Basic Rose Care for the Ohio Valley (fancy roses):

[Click Here For A Printer-Friendly Version]

Buy Quality Plants. Potted plants from a good nursery are the best bet for a beginner rose gardener. Bare root roses are fine if the are mail ordered from rose specialty store.
www.edmundsroses.com is my favorite mail order.

Plant in VERY SUNNY location with highly amended soil.
Roses perform best with early morning full sunlight that lasts at the very least 6 hours. The soil needs to be 1/3 sand, 1/3 organic matter (pine bark & compost), 1/3 clay. Drainage is very important. A raised bed works best in our heavy clay. Bud unions should be planted just below the soil level plus 3” of mulch.

Roses are HEAVY FEEDERS. Slow release granular fertilizer works well in conjunction with regular watering with Monty’s Joy Juice. Weeks before a rose show, many exhibitors feed with MJJ everyday to produce the large winning blooms.

MULCH is very important. I think Pine Bark is best for roses because it does not mat down. It also works to lighten the texture of the soil as it breaks down. Pine bark 2-3 inches thick really helps to reduce the splashing of fungus from the soil. It also helps reduce the heat stress and water loss that leads to fungus.

A PREVENTIVE spray for fungus is a must in the humid Louisville climate. Your spray program must start as soon as leaves appear in the spring. You must spray following the directions exactly for the chemical you are using.
Protective clothing and eyewear are a must. Spraying for insects is optional. I don’t use insecticides, letting nature take its course. Beatles are controlled by knocking them off into a bucket of sudsy water. Spidermites are controlled with a strong spray of water on the underside of the leaves every three days.

Pruning plays a huge roll in controlling disease. Spring pruning all depends on your micro climate. I prune my roses (expect for climbers) hard each spring, usually to below the winter protection. This pruning needs to be done BEFORE they start to leaf out. Fresh new canes growing from the bud union (below the soil) will be the healthiest.
Mid summer pruning of blind shoots and crossed canes helps to improve the air flow.

Winter protection should be called spring protection. In this area of the country, more roses are lost (when planted with the bud union just below the soil) due to the spring freeze/thaw cycle more often than the cold of winter.
There are several ways to protect your roses. I prefer to use more pine bark mulch, mounded 4-5 inches deep around the base of each rose. I avoid tender climbers because they require too much work to protect. Dortman, Forth of July, and New Dawn are some of favorite climbers.

Mulching for Roses

[Click Here For A Printer-Friendly Version]

Why put down a layer of mulch?

1. Insulates the soil and roots.
2. Aids in water retention.
3. Makes weeding easier.
4. Improves the soil.
5. "Fixes" soil pH.
6. Aids in disease control.

Mulch helps to insulate the soil, reducing temperature extremes. During July and August, in the heat of the day the soil just below the mulch, where the tender feeder roots are, can be as much as 10 to 15 cooler. Come fall, an unexpected freeze will not kill the mulch protected feeder roots.

A layer of mulch helps to reduce evaporation of the soil's moisture. This is a big deal here in West TN from late May through mid-September when the temperature is scorching hot, rains are infrequent, and watering can take so much time.

Any weeds that sprout will have to reach all the way through the mulch to get a firm purchase on the soil, leaving plenty of time for you to notice the weed and oh so easily pluck it from the mulch before it's roots even get close to the soil.

As organic mulch decays nutrients are released into the soil. More importantly, organic mulch provides food for worms and microorganisms that release more nutrients and loosen the soil, helping to turn our clay and the mulch into rich black soil.

Organic mulch can "fix" the soil's pH so when fertilizers are added or depleted, the pH will not fluctuate as much.

Splashing water can spread many rose diseases such as blackspot and powdery mildew. When diseased leaves fall to the ground and are hit by falling water, there is a splash that can carry disease spores up onto the plant where the spores will germinate and infect. Mulch helps to absorb and disperse the impact of falling water, reducing the opportunity for the spores to re-infect the bush.

Industry Rose Care Informational Flier

[Click Here For A Printer-Friendly Version]

Click Here to learn how to become a member of the Louisville Rose Society!