Taking care of your roses

STEVE KAWARATANI

“There’s a rose for everyone.”

-- Rayford Reddell

“Happy birthday to you.”

Enjoying roses is easy. After all, there is a rose for everyone.

Growing roses, however, requires enthusiasm if you want to be

successful. No matter the name or reputed resistance of a particular

rose, insect and foliage disease are likely to come its way the next

few months.

Prevention is the key to keep pest and disease damage to a

minimum. Naturally, a healthy and vigorous rose is much more likely

to ward off problems than one that is under stress from lack of water

or nutrients.

During warmer weather, roses should receive one to two inches of

water per week. Roses thrive on water. Adequate watering is more

important than fertilizer for growth! But beware, it’s not how often

you water but how deep you water. Check the rose bed the day after

watering and probe down 18 to 24 inches. If the soil is wet at that

depth, you’ve given enough water; if not, increase your watering

time.

Most roses also require regular applica- tions of fertilizer to

reach their full potential and to produce fragrant flowers. During

the spring and summer, a water-soluble, balanced fertilizer such as

Miracle Gro For Roses should be applied monthly. Between those

applications, apply Gropower Flower and Bloom. Finally, if you

haven’t done so yet, be sure to add the Rose Cocktail, an essential

element in the growth process of roses (available at your local

nursery).

Good cultural practices include watering correctly. Watering

overhead only in the morning, so the foliage can dry out prior to the

evening can prevent some diseases. Watering carefully with a soft

nozzle will eliminate soil or mulch from splattering on leaves. This

reduces the opportunities for diseases, such as powdery mildew, rust

and blackspot, from gaining a foothold.

Pest management begins with controls other than chemicals. This

may involve hand picking worms or water washing aphids from your

roses. Natural controls, such as ladybugs and the praying mantis, can

also keep pests at bay. However, there are those times when an

invasion of pests will overwhelm such nontoxic practices.

Although I don’t necessarily espouse establishing a regular spray

schedule for roses, you may never see any evidence of problems if you

spray your plants every two weeks with Orthonex. However, remember

that this chemical will kill pests and beneficial bugs. As Catharine

reminds me, all garden chemicals should be applied thoughtfully and

carefully.

There are two things I look forward to during April. The first is

roses in glorious bloom, an extended exhibition of nearly nine months

in Laguna. The second is Eve’s birthday.

“Put another candle on your birthday cake; you’re another year old

today.”

* STEVE KAWARATANI is happily married to local writer, Catharine

Cooper, and has two cats. He can be reached at 949.497.2438, or

e-mail to [email protected] work.com.