Summer Rose Garden Care Tips

Heat is not the best friend of roses. July and August can be very hot months, which translates into bad news for your rose bushes. The heat can be damaging to your rose bush, but the humidity encourages insects and fungal diseases that will really terrorize your plants. There are things you can do to prevent this from getting to your plants, however.

Keep your roses beautiful and fresh until the autumn season arrives. Make sure that your roses have plenty of water during this dry time. Remember to water the roots of your rose and not the entire plant so that you don’t encourage fungal development and to ensure that the roots will get their full share.

If the temperatures get above 90 degrees, you need to make sure that your pot-grown roses are watered twice a day. Don’t water during the hottest parts of the day, however, because this will just encourage excessive evaporation and won’t do your roses much good.

You will want to spray fungicide on your roses on a weekly basis to help protect your roses when the humidity is so high. Cut back the canes and the foliage right away if you start to see any sign of infection. You can also apply a light amount of fertilizer to help your roses stay strong about three times a week. Don’t over-fertilize, however, because this will just cause burning and destroy your plants. Be sure to give your roses organics to give them the nutrients they need. Apply roughly 2 to 3 cups of organic compost every weekly, but stop applying this formula during the last week of August because you are going to start slowing down with your roses as the cooler season approaches.

Spider mites love the summer season and months of July and August because they love heat and humidity. Make sure you keep an eye out for these bugs and spray your leaves and buds with soapy water to show them that they aren’t welcome on your roses. Stay on top of your deadheading chores since this is a very important time for this action. Your canes will need a lot of strength to make sure they can support new growth.

You will need to trim the stems and branches that are trying to grow from the center of the bush. You should cut these in order to improve air circulation for the plant and also remove the ideal breeding ground for spider mites. You can reduce the appearance of the fungal diseases when you let these plants get overgrown and hot, encouraging moisture through humidity in the bushes. If you want to show your roses in the fall, you will need to be very careful about how you prune the canes during this time in order to make sure that they grow back the way that you want.

If this seems complicated, you can find the most common recycling times for the selected species. Bush health, temperatures, soil condition, planting and growing conditions that can cause the times that you need to recycle and take care of your canes different. The chart will only be a guideline.

Some roses, like the Uncle Joe, the New Zealand, the Touch of Class and others take 50 to 60 days to recycle, while the Dainty Bess, the Playboy and the Playgirl are fast varieties take 35 to 39 days.

         

Rose Garden - Climate Zones