Watering: 

Newly planted roses about once a week. Try to water the roots without hitting the foliage. If not possible, try to water early in the morning giving the sun enough time to get the water off the foliage by mid day. Make sure when you do water, you water deeply. Some methods of watering can take up to an hour (watering methods can be found in watering instructions, in the gardening information tab). Established roses will need to be watered during hot, dry spells. Usually July and August.

Diseases:

Diseases on roses are inevitable, but with little care you can lessen the chances greatly.

1. Water close to roots, keeping water off foliage if possible. Or water in the early morning.

2. Clean up all fallen leaves in Autumn, and throw them away.

3. Always cut any dead branches back to new growth in the spring.

4. Cut spend blossoms.

5. We have several products at the nursery to choose from to help control insects, diseases and fungi problems. You can stop in, or call the nursery to find out the best option for your needs.

6. Shrub roses do not need to be cut back in the fall- you can however cut them for shape, just like you would any other shrub. General rule of thumb is you can take up to a third of new growth without harming the plant.

7. Types of Roses that should be cut back to the main root stalk in autumn: Hybrid Tea, Floribunda, and Grandiflora.

Insects:

Japanese beetles are a problem with roses. You will need to spray or spread a product to control them. Another way to help control Japanese Beetles is to treat your lawn for Grubs, we recommend using Bonide Insect and Grub, or Grub Beater. Spreading this around the same time that the Forsythia are blooming each year will greatly reduce the amount of Japanese Beetles on and around your plants.

Mulch:

Mulch around roses with 3 to 4 inches of bark mulch, keeping it about 3 inches or so away from the stems. Mulching will help with keeping weeds down and retaining moisture.

Fertilizer:

Fertilize in the spring with a granular rose food. Do not fertilize after July, unless special attention is given to watering. Fertilizing at this point can be harmful to the plant(s) they are allowed to dry out, give extra water if fertilizer is applied through any hot and dry time of the summer.

Winter Care:

We recommended covering most roses with a shrub cover or burlap to help them through the winter. Covering can be very beneficial to the plant, as they will have much less dead to prune back in the spring. We carry a variety of sizes of shrub covers to chose from at the nursery.