The care of roses is not an easy thing to master. Roses have not been royally dubbed the “queen of all roses” for nothing. They are beautifully splendid but are often tricky to grow. Watering is one of the most important aspects of rose garden care, and while it is commonly known that all plants should be provided with enough water, there are special considerations for roses. For instance, beginning gardeners ask, “When? How? And how much?” We try to provide you the answers to your questions in this article.

When to Water the Plants
Don’t listen to others when they say that the best time to water the roses is at night, when there is no heat radiating from the sun and there is less chance for fungi and infections to develop. On the contrary, watering your roses at night will encourage fungal infections and diseases because the leaves and stems are not given any chance to dry up in the cooler temperatures of the night. Instead, you should water your roses in the early morning so that the plants have not yet been exposed to the heat of the midday sun and the foliage is given time to dry up before the night falls.

How to Water the Plants
There are different watering methods for rose garden care. Before you choose which of these methods is best for your roses, you should know that quantity and quality are equally important when it comes to roses. Experienced gardeners will always tell you that watering the roses through the roots instead of from above is the best way to go. This makes the roots healthy and strong and resistant to drying up. Drip irrigation systems, of which there are two types, are good for deep watering. The first type of drip irrigation is an emitter system, which is made of small tubes that release water into the soil in soft streams. The other type is a soaker hose, which has tiny holes poked all throughout the tube. However, it is also good that you water your rose plants from above every once in a while to clean the leaves of dust and dirt and knock out aphids. A sprinkler timer which can be turned on during the early hours of the morning is an investment as good as a drip irrigation system.

How Much Water is Needed
There are many factors that determine how much water you should provide your rose plants. If you have been busy doing your research, you should have learned by now that roses should receive about an inch of water every week. To measure this, you should have a rain gauge, an expensive device that will help you know if your roses are receiving enough water. But there are budget limitations and not all gardeners can afford a rain gauge. Since the “one inch per week” rule of thumb is so difficult to concretize, the Santa Clarita Valley Rose Society has developed a more specific matrix for watering your roses. Take note, though, that this matrix is only appropriate for places where the wind is slow and the weather is dry.

- 50 degrees F – Water every five days.
- 60 degrees F – Water every four days.
- 70 degrees F – Water every three days.
- 80 degrees F – Water every two days.
- 90 degrees F and above – Water everyday.

You should also take into consideration the type of soil that you have in your garden. Although the ideal for your roses is an equal mixture of clay and sandy soils, the ideal rarely actually happens. And so, in less-than-ideal situations, the best thing you can do is to familiarize yourself with the type of soil you have and work with it. Soil composed of more clay than sand can hold more water for a longer period of time, while sandy soils drain more easily. Therefore, water less often if you have clay in your garden, and more if you have sand. Mulch can also help retain more moisture so you might like to apply some organic mulch if you have sandy soil.

And so, as we have promised, we have presented above the answers to three of your most urgent questions about rose watering. We hope we were able to explain the answers clearly so that you have no more doubts when it comes to watering your roses. Happy gardening!

Catherine Martin comes from a long line of passionate rose lovers, growers and enthusiasts. As an author, she is committed to demystifying the common rose, so that all who wish to can grow them easily. For more great information on watering your roses, visit http://www.rosegardeningexpert.com.

In the Deep South, roses during May are now perhaps in full bloom; in the Louisville area large buds are about to burst forth in a blaze of glory; in the extreme north new growth is very small and tender; but wherever you live nature is doing her best.

Many things help produce blue ribbon winners, but three things are absolutely necessary if rose plants are to grow even halfway satisfactorily and continue blooming after the spring or early summer crop.

Let’s have a look. Without sufficient water no plant part functions properly; fertilizers and nutrients cannot be taken up and digested; living cells especially in the foliage cannot divide and increase but decrease in size and amount, the process of manufacturing food via the green matter in the cells and sunlight is limited. In fact if the soil becomes too dry, the moisture already in the plant may be drawn back into the soil and in due time the plant will wilt and die.

