Caring and Pruning Roses

A backyard garden soil for roses that has compost works ideal for roses. It should retain water, but should not become damp.  

Roses require a soil rich with friendly microorganisms and micronutrients, as well as the essential nutrients nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. If the soil for roses is rich and moist, it might require less compost or fertilizer and less water which also means the plants will be healthy and happier.

Best tips on how to plant rose garden plants:

1. While making a decision on selection of roses, it is best to consult a local gardening centre or a florist to find out which roses can be best grown in the climate you are residing. If you are a beginner, you should opt for a disease resistant rose and also a rose plant that requires less maintenance.
2. Roses love sunshine. Find a spot in which the plant gets sun-rays for at least 5 to 6 hours. Roses do not give flowers if they are planted in shade. The rose plants are crazy for warmth and sunshine.
3. Though Roses love water, it should be well drained soil where the PH is just the adequate 5.5 to 7. You should water roses daily but the soil for roses should not turn soggy. Always water the roses in the morning when the sun is not scorching hot so that the water does not evaporate fast.
4. Organic manure works best for the roses. If you feel that the roots are not strong, the soil might be alkaline; in that case putting a manure of lime will help.
5. Using 3 to 6 inches of mulch will prevent the weeds from growing in the neighborhood of roses and barring them essential nutrients. Mulch is also great in controlling the moisture and temperature.

The basic question that comes into the mind is when to plant roses, if the roses are known to thrive all the year round. The golden rule to plant the rose plants is in the most suited climate that is spring.

The spring season is also recommended because it is a warm climate and with a longer window of warmth a small rose sapling can become a bigger rose plant with sustained warmth free of frost. Very cold climate and freezing temperature will freeze the plant.  Therefore the best time depends upon when the spring arrives in your location.

It is important to be aware of the danger of frost that proves deadly to the sapling when the temperatures are enough to freeze you, it is not advisable and all the more not suited to the plant roses. You can consult a fellow gardener or a local nursery to get an idea of the early spring dates.

For example, if you are a native of a warm climate zone like California in US or other similar places in the world, where winters are not all that cold but cozy and warm, the best time to plant the roses is in the fall or winter. So, --when to plant roses? The answer is in you can safely plant the roses during winter fall at around December or January month. I live in India and this time is also considered great to plant the roses here.

Caring roses needs enrichment and nourishment of manure. It is very essential to provide nutrients to roses in form of natural fertilizers. Rose plants require frequent supply of fertilizers to keep them growing at fast pace and blooming flowers.

Without fertilizers the blooms are small and the rose buds may completely disappear.  A good fertilizer slowly but steadily releases nutrients in the soil for roses without loading it with high concentrations of compost.

Ensure that you are following appropriate instructions if you are using fish emulsion or Osmocote. Avoid using fertilizers during extreme temperatures such as extreme hot weather and winter, snow.  The benefits of the fertilizer will not be apparent, mostly because the rose plant will be battling either the icy wind in freezing winter or hot breeze in scorching summer.

An ideal temperature of 70 to 80 degrees works just fine to expedite the rose growth. The rose plants need fertilizers or organic compost that mainly have the following ingredients:

Nitrogen – Nitrogen plays an important role in growth of plants. It helps the rose plants to grow tall with strong stems, plenty of blooms and rich dark foliage.

Phosphorus – Phosphorus is essential for rose plants root growth, high quality roses and big blooms. It also expedites plant growth and strength that is very much required during strong winters. It helps roses to combat many a bad climates

Potassium (Potash) – Potash promotes root growth and gives striking colors to roses. Also, potassium regulates water absorption in plants