June Is Rose Month

June is the month set aside to honor everyone's favorite flower. Roses have a place in every yard and there are no secrets to have beautiful roses. Any gardener can grow roses by following a few simple rules.

Site selection comes first. Roses need at least six hours of sunshine each day. Failures usually result if gardeners pick sites that please them rather than the roses. So, avoid shady areas.

Drainage is second only to sunlight in importance. Roses need a soil that is well drained or the plants will have difficulty surviving winters. It may be necessary to build raised beds to provide adequate drainage in some areas.

Any good garden soil will produce roses. Heavy soils and sandy soils can both be improved by adding organic matter such as compost, peat moss, leaf mold or composted animal manure. Spade three to six inches of the organic matter into the top six to eight inches of soil.

Select plants with thick canes which show no signs of shriveling and choose only varieties recommended for this area. Dig the hole deep enough so the bud union is just at the soil level—twoinches below—when planting is completed.

Roses are available now in containers so they can be planted anytime. This makes selection more fun too, since you can see what the blooms will look like.

The important thing about cutting is knowing where to cut. Starting at the flower, examine the stem until you find a leaf with five leaflets on it. Above this five leaflet leaf you will see leaves with three leaflets and possibly some single leaves.

Fully developed leaves with five leaflets are most likely to accompany buds that are mature enough to develop into strong flower bearing stems.

By cutting just above a five leaflet leaf in the middle of the stem, sufficient foliage will be left on the plant but you will provide adequate stems for cut flowers too.

Floribundas which bear clusters of flowers are not usually used as cut flowers but faded blooms should be cut to stimulate continued flowering. As each bloom in a cluster fades, remove it. When the last blossom in the cluster is gone, cut the stem back to a point one-quarter of an inch above the first five leaflet leaf.

Taking too much stem when cutting can harm roses. A bloom cut with a long stem takes a large number of leaves and the reduction of foliage may slow growth delaying further blooms.

Source: Dave Robson

June 1999
June Is Rose Month | It's Berry Time | Manure-Is It Safe for Your Garden | More Food in Less Space | Bug Bites-How to Select Termite Control Services | Cybergarden Sites | Lawn Care Calendar | Hort Shorts | Hort Tips | Health Update: Playing Doctor | Locally Grown-Strawberry Fields | Summertime Food-Taking Meals Outdoors | From Table to Garden: Rhubarb | Health and Household Tips | Did You Knows

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