Bay Harbour: February 15, 2017

Wednesday February 15 2017
Gardening
BAY HARBOUR
PAGE 15
Look after roses during hot weather
It’s hot out there!
Rachel Vogan has
tips to keep your
roses performing at
their best in summer
conditions
ROSES JUST say: “Look at me!”,
and why wouldn’t you look at
them? Coming in a tapestry
of shapes, colours and sizes, it
shouldn’t be any surprise they
are the world’s most popular
flower.
One of the best things about
roses is they have a very
generous spirit and, even better,
a forgiving nature. They just
want to please, so if you don’t
have the time or inclination to
do anything with your roses at
the moment, don’t panic, they
are still going to grow – but if
you do spend some time and
energy on them, the rewards will
speak for themselves.
WATERING
To keep roses at their best water
deeply and avoid getting any
water on the flowers or foliage.
I know this sounds pedantic,
but if you want a flawless flower
that’s the best tip I can give you.
Drop the hose nozzle down onto
the ground and enjoy the plant’s
beauty for 10 or 20 seconds, then
move on to the next plant. If you
do this twice a week, they will
love you for it.
Water on the leaves and flowers
can cause all sorts of problems,
especially fungal and disease
issues, like black spot, mildew
and rust. Prevention is far easier
to manage, hence my suggestion
to keep the water at ground
level. When water sits on the
petals overnight, especially as
summer changes to autumn, the
night air gets much cooler and
the droplets can burn the petals
leaving freckle-like spots on the
flowers.
BLOOMS: To create a new flush of stems like these
(left), deadhead on a regular basis. Rose ‘Playboy’ is
a real attention-getter with its colourful display;
MULCHING & FEEDING
Roses are hard-working plants,
and they can chew through the
soil’s nutrients quickly during
hot periods. An application of
rose fertiliser now and a thick
layer of rose mulch will replenish
the soil’s fertility and give it a
welcome boost. If you did this
back in spring, you can hold off
until autumn, but if you missed
this step do it now. The mulch
helps keep the roots cooler and
enables the soil to hold onto
more moisture. Look for rosespecific
fertiliser and mulch
because it does the best job, and
if you are feeling generous, a
drench of seaweed tonic or liquid
plant food won’t go unrewarded
with bigger and better blooms.
STAKING & TRAINING
Staking is a good way to support
standard roses from being
thrown around in the wind. Use
a thick stake, and tie the trunk
to it with some sort of soft tie
or stocking. With climbers, the
stems are quite pliable when they
are young. On a regular basis,
secure the new stems while they
are still malleable to whatever
structure you are growing them
up. Cable ties are easy to use and
blend into the background.
DEADHEADING
Deadheading is an easy job. By
doing it on a regular basis, it
speeds up the repeat flowering
and makes for a tidier plant.
Either remove the dead flower
head or cut the stem down to
the first or second set of leaves.
When you are doing this, also
consider the overall shape of the
plant and trim longer branches
back to encourage a bushier
plant and to even up the growth
habit.
CUT FLOWERS
Keep picking roses. The best
time of day to pick them is first
thing in the morning. Plunge
them straight into a bucket of
water to the neck of the bloom.
They will happily sit like this for
hours if you don’t have time to
make an arrangement straight
after cutting them. Place them
somewhere cool away from
direct sunlight.
PROBLEMS
Pests and diseases often appear
at this time of year due to the
hot temperatures and
inconsistent watering. If
problems occur, spray as soon
as you spot a problem. Again,
prevention is better than cure,
so a regular spray programme
to prevent issues is always best.
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