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Now that your rose bushes have been pruned, the pH of the soil tested
and adjusted, the mid-winter organic supplements added, they have been
fertilized, re-mulched and the preventative spray program begun, there
are just three things left to do — water, water, water! It cannot be overstated,
watering your roses adequately is the most important thing you can do if
you want to grow good quality roses! Your bushes require a minimum of two
inches of water per week; resolve right now to keep ’em growing well by
providing them with the single most important thing you can give them.
To prevent fungus infections, such as blackspot and powdery
mildew, you should be spraying your bushes regularly. What has worked well
for me in the past has been a combination of Funginex plus Dithane M-45,
both used at the rate of one tablespoon per gallon and sprayed every 7
days. If for whatever reason you can’t spray every 7 days, spray as soon
as possible — but don’t let it go beyond 10 days. If you want to do less
spraying, you might try using Banner Maxx at the rate of ½ teaspoon
per gallon. You can use this product every two weeks and save yourself
much time. You can even use the two systems interchangeably every other
month. Regardless of what fungicide you use, be sure your bushes are thoroughly
watered the day before you spray.
If powdery mildew does make an appearance, I would recommend
that you water your roses overhead, early in the day, at least a couple
of times a week. If this does not rectify the situation, then get some
Rubigan and mix it in with your regular spray. Use it at the rate of ½
teaspoon per gallon but no more often then every two weeks. Unlike blackspot
which can be around all year, powdery mildew is a disease that occurs
when the nights are cool and the days are warm, so it won’t be long before
we’re rid of it.
What happens if it rains after you have sprayed your roses?
If the spray has not dried on the bushes, then rain will cause the spray
to be washed off and it should be re-applied as soon as possible. However,
if the spray has dried thoroughly, you need not re-apply it until its scheduled
time.
If we’ve had a mild winter, we should anticipate having
a larger than usual population of insects that wreak havoc on our roses
— primarily, aphids and thrips. Both of these critters can be controlled
with the judicious use of an insecticide such as Orthene or Cygon. Although
the aphids are readily controlled with just one or two sprayings, the thrips
have to be attacked even before you see the signs of their presence. This
can be done by spraying only the buds, just before they began to open,
using a hand-held spray bottle and repeating it every other day. Always
avoid spraying insecticides on the whole bush since that tends to destroy
not only the bad insects, but the good ones also. In my yard, I use 75%
Orthene Powder at the rate of ¼ to ½ teaspoon per quart of
water – the weaker strength for aphids and the stronger one for thrips.
In addition to the insects, you can look forward to the usual
spider mite problem this summer; but that won’t happen until later on,
around May. In the past I sprayed my bushes prophylactically with Vendex
every three weeks, starting around the first of May. It kept the spider
mite population to a minimum but unfortunately, Vendex has been taken off
the market. If you have an outbreak of spider mites, using a water-wand
twice a week will help keep them off. If that doesn’t work, the miticide
of choice for these critters is Avid; it is expensive but well worth the
investment to keep your bushes free of the tiny pests.
Once the bushes are budding out, it’s a good idea to do some
judicious thumb pruning. With your thumb or fingers, rub off those buds
which are poorly located or undesirable, such as those growing towards
the center of the plant or on a collision course with a neighboring cane.
Where two or three push out from a single node, rub off all but the strongest.
It’s better to have three or four strong stems with good blooms than a
dozen stems with poor blooms. Incidentally, canes that are very close to
each other can be separated effectively by separating them with a short
length bamboo or rose cane inserted between the canes and held in place
by existing thorns.
Rose bushes should be heavily mulched in Florida. My preferred
mulch material is oak leaves with a layer of pine needles over them to
keep them from blowing away. Horse bedding also is a very satisfactory
mulch; just be sure that you obtain it from stabled horses. Free-range
horses eat many weeds, the seeds of which remain in the manure until it’s
applied around your roses. Then they began to germinate and you fight weeds
all year long. You can also use commercial mulches, such as cypress or
pine bark. It really doesn’t matter what you use so long as you keep about
3 or 4 inches around your roses. This conserves moisture, keeps the soil
cool, and prevents weeds in the ground from germinating.
I normally fertilize my mature bushes with about half cup
of Gro-Mor Rose Fertilizer (12-6-8) around the first of the month and again
around the middle of the month, always watering well the day before applying
the fertilizer and again after applying it. Because potassium is readily
leached from our porous Florida soil, I also add about ½ cup of
Sul-Po-Mag around each bush every other month; this gives stronger stems,
greener leaves and bigger blooms. As the rose shows come up, I will also
give the bushes one gallon of a mixture of Soluble Bloom Buster (12-55-6),
Atlas Fish Emulsion and Sprint, all at the rate of one tablespoon per gallon,
about 3 weeks before the shows. Again, water well the day before and immediately
following the application.
As the months progress and the temperature rises, we have
to be ever aware of the water needs of our roses. It goes without saying
that all of the fertilizer you apply will not do much good unless there
is plenty of water to carry it into the plants. You must see to it that
they get at least two inches of water per week; double this amount would
be even better. If you are planning on exhibiting, I would recommend that
you water every day beginning about a week before show day to provide the
most substance to the stems and petals of your roses.
As your bushes begin to flower, be sure to remove spent blooms
as soon as possible. This will encourage your bushes to produce more roses.
Additionally, if you leave the dead blooms on the bushes, it makes for
an open invitation to other fungi and insects to create a home there, which
in turn will create more problems for you. The best thing to do with your
roses is to cut them and bring them into your home to enjoy take them to
your friends and neighbors — they’ll love ’em! |
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