Knockout Roses Bushes – Protecting their Beauty

It’s easy to keep roses at a state of perfection. Just give them the full array of the things they need:

• Sunshine
• Water
• Good Drainage
• Fertilizer
• Regular Pest and Disease Control
• Dormant Season
• Pruning to make Fresh new growth come out to replace the old
• Winter protection as needed

When you choose a site to plant a rose, look skyward. It’s best if a rose can get at least six hours of sun per day. Roses definitely do not do well under trees.

Plant dormant rose plants whenever the responsible plant dealers in your area sell them. April is the often big planting season in some areas it’s February and March.

Dig the planting hole 16 inches deep and 4 inches wider than the root spread. When you place the plant in the hole, put the bud union (swollen place on lower trunk) just above the soil level.

Planting Your Rose

Mix peat moss and good compost with the soil from the hole. Work this mixture under and around each root as you fill the hole. Crest soil over the bud union for about 3 weeks after planting. This is to guard against any unexpected cold weather or dry winds. After 3 weeks, the bush should be established then remove the crest of dirt from the bud union.

Water Weekly

Water roses weekly. Keep a watering basin around each plant’s base with the trough always a few inches beyond the farthest-out branch tips. As the plant grows, extend the trough.

To keep roses blooming nicely, use a good fertilizer with a 2-2-1 ratio – 16-16-8 for example two to three times between early spring and fall. Read the label but usually the fertilizer label directions call for 1 to 2 tablespoons per feeding for each small bush and more for larger bushes. Liquid foods are also a nice booster twice a month, filling the watering trough with the liquid fertilizer solution instead of regular watering.

Winter Prep

Where winter temperatures fall below 10 degrees get roses ready for winter by not fertilizing after September 1. Don’t water after that date unless you see signs of wilting. By mid – November, put a few pots of extra loose soil in the basement or some other protected area.

When the ground soil freezes pour the loose stored soil into the center of each bush, making a natural cone that will cover the bottom 10 inches of each branch. Pick off all old leaves and cut off dead branches at that time. Remove the protective cone in spring after the last frost.

Roses do provide some beautiful flowers but can host insects and diseases.

Check with your local garden center for their local prescription on treatments for:

• Black spot a fungus disease on leaves
• Powdery mildew
• Red spider, Aphids, Thrips or scale insects
• Leaf and flower chewing insects

As soon as buds begin to swell, in February or early March spray to kill over-wintering scale insects, insect eggs, and fungus spores. This is the most important spray of the year.

Now go enjoy your Roses!

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