How To Care For Your Roses.
Growing roses in Richmond is not as hard as everyone thinks. Follow a few simple steps and you should have beautiful roses too!
1) Pick a planting spot with at least 6 hours of sun a day.
2) Amend your soil when you plant. This means adding organic products such as Black Velvet or topsoil or compost of some sort to the soil. All of these are available at your Strange's Garden Center. Mix it well before you set the rose in the planting hole.
3) Remove the plant from the container and set into the hole, so the knobby growth at the base of the rose is just above where the soil surface would be. This knob wants to be protected during the winter, but not buried in dirt.
4) Backfill with your soil mixture, tamping it down lightly as you go. When your soil is back to its original level, be sure to water it in with ferti-lome Root Stimulator, available at Strange's Garden Center. This solution will help promote root growth, getting the plant established for a long life.
5) Mulching around the rose will do several things—the roots will be kept warm in the winter and cooler in the summer, moisture wont’ escape as easily , and overall appearance will be much nicer.
FEEDING:
There are many different choices when it comes to rose food, and everybody has a different opinion. At Strange’s Garden Center, we recommend either ferti-lome Rose Food with Systemic Insecticide, or Espoma’s Rose-tone. ferti-lome Rose Food contains an insecticide that works from the roots up, helping to control insects like aphids and spider mites. Rose-tone (made by the folks who make Hollytone) is an all organic, slow release fertilizer that is wonderful for roses. Both fertilizers are dry granulars, nothing to mix. Just spread it on the soil under the plant and walk away. Both need to be used once a month for best results. Use Blooming & Rooting once a week for extra blooms.
INSECTS:
Insects abound on roses, and there's any number of insecticides you can use to get rid of them. All of these products are available at Strange's Garden Center.
The number one pest is Japanese beetles. Traps are usually the most effective (and safest) way of lessening the population. Sevin is another option, and also takes care of over 100 other bugs.
Aphids are another big pest. They usually appear on flower buds and look like teeny limegreen uglies! Orthonex is available as both an aerosol spray or concentrate, and will do a wonderful job on them.
BLACK SPOT:
Ferti-lome Systemic Fungicide, available at Strange's Garden Center, is an excellent choice for fighting black spot. Apply it once a month.
And there you have it! Enjoy your roses!
