tea and floribunda type roses are very popular for the classic rose blossom shape. These types are often found in the rose gardens of fine homes and rose afficinados.

The varieties called "old roses," which are often antiques from gardens of past centuries, are favorites for their fragrances and cottage charm.

Roses can be planted at any time of year, as long as the ground is not frozen. But for practical purposes, spring is the most common. That's when the rose nurseries have their stock ready for sale, and your selection is the best.

If it's "off season" for planting in your climate zone, then you can prepare the soil with nutrients and drainage. Compost worked in during the fall will do a fine job to make planting roses easy the following spring.

Rose plants consume large amounts of soil nutrients, so you must feed them lightly but often each time. Many products are available to make fertilizing roses easier.

Take care fertilizing newly-planted roses because their tiny roots will be more sensitive than established roses. Most growers recommend that you hold off on any but the lightest fertilizer applications until after a rose has bloomed for the first time.

Stop feeding about two months before the first expected fall frost. In the northern United States, that means finish feeding around the end of July.

With proper food and water, you can look forward to lovely and fragrant roses. The healthier your rose bushes, the more resistant to disease they will be and the more flowers they will produce.

Hybrid tea and floribunda type roses are very popular for the classic rose blossom shape. These types are often found in the rose gardens of accomplished gardeners, fine homes and rose aficionados.

With the right care and soil, you can grow these, too. Check the zone hardiness if you live in a particularly cold climate or at a high elevation. Then, decide on how you want to use roses in your garden, and choose the type that will serve that need.

The varieties called "old roses," which are often antiques from gardens of past centuries, are favorites for their fragrances and cottage charm. These are good choices to start with growing roses, because they are a bit more rugged than some fancy varieties. But check on their resistance to pests and diseases before making a final choice.

New rose varieties, such as carpet roses, Knockout and Proven Winners brands, are known for easy care and lasting color. We have some carpet variety in our front border, a particularly challenging location. This is a southern exposure with the hot summer sun beating down off the brick house. And the soil is heavy clay. The carpet roses are thriving, despite these challenges.

We grow our traditional roses in the back yard, where they are shaded during the hottest parts of the day, and have better soil.

Roses just need a bit more care than some other garden plants. If you learn a bit about pruning, watering and fertilizing, your roses can be just as wonderful as those you might see in any garden.

Roses should be watered deeply, especially in this hot summer weather. They should get at least an inch of water every week. As long as you have planted your roses in humus-rich, balanced soil, you shouldn't need to give them more than one inch of water per week.

Always water your roses in the morning so their leaves will have time to dry before dark. Otherwise your roses can get Blackspot, Powdery Mildew or other diseases. Watering systems that only water the soil and not the leaves, such as drip irrigation, are even better.

Roses need to be pruned regularly. You should use a good, sharp pair of pruning shears to nip faded flowers, and trim away dead or damaged branches, as well as any brown leaves. Do not compost any diseased trimmings, because the pile may not get hot enough to destroy the disease organisms.

Romantic rose petals can be used on the floor, in a relaxing bath, or for potpourri. You can use your own rose petals for this, too. You can use fresh ones for certain projects, or save and dry them until you get enough for your project.

Rose hips are the berries left on the plant after the flowers go, if you don't take off the spent blooms. As long as you're not using toxic pesticides on the plant, you can save your own if you wish. Rose hips are high in Vitamin C and are used for teas, jelly and certain other foods.