Content
Those who have dealt with planting and growing roses know well that these flowers require constant care and attention. Only with effort can you prolong the flowering of the bush for many years. Care garden roses consists of many stages, each of them is very important and requires detailed consideration. In this article you will learn not only how to care for roses, but also how to plant them. This information will help you avoid mistakes and grow beautiful flowers.
Where to plant garden roses
These flowers love sunny color, so it is better to plant them in well-lit areas. But you should not plant roses in open areas where the sun will shine directly on the plants all day. Lighting is the most important condition for the formation of young buds, but in the scorching sun the flowers will fade very quickly. In this case, the color of the buds will not be as rich, and the edges of the petals will curl and dry out.
An area that is too shaded is also not suitable for growing roses. Without sun, the plant will not be able to form new buds, and flowering will be weak. Due to dampness, the bush will be susceptible to fungal diseases, which can even destroy the flowers.Areas with a southeastern orientation are best suited, but northern and northeastern ones can have a detrimental effect on roses.
You should not plant a garden rose too close to other bushes or trees. Their strong roots will take all the moisture and create shade. Then long shoots will appear on the bushes, incapable of forming buds.
Soil preparation
For good growth and flowering, roses need to be planted in light loamy soil. It should be loose and rich in humus. Chernozem is also perfect for planting and caring for garden roses. Sandy loam and sandy soils are unsuitable for these flowers. Such soil tends to be strongly heated by the sun and freeze very quickly in frosty conditions.
Rose roots are very sensitive, and such temperature changes can harm the plant. To improve the composition of such soil, peat, turf or rotted manure are added to it. Clay soils are also unsuitable for growing roses. Such soil is capable of absorbing large amounts of water, which can provoke the appearance of fungal diseases. To improve the soil, sand, humus, peat and compost are added to it.
Suitable soil temperature
Soil temperature has a strong influence on the growth and flowering of the bush. At temperatures from 15 °C to 22 °C, the rose will develop well and will delight you with abundant flowering. If it is above 25 °C, the root system will overheat, which can have a bad effect on the plant as a whole. In this case, the soil around the bushes is mulched with peat, grass clippings or humus.
Selection of seedlings
For the middle zone, the best option would be grafted seedlings rather than self-rooted ones. Such bushes have a more developed root system, high frost resistance, and take root well in a new location. They are also disease-resistant and capable of simultaneously blooming a large number of roses. Caring for such bushes requires removing wild shoots growing from the root of the plant. A large amount of such growth can turn a rose into a rose hip. This transformation occurs due to the fact that the rose is most often grafted onto the root system of such bushes.
When choosing seedlings, you should pay attention to the appearance of the root system. It can be open or closed with a peat lump. Open rhizomes may be damaged during transplantation and transportation. Therefore, it is better to buy closed seedlings. They tolerate transplantation more easily, and are also more likely to grow and, accordingly, bloom.
When choosing, the foliage located on the bush requires special attention. Limp and dry foliage indicates the weakness of the bush. If there are only 3 or fewer shoots on the bush, then such a seedling is not worth buying. The shoots must be free of cracks and stains. If the root system is exposed, inspect it for damage. Broken roots with cracks and scratches will not be able to grow in a new place.
When to plant roses
Roses are planted in open ground both in autumn and spring. Remember that bushes planted in the fall will have time to take root by spring and will bloom much faster than if you planted them in the spring. Therefore, the best time to plant bushes is autumn.Planting should begin no earlier than September, so that the young buds do not awaken before the onset of frost. And if you plant seedlings later than mid-October, there is a chance that the plant will not have time to take root and will simply freeze. With the correct timing of planting, the root system will have time to form young roots and harden before the onset of frost. After awakening in the spring, the rose will be full of strength and ready for the formation of the ground part.
Methods for planting garden roses
Before planting, it is necessary to clean the root system. All roots are shortened, leaving only 20 centimeters in length, and dry and damaged roots are cut off completely. The shoots should also be shortened, leaving only 3–5 buds on them. Planting of seedlings is carried out using the following methods:
- dry method;
- wet method.
With the dry planting method, dig a hole about 30 cm deep and about 55 cm wide. Organic fertilizers (vermicompost, compost or humus), as well as mineral fertilizers (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium), are added there. They are thoroughly mixed with soil and placed at the bottom of the hole.
