Hello~ My husband and I are buying our first home, and there are rose bushes in the front of the house. I have never taken care of roses before, and I am freaking out! I love roses and I am afraid that they will die. What do I do first? Help?!?
~Believing in God for a miracle~
The sunshine is calling me, the dirt says come and play, the little seeds yawn for a nap, the weeds yell go away!
What you do depends a bit on what area/zone you live in, Eva. roses aren't that hard to care for. You will get good advice here. I am sure someone will be posting a link to rose care soon for you to read.
~Tina
Drama Free Zone. What every gardener loves the most, Begins and ends in rich compost. (Tina)
Hi Eva!! I don't know what zone your in,, But I can say,, I have used coffee grounds and Diced up banana peels and put in the soil around the base of the roses. Only water from the bottom and don't let water splash back onto the leaves as water droplets on leaves create black spot and fungus,, I like to use 'rose Defense' by Green Light. Spray in the early hours of the morning before the sun hits them hard so the spray will dry,, do this on a regular bases to prevent fungus and black spot,, when you see a leave with black spots remove it immediately and throw it away do NOT let it lay around the soil,, Epson salt is great for roses as well just scratch some into the soil it will promote blooms,!
roses tend to get aphids as well, Plant some marigolds, or basil around the roses and it will deter aphids,, I also buy a bag of ladybugs and release them in the rose gardens as ladybugs feed on rose destroying insects, :wink:
"Grace without perfection is more to be desired than perfection without grace."
What you do depends a bit on what area/zone you live in, Eva. Roses aren't that hard to care for. You will get good advice here. I am sure someone will be posting a link to rose care soon for you to read.
What is a "zone?" I live in Sacramento CA, if that helps.
~Believing in God for a miracle~
The sunshine is calling me, the dirt says come and play, the little seeds yawn for a nap, the weeds yell go away!
If you prune, Eva, it would be best in mid winter. Here in Calif. that is in/around February. And you can pretty much prune them anyway you want. I've even taken hedge shears to some and they did just fine. Mostly, I like to trim them a little all year as I see a growth pattern that I don't care for or a sucker that needs removing. roses are far from a favorite plant for me. They grow like weeds and are down right hard to kill off sometimes.
~Tina
Drama Free Zone. What every gardener loves the most, Begins and ends in rich compost. (Tina)
suzy, the term 'mini' when speaking about roses refers to the size of the flower, not the bush. they don't make that too clear though, in most of the catalogs!
as for pruning, i'll defer to others in your zone as for just when you should do it, eva. i'm in zone 6 so the timing is different here.
when you prune, you want to keep the bush nice and airy so that there is good air circulation throughout. so, you don't want too many branches growing inward and you don't want branches from two different canes to be overlapping and touching each other (helps to spread disease, if you get hit with it).
when trimming back, you always want to trim right above a new growth bud or an existing branch that is growing in the direction you want the plant to continue growing.
if you decide you want to move one of the bushes, you'll want to do that at a time when it's in a dormant state (which may not happen in your zone). AND you'll want to do the moving as early in the morning as possible and on an overcast day if you can manage it. before moving a rosebush, it's best to prune it back by at least a third of it's size (lessens the shock of moving it).
as someone else said, i only do pruning every couple of years. and may, or may not, do some light trimming in between. it'll be time, this fall, for a very hard pruning (down to just a couple of feet tall) of all the roses - one has not ever had a really hard prune and it's now seven years old (and way past due) and the roses i transplanted from the neighbors yard have been going for four years, now. so it'll be time to get drastic about it!
Joclyn thanks for clearing that up, I sure thought it meant the bush stayed small too, and in summer time it's always loaded with the4 little mini roses.
I try to take one day at a time -- but sometimes several days attack me at once. -Jennifer Unlimited- Yard Update -April 2012
Oh, I get it, now. Thank you all so much! You have all been so helpful! I am such a newbie! Does it need anything, else? I know someone mentioned coffee grounds, and eggshells. Does it need bug stuff? I am sorry for all of the questions...
~Believing in God for a miracle~
The sunshine is calling me, the dirt says come and play, the little seeds yawn for a nap, the weeds yell go away!
Is it ok to have mulch around the base of roses? I have a lot of mulch around the base of mine, supposed to keep moisture in-weeds out right? Well, out of my 4 bushes 2 have died? Any ideas? And there not really bushes, kinda like thorny sticks coming out of the ground with a few leaves on them. Any help would be great!
yes, mulch is okay. and something that would be needed in the hot florida weather to keep the soil moist longer!!
for any plants (and most especially roses) leave an area around the base of the stalk/trunk/cane clear of mulch. at least an inch of clear space from the plant base to where the mulch starts.
hopefully, florida, whereever you bought the roses from offers a warranty and hopefully, you're still within that timeframe so that you can get replacements!
No, I wouldn't be able to get replacements but thank you. Right now there is no space around the base of the plant, I'm going to clear it out around the base. I'm thinking that with the mulch piled around the base it wasn't able to get enough water, not sure.
UR zone IS MOSTLY JUST TELLING YOU HOW UR WEATHER IS IN UR AREA WHICH MAKES IT EASIER TO TELL WHICH PLANTS THRIVE WHERE N SO ON N SO ON I GOT 2 CLIMBERS NOW N THEY ARE DOING GOOD, BUT I THINK THEYRE MAN-MADE WHICH I DONT LIKE BUT THEY WERE GIFTS SO . . . WHOS TO BE PICKY HUH?? ONE BLOOM WILL BE ORANGE N THE BLOOM NEXT TO IT IS DEEP RED WHILE THE OTHER WILL BE A HOT PINK ETC ETC N SAME ON THE OTHER ONE TOO I LIKE MY REDS, WHITES , AND (MY FAV) YELLOWS I SEEN A PURPLE 1 ONE TIME THAT WAS BEATIFUL DEEP PURPLE BUT NOT FOR MY GARDEN IVE EVEN SEEN BLACK ONES (BLACK TULIPS TOO) THEY ALL ARE UNIQUE N PRETTY VERY STUNNING rose COLORS BUT NOT FOR ME I HIOPE UR roses GO WELL THEY ARE FAIRLY EASY TO TAKE CARE OF MY AUNT HAD A HUGE SIDE YARD AND IN THAT SIDE YARD SHE HAD RED RBUSHES, PINK BUSHES, N WHITE BUSHES OF roses DONE UP IN A MAZE IT WAS LOVELY AND WHEN I WAS A CHILD I ENJOYED PLAYING HIDE-N-GO-SEEK IN IT COURSE SHES DEAD NOW N I DUNNO WHAT HAPPENED TO THE HOUSE/YARD/roses BUT . . . SHE WAS DISABLED SO SHE NEVR REALLY DID ANYTHING TO THEM MY UNCLE WAS THE ONE THAT PRUNE THEM TO STAY SHAPED AS A HUGE BALL BUT HE DID THAST IN THE SUMMER TIME WHEN HE TRIMMED THE HEDGES N STUFF N THEY ALWAYS LET THE RAIN DO THE WATERING AND THEY STAYED BEAUTIFUL
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but thank you. Right now there is no space around the base of the plant, I'm going to clear it out around the base. I'm thinking that with the mulch piled around the base it wasn't able to get enough water, not sure. 
