Rose Care

January is usually cold, dry and often windy. Be sure to water adequately, especially prior to a freeze. Continue to spray for fungal diseases. Prevention is the key to staying on top of these pests.

A soil test is recommended this month so you will know whether your soil can provide adequate nutrients for roses to assimilate.

Apply organic amendments such as alfalfa meal, soy meal and cottonseed meal. Apply magnesium sulfate or sul-po-mag to bushes about 30 days prior to pruning.

Clean, sharpen, repair or replace tools in preparation for pruning.

This is a good month to transplant roses, remove poorly performing bushes and select replacements. Also add mulch as needed to achieve 3-4”.

Central Florida rosarians generally prune their roses beginning around February 15th or as late as the end of the month.

The MCRS usually presents a program devoted to pruning at our February meeting. It is often “hands-on” at a member’s garden.

A dormant spray is recommended following pruning. If you haven’t been spraying during the winter months, begin your fungal spray program after pruning.

Most rosarians remove all foliage at pruning time. Remove all debris and trimmings from the bed and do not compost.

Check your soil pH. Best is 6.5.

Be sure to water heavily before a freeze and when applying sprays or fertilizer.

March brings warmer temperatures and longer days. This encourages roses to “spring” forth with growth. Granular fertilizers can be applied after there is about 6” of new growth on your pruned bushes. Most rosarians prefer 1/2 cup every two weeks or 1 cup per month if time is difficult to find.

For best results from your hybrid teas, finger prune unwanted buds growing toward the center of the bush. Also, remove the weakest of the buds where more than one emerges from the eye. Finger pruning can save time later when those unwanted canes would need to be pruned away.

This month we must begin watching for pest damage. Insects including: scale, thrips, aphids, rose slug, and caterpillars. Fungal pests including: powdery mildew, blackspot, and cercospora leaf spot. We must not forget the spider mite, which belongs to the Arachnid family.

With April comes some of our best blooms of the entire year. By now you should be well into your routine of regular application of fertilizer, spraying for fungal pests, deadheading and enjoying the beauty only roses can bring. Remember, the single most important item needed by roses is water. In Florida our sandy soil dries out very quickly. Don’t assume, feel your soil to make sure it is moist. Water deeply and often!

This month also brings with it pests that love to ruin our blooms. Thrips will damage blooms if the buds aren’t sprayed with an insecticide, such as Orthene, every few days. Remove caterpillars manually and use a forceful spray of water to dislodge aphids and spider mites. Spray regularly with a fungicide to control blackspot, anthracnose and powdery mildew. But most importantly, observe your roses so pests will not get ahead of you.

May is another great month for our roses. The heat will be increasing, so be sure to water heavily. Adequate fertilizer in May is critical. Roses are heavy feeders. Fertilizer and organics need time in the soil to break down and become available to the plant. Think at least 30 days ahead when it comes to providing nutrients to your roses.

Deadhead regularly and remove damaged canes as well as diseased leaves from the bed. Hygiene is key to keeping fungal pests away from roses. Watch for spider mites. As temperatures increase, so does their presence in the garden. We do have beetles in Florida, but in limited numbers. They can be controlled by removing manually. Blackspot will also tend to increase with more rainfall and higher humidity. Try to make sure roses are as dry as possible by sundown.

This month we enter the toughest time for Florida roses. Even though June is considered the “rainy season,” in recent years it has not provided sufficient water for most plants. Water is key to getting through the hot summer months with healthy roses. Fertilizer quantities are reduced in the summer months. We try to maintain as much foliage as possible. Even deadheading is often reduced to just the bloom, leaving more leaves on the bush. Potted roses are especially susceptible to damage from the heat. They should be watered every day in the AM and may need a second watering later in the day during the hottest weather.

Leaves may yellow in the Summer. This can be caused by nutrient deficiency, old age, blackspot, or spider mite presence. Try to determine what specifically is wrong with the foliage before treating.

This month we begin to look forward to our wonderful Fall months. These bring for many rose growers the most beautiful blooms of the year.