The seedlings are placed in a hole so that the root collar is deepened into the ground by 3 centimeters. This will help the plant not to dry out in hot weather, and will also allow it to quickly take root. When lowering the seedling into the hole, you need to carefully spread the root system along the bottom, and gradually fill it with soil, slightly compacting the soil. After this is done, the bush is watered abundantly and hilled up 20 cm.
With the wet method, the hole is dug in exactly the same way as with the dry method. Next, pour a bucket of water into it, in which 1 tablet of heteroauxin is dissolved. A seedling is placed in the hole, and the prepared soil is poured directly into the water.When diluted with water, the soil completely fills the entire space between the roots, leaving no voids. From time to time the seedling needs to be shaken and the soil compacted. Naturally, after this method of planting, there is no need to water the plant superficially. The next day, when the ground settles a little, you will need to lift the seedling a little and add more soil. The landing site must be compacted. The plant needs to be hilled to a height of 15 centimeters.
Care after planting is the same in both cases. During the first weeks, the rose will need plenty of watering. When the seedling takes root well and begins to grow, it needs to be unplanted and the soil around it mulched with peat or straw.
Caring for rose bushes
To enhance flowering and make it easier to care for the plant, the bush is formed in the first year of life. This process involves removing all young buds and pinching off shoots above 4 or 5 leaves. Since rose bushes are different, the method of formation may vary. To reduce the width of spreading bushes. When forming, only the central shoots are left. A cut is made on the bud directed inside the bush. In compressed bushes, on the contrary, you need to leave side shoots. This makes the plant more lush and voluminous.
After creating the desired shape of the bush, stop pinching the roses. Now the plant needs a lot of strength to start blooming.
When to open roses in spring
It is very important to choose the right time to remove the cover from the bush. Remember, if you open roses too early, there is a risk of frost returning and damaging the young buds.And if, on the contrary, you do this too late, it will lead to damping off.
No one can say the exact date when to remove the shelter. This time may vary in each region. The main thing is to monitor the thawing of the soil. If the night frosts are not severe, and the soil around the bush has thawed to a depth of about 20 centimeters, then the shelter can be safely removed. Some gardeners remove the cover from the bush gradually, hardening the plant and accustoming it to temperature changes.
How to prune roses
Without removing old and dry shoots, it is impossible to grow healthy bushes. Pruning garden roses stimulates the formation of new shoots and helps create an attractive bush shape. All you need for pruning is a pruning shears. You need to cut dry shoots from the bush half a centimeter above a healthy bud. Pruning is carried out in spring, summer and autumn.
The first pruning is done in the spring, immediately after the rose is removed from its shelter. At this time, the growth of branches begins, so you cannot delay pruning. Summer pruning is intended to remove dried flowers and “blind” damaged shoots from the plant. Also, if the bush is grafted, you need to remove wild growth.
It is advisable to cut off wild shoots from the bush as soon as they appear. To do this, you need to lightly dig up the soil near the root and cut off the shoots at the very base. After that, the soil needs to be filled back in and lightly compacted. By cutting off the shoots at ground level, you can achieve the opposite result; the shoots will grow even stronger.
In autumn, pruning is carried out to remove too long shoots, dry buds and emerging fruits.
Pests and diseases
Caring for roses involves mandatory disease prevention, as well as treatment of emerging viruses and fungi. In order to provide timely assistance to the plant, it is necessary from time to time to conduct a thorough inspection of the bushes for the presence of pests and signs of disease. By starting the fight on time, there is a high probability of saving the plant.
For prevention, you can use the following methods:
- You can plant a plant with a pungent odor near the roses that will repel pests. Decorative onions and sage are well suited for these purposes;
- periodically water the bushes with infusions of garlic, onion, and calendula;
- Leaves affected by black spot should be immediately plucked from the bush and burned so that the fungus does not spread to other plants;
- from mid-July it would be good to start sprinkling the bushes with ash;
- Don't plant roses too thickly. This can lead to fungal infection.
Conclusion
Anyone can care for and grow garden roses. Having planted these flowers on your site for the first time, you will most likely want to purchase other varieties. With their help, you can create a real rose garden in your yard.
