Not too long ago, I shared how my Grandpa is my inspiration when it comes to gardening. While I’m not a greater gardener, I try to choose plants that are good for people that don’t necessarily have green thumbs.
One thing that I like to take care of in our little garden area is our roses. We rent so I didn’t have a choice about what was here when we moved in (plus, I had never taken care of roses before) and I remember thinking I had NO idea how to even starting taking care of them. When I went to go visit my Grandpa one time (they live about 5 hours away), I asked him if he would write down some tips for me, plus I started doing some research on my own. Here are some Simple Tips for Caring for Your Roses:
- Roses love the sun! Luckily our roses were already planted in the perfect place. Roses need at least 6 hours of direct sunlight a day. If you live in a really hot area, plant your roses in an area where they will have some shade in the afternoon.
- Roses need about an inch of water every week. You want to make sure you water the whole root because just watering the top of the soil doesn’t benefit the roses.
- The soil in our garden isn’t good for growing most plants. If your soil isn’t great or you are planting your roses in a container, you’ll want to choose a good gardening soil from your local nursery.
- Before I talked to my Grandpa, I didn’t understand why pruning was important. It didn’t make sense to me that you would cut a plant back far in order for it to grow. But now I realize that it’s to get rid of the dead or damaged part of the bush. Early spring is the best time to prune your roses. Make your cut about 1/4 inch above a leaf bud.
- If you live in an area with cold winters, you’ll have to prepare them for winter. Stop fertilizing your roses 6 weeks before the first frost. Also, don’t prune the faded flowers (doing so encourages new growth). Once most of the leaves have fallen off the plant, cover the base of your rose bush with 10-12 inches of well drained mulch or compost. You can also wrap the bushes in burlap if you live in a really cold climate.
Crystal Nell says
Roses are my favorite flower!! My husband planted 4 knock-out rose bushes that are beautiful almost all year round.They seem to be the only green living thing I can’t kill which is great for me.We do prune ours every spring and they keep coming back bigger and better.
Tara says
I hear ya, I kill plants too! I don’t mean too but I think my thumb is more brown than green 🙂
Mike Anderson says
Hello Tara, Rose is my favorite flower. I like to take care of it in the garden area. I love color variation in roses. You have shared great tips. Thank you for sharing your blog.
Tara says
Thanks so much, Mike!