Thoughts to Grow By

By:  Eric C. Yount

Growing great roses is easy.  Mother nature has already given the plant the genetics to be outstanding.  Your job is not to mess that up.  They call it death by rosarian.
 

If you accept the fact that the rose can only be as good as its genetic potential, then you can relax and have fun.  No amount of fertilizer or chemicals can make a rose bush or bloom better that its genetics.  The beauty is already in there so get out of the way and let them grow.

Roses need sun, soil, spray, food and water.  A limitation of any of these five will produce less than perfect results.

A minimum of six hours of direct sun is required.  Eight is a lot better.

Good rose soil in Central Florida contains two parts sand to one part organic material.  That means about one third organic material by volume or 5% to 7% by weight.  That’s because sand weighs much more than organic material.

Yes it is easy to have too much organic material.  That causes soggy soil resulting in lack of oxygen to the roots.  This is a common problem for over enthusiastic rose growers.  Soggy roses are sick roses.

Leaves are the reason we spray.  Yes we spray to prevent or kill a specific fungus but the ultimate goal is lots of nice green leaves.  Damaged leaves are less than productive or fall off the plant limiting growth.  Chlorophyll is the key to powering your roses.  If you have power leaves you will have power roses.  Mother Natures law, not mine.

A good spray program is like brushing your teeth.  Preventing disease is the key, once you have an established fungus (or cavity) it is a much more painful experience to get rid of it. 

Fertilization is the most controversial topic of all.  Fertilizer sales in our country are in the many billions of dollars.  That is big business!  All those companies promising to make your plants bigger, greener, healthier.

Having tried almost all types of fertilizers at least ten times along my rose journey (Yes I am a little hard headed!), I have come to the following conclusions.  Hopefully my pain will be your gain.

Generally, organic fertilizers are superior to chemical. They last longer, help build your soil and do not spike the plant as severely as highly refined chemical fertilizers.

I prefer to think of fertilizers as minerals.  It is really minerals that we are trying to get to the plant.  It is important to remember that your soil and your soils nutrients are not the same.  Rain or irrigation causes nutrients to leech out of your soil but the soil remains.  Highly organic soil may or MAY NOT be highly nutritious soil.

Mushroom compost is the backbone of my organic feed program.  It is the discarded waste product of the mushroom farming industry.  It is rich in manures and other minerals.  I use two to four gallons per bush depending on the size of the plant, twice a year. 

Mushroom compost is available in bulk at some garden centers, in our area it sells for about $18 a cubic yard.  A cubic yard is 200 gallons.

If you choose to use a liquid feeding program my choice would be Peters 10-30-20 at one tablespoon per gallon or less.  It has slightly less nitrogen than most liquid feeds and that is good for the plant.

Nitrogen is like Tequila.  It makes a great Margarita but you won’t want to drink it straight.  Roses like steady, low power nitrogen.  Not highly concentrated shots.  It gives them a hangover.  Low power nitrogen comes from Milorganite, a couple of cups per bush.  Available everywhere.

Having done umpteen million soil tests over the years there are a couple a valuable lessons I should pass on.  Potassium, Calcium and Sulfur are usually in short supply.  Particularly Potassium has a hard time sticking in our soils.  The good news is we have an easy solution. 

Sulfate of Potash Magnesia or So-Po-Mag as we call it is an excellent fix for Potassium depleted soils.  It also contains sulfur and magnesium, which is a bonus.  Gypsum contains both sulfur and calcium.  I put this stuff in my fertilizer spreader and feed it to the whole bed.  For you a cup per bush every 45 days would be fine.

So-Po-Mag and Gypsum are available from some Agricultural Fertilizer Suppliers. Ask for Granular SPM and Pelletized Gypsum, less than $10 per bag.  Getting it is harder than using it.

Want dark green leaves?  Try this combo per bush, ½ cup of Epsom Salt (Magnesium Sulfate), one tablespoon chelated iron and one tablespoon manganese sulfate.  It will make your leaves look like Augusta National.

Water, but not too much, is the key to getting these minerals to the roots of your roses.  Irrigation requirements change with the seasons and the weather.  In Central Florida we experience everything from droughts to massive hurricanes that swamp us.  Generally the tender young tips of your plants will wilt if your soil is to dry.  Use that as a guide and use common sense.

Temperature is the key to achieving perfection in your roses.  Roses love cooler temperatures.  When we get 50 to 60 degrees at night and 70 to 80 degrees during the day you will see magnificent things happen in your garden.  Many blooms will double or triple in size and the color will be much more intense.

This phenomenon is part of the genetic make up of the rose.  You cannot affect it, just count your blessings and enjoy the display.  Mother Natures law, not mine.

Pruning is probably the most misunderstood concept for roses grown in Central Florida.  Up north dropping temperatures in the Fall force the sugars built up in the rose over the summer down into the roots.  When spring comes these sugars are available to power the rose through its initial growth spurt without leaves.

Here our roses are not in dormancy, not even close.  So when you whack them down to the ground you severely set the bush back..  If it’s hot the bush will go into a funk and may never recover.  Time and time again I have learned this lesson.  Never cut more than ½ half off your roses in the spring and never more than 1/3 in the fall.  Do not remove the leaves ever.  Mother Natures law, not mine!

Try to keep in mind that roses are living things.  They respond to changes in the weather, too much food, being knocked down (pruned severely) and disease just like we do.  If you master the basics of growing good roses you will have that knowledge for life.  The beauty of the rose is already genetically in the plant, let them grow and you will be astounded at what they can do. 

From the March 2002 edition of Wind Chimes, the newsletter of the Central Florida Rose Society.

“Thoughts to Grow By” is a regularly occurring series of articles written by Eric Yount, the President of the Central Florida Rose Society and published in their newsletter “Wind Chimes.”