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Tips for summer rose care

Bushes need water and a little attention to look their best

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED JUL 29, 2020

About Face, a very tall grandiflora, was a 2005 All-America Rose Selection. (Photos: Debbie Arrington)

The Daybreaker rose, a floribunda, loves the heat. The foliage

is shiny and clean, too.

Summer is rose season in Sacramento. Public displays such as the state Capitol’s World Peace Rose Garden and McKinley Park’s Memorial Rose Garden overflow with colorful blooms.

How do they keep looking so good when temperatures are soaring? Water and TLC.

* Roses are naturally drought tolerant, but they need consistent moisture to look their best. When they’re struggling to survive, it’s hard to bloom, too.

Deep water bushes once a week. If using drip irrigation, make sure each mature full-size bush receives at least 5 gallons a week.

* To retain that moisture and keep roots cooler, mulch bushes with organic mulch such as wood chips or leaves – not rocks or stones. (Rocks retain heat and dramatically raise soil temperature; those conditions cook rose roots.) Also mulch cuts down on weeds, competition for water and nutrients.

Betty Boop, a floribunda, tends to get redder in the heat.

* Trim off spent blooms; do this regularly. This cues the bush to keep blooming. When “deadheading,” trim the stem back to at least the first five-leaf leaflets, cutting about ¼ inch above the node (where the leaf attaches to the stem).

* For bouquets (or just a single rose), cut roses in the early morning; they’ll last longer in the vase. Re-cut the end of the stem under water to get rid of any air bubbles. That helps the stem suck up moisture in the vase and also extends the bloom’s vitality.

* Want long straight stems for cut roses? Trim farther down the stem when deadheading. Roses tend to regrow to the same height. Instead of clipping 4 inches below the spent bloom, trim down 12 inches (or more) to another five-leaf leaflet, preferably pointing away from the bush’s center. That helps air circulation, which cuts down on fungal disease, and makes for a straighter stem.

* Time your summer pruning for the greatest impact. Roses tend to bloom six to eight weeks after pruning. Bushes pruned now will have full blooms in late September. If you want all your roses to be in bloom at once (such as for a special occasion), give every bush a trim.

Also a floribunda rose, Mardi Gras enjoys a summer shower.

* Feed roses with fertilizer designed for roses; do this once a month during summer. Always water deeply before applying fertilizer. Roses need more phosphorus (the second number listed on the fertilizer package) than nitrogen (the first number).

* Fungal disease tends to disappear with high heat. But pick up fallen petals and foliage from the ground around your roses. Those discards may harbor fungal disease such as powdery mildew or rust; those fungi will get active again when cooler temperatures arrive in fall and can infect the bush’s healthy foliage.

* Dusty and dry conditions invite trouble – especially spider mites. If you’ve noticed little webs all over a bush, spider mites have likely moved in. In the early morning, give your roses a bath. Spray their foliage and rinse off accumulated dust along with any spider mites.

* Showering your roses also can blast aphids off stems and buds. Besides looking good, clean leaves work better for the plant; they’re more efficient in photosynthesis. Clean foliage leads to a stronger, healthier bush.

* Be on the lookout for pests. Aphids in particular seem to come out of nowhere. Watch out for ants; they like to carry aphids onto juicy plants. Thrips – very tiny critters, smaller than a pinpoint – gravitate to light-colored roses and create brown tunnels on petals. By being observant, you can stop pest problems before they become serious.

And while you’re looking for bugs, remember to stop and enjoy your roses, too. That’s why you grow them.

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GENERAL GARDENING

An article about gardening.

Keywords:

drought-tolerant plants gardening Sacramento roses summer rose care garden pests deadheading irrigation aphids perennials flowers

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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3

November still offers good weather for fall planting:

* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.

* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.

* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.

* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.

* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.

* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.

* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.

* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.

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