It is recommended that Fall Pruning be done in mid to late August. This pruning is not as heavy as in Spring, but is done to renew the bush and remove any dead, damaged or spindly growth that has developed over the past few months.

This is the time to start planning your bloom cycle for the Fall Rose Shows so that you can have blooms for various events. A good rule is to allow 45 days from pruning to expect a flush of Fall blooms. Deadheading is done as in the Spring to produce a continual flow of roses over the next several months.

Fertilizers are generally increased starting in August to provide optimum nutrients to the bushes. Speak to a Consulting Rosarian if you have concerns about the health and vigor of your roses.

Another hot month brings concern over leaf loss. We do our best to maintain foliage, but with fungal diseases and damage from insect pests, it can be very challenging. Now is the time to remember how wonderfully resilient roses are. They can suffer from summer heat and will rebound to their best glory in just a couple of months.

The goal is to keep the bushes as healthy as possible, avoid heat stress, water generously, remove damaged leaves and watch for insect pests.

This month we must pay special attention to Hurricane Season. If your roses are grafted on fortuniana rootstock, it is recommended that you remove their stake in the event of very high winds. This will allow them to “bend” over and not break off at the bud union.

In heavy but less forceful winds, it is wise to make sure that all stakes and ties are secure.

This month we are in full swing to enjoy the cooler months ahead and prepare our roses for some of their most productive months. It is also a wonderful time for rosarians. The heat and humidity are far less. Both the roses and their caretakers are under less stress than in previous months.

Watch for specific pests as we see cooler nights but warm days. They include powdery mildew, botrytis, and most of the insects we have seen throughout the rest of the year.

Water has been key during the hot months, but don’t assume that the soil is sufficiently damp just because it is cooler outside. The roots of our rose bushes continue to grow, requiring water and nutrients to provide the beautiful blooms we desire. With the advent of cooler temperatures, you can start to plan fall planting.

September is also a good time to add an application of organic materials.

This month is typically dry in Central Florida. Meanwhile, our roses are preparing their loveliest blooms for the next few months. Remember that water is the best fertilizer, and you should provide large amounts to your roses.

Continue a balanced fertilizer program. This should include magnesium sulfate, organic materials, and perhaps addition of water soluble fertilizers, such as a 20-20-20. Most rosarians are applying 1 cup per month of a granular fertilizer such as 12-6-10.

To keep our roses looking their best during the cooler months, it is wise to maintain a regular spray program for fungal diseases. Insects are still with us and need to be dealt with either by flushing away with water or using insecticides if necessary. Continue to deadhead and finger prune to achieve and maintain best bloom production. Every day you can, take time to enjoy the roses that you have worked so hard to produce!

November in Central Florida brings with it bigger blooms, deeper colors and one of the best months of the year. Continue to deadhead and remove unwanted growth. However, begin thinking about leaving as much foliage as you can in preparation for the coming winter. Leaves feed the bushes and are a primary indicator of health.

Windy weather is ahead, and wind will dry out a rose quicker than heat. Do not neglect water. Even though it is somewhat cooler, our roses still require plenty of water to perform at their best.

Monthly fertilizers are continued into the winter months by some rosarians. However, quantities are reduced to about half of the amounts previously applied. Florida roses do not really enter dormancy, but their growth and demands are greatly reduced. We still need to monitor rose pests. It is recommended that fungal spray routines be continued.

This is a good month to start preparing for our next rose year. Evaluate your garden and determine what changes you want to make. Spend some time browsing through rose catalogs or on the internet. Make sure that the roses you select are suitable for the Central Florida area.

Feel the soil around your roses. If it is dry, apply water. Dry, cool temperatures are unkind to our skin as well as the roots of our rose bushes.

Learn the term “shovel prune!” If you have given proper time and care to a bush, and it brings you more pain than pleasure.....execute this term!

This is a good month to transplant bushes, divide miniatures, evaluate watering systems, remove dead or damaged canes and look forward to the new year.

Photos by Carol Green.

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