How to properly tend your rose beds and keep them smelling sweet

BY MIKE BROWN

Signs of spring are finally here. The winter rains have made a spectacle of the hillsides in Southern California and all the wonderful wild desert and highland flowers are in bloom. In the city, the jasmine is perfuming the air, the sycamore is leafing out, and the roses are beginning to flower.

Now is the time to get out and roll up your shirtsleeves and spend some time in the rose beds. April through May are months to be diligent at keeping insects (especially aphids) from making feasts out of the new tender foliage and sweet developing buds. Aphids are easily identified as tiny green specks that don’t do much crawling around (and can be easily overlooked). They suck up the plant juices with their beaks that they inject into the plants and can pass on pathogens and viruses to your roses as they feed. Catch early signs of infestations as larger numbers can stunt plant growth, cause leaves to pucker and curl up, and delay flower bloom.

There are lots of foliar sprays and systemic pesticides to choose from for treating aphids. Systemic pesticides are applied to the root base of your roses and are then taken up by the roots and distributed throughout the leaves and buds, making them toxic to those pesky chewing insects. Remember, if you are keen on having butterflies in your garden, foliar sprays and systemic pesticides will also kill caterpillar larvae. You may want to go the organic route by using insecticidal soaps or releasing ladybugs (especially if aphids are the problem). Ladybugs have ferocious appetites and can consume hundreds of aphids in a single day. A fine netting (temporarily) draped over your roses will help keep some of these red biological foragers from flying the coup.

The early spring months should be the time to watch out for developing powdery mildew and other diseases and also begin a feeding regimen for your roses. Feeding your roses depends on the type of roses you are growing. If you have repeat blooming roses, they will often need more fertilizing than some of the one-time blooming shrub roses. Roses need a minimum of six hours of full sun a day. In addition, they need plenty of water, and the soil must not be clay or compacted, as roses will not prosper with wet feet. Granulated, timed-release fertilizers are good and have three main macronutrients: nitrogen for promoting healthy foliage; phosphorous for promoting vigorous root and flower production; and potassium for helping plants adapt to stress brought on by disease, temperature extremes, and insect damage. Many of the available commercial fertilizers also contain necessary micronutrients such as iron, copper, cobalt, zinc, and iodine. Newly planted roses should have bone meal or superphosphate added to the soil. The most popular fertilizers are dry granules that are applied to the topsoil. Foliar fertilizer sprays are good, too, as these nutrients are absorbed into the plant via the leaves and stems but are only good for a short period of time. It doesn’t hurt to use both. Just be sure to follow the guidelines on the packaging.

Pruning is absolutely necessary to maintain a healthy garden and by cutting roses for the home; you are helping the plant to produce more flowers and keep its shape. Be sure to prune old, dead, and diseased canes in the months of January through March, as this encourages strong new canes from which healthy flowers form. Roses that are not pruned usually yield flowers that are not as healthy or showy. The canes are responsible for storing energy and vital nutrients for the next growing season. Rose pruning should be done just prior to when you see noticeable buds forming on the canes. Do not whack your roses back to the ground. You want to keep the canes about two to three feet in height. Prune your roses about a 1/4” above an outgrowing bud, as this encourages a new cane or stem to grow away from the center of the plant. This aids in air circulation, which will reduce the potential for disease and insect infestations. Make sure that you use sharp, clean pruning shears and cut at a 45-degree angle above a bud. After pruning diseased canes, remember to sterilize your clippers with alcohol (to avoid passing on disease to other healthy roses). Dispose of the clippings into the garbage and not the recycle bin or compost pile.

Roses must have an excellent amended-soil base. Organics such as compost materials help add micronutrients and retain soil moisture and give your roses a good chance of producing healthy foliage and awesome blooms. So go out into the garden and get dirty, we can always pretty up later. Don’t forget to take the time to smell those tender sweet rose petals (and think of me).

Mike Brown is a garden and landscape designer in Los Angeles. E-mail him your questions at: greengardenguy@yahoo.com.