Soil is seldom very dry in the spring or early summer, just another proof that nature is going to produce seed if possible. Sometimes water must be furnished to promote maximum growth. How much depends on how the rose beds are mulched (you do, don’t you?) and the soil type. If mulched heavily (two inches for most materials) the soil will not dry out so quickly. A fine earth mulch is achieved by scratching the surface one-half to one inch deep as soon as the soil is workable after each rain or watering. I do not believe it as satisfactory in our area (Texas) as a good fibrous or refractory material. Refractory or solid materials are expanded by heat to form light, porous particles such as perlite, expanded aluminum silicate, vermiculite, expanded mica ore, or expanded shale. These are inert, add no humus but are long lasting because they do not decay. They should be raked up and removed before mounding with soil for winter protection but may be reused next year.

Plants must have plenty of water, yet the soil must drain well and not be waterlogged. You can easily determine if water is needed by taking a small trowel, remove a small amount of soil midway between two bushes to a depth of at least six inches-if it sticks together without exerting much pressure water is not needed. If the soil must be squeezed hard to stick together water is needed. If it crumbles after considerable pressure it has become too dry and some feeder roots have already dried up. Should soil ever become this dry at least two inches of water will be needed (run hose for two hours in one spot). Do not let it get that dry. lf you dislike digging watch the weather report – if rainfall of less than one inch has fallen in a seven day period use the hose. Better yet if there is a rainfall of less than an inch use the sprinklers to add the difference. A light watering on dry soil in hot summer is much worse than no watering. My beds usually have at least two inches of mulch and will take ten days to dry out but when water is applied there is enough to go ALL the way to the deepest roots. Only overhead sprinkling system soaks all surrounding areas thus preventing movement of moisture from the rose beds to drier areas.

Spraying for insects and fungus should not be done on a haphazard basis, a regular schedule must be maintained for good control. The thrips are now moving from the south, they will follow the spring bloom on north and much damage will be done every day. One spraying per week will help but not control (at least I have found nothing that will). You may kill all in your garden today but many more will fly in by tomorrow, and as new blooms open there will be unprotected petals for their feeding.

The bloom such as rose blooms is the primary source of infestation, that is all you need to concentrate on. Hold the spray high, let it fall right on the tips of the buds and into the open bloom. This does not take long and if done two or three times a week during the blooming period you will have good flowers. After the first big bloom crop the thrip problem is lessened and frequent spraying will not be needed. At least once each week check for insects, under as well as on the upper surface of the foliage (I usually do this when removing old blooms). There are plenty of good control materials on the market. lf the material you use is not doing the job, you better check your sprayer and the one doing the spraying.

Those little rabbits are mighty cute right now. hopping and playing in the moonlight but they may be the parents of several more before winter. How are they to know those plants are not growing for them to chew up when winter snow comes? Eliminate them right now while young and dumb. Cruel? Perhaps, but it will keep your blood pressure down next January.

We have discussed pinching buds off one or two of the new basal breaks to buildup the plant. It does pay dividends later on. As soon as the bud is large enough to definitely see which is the top set with five leaflets pinch off the bud just above this five leaflet. Let the weaker stems bloom, they won’t make much in hot weather but those pinched will.

Today is the perfect time to find out more about landscaping with grasses. Learn from our years of experience, visit plant-care.com.

Would you like to have a bountiful rose garden without having to buy lots of roses from your local nursery? Would you like to learn how to start growing roses from cuttings that come from your already growing rose plants? If you answered yes to both of those questions then you’re reading the right article. Growing rose plants from cuttings is not difficult and could save you lots of money.

The best time to take a cutting is in the spring or fall. When taking a cutting from your rose bush or plant, make sure to take it from a healthy and well established rose. You don’t want to start growing roses from cuttings with a lower rate of survival.

Taking your cutting

When growing roses from cuttings, one thing you will need is a pair of really sharp cutting sheers or a sharp blade. Personally I like using a blade. Making sure they are sharp before cutting the clone will ensure that the stem does not get squeezed together. By damaging the stem while cutting could result in not having a very healthy clone. The damaged stem could possibly not allow the clone to properly intake the nutrients when planted.

Once you picked the rose plant you want to propagate from, count about 2 buds down and cut the stem on a 45 degree angle above the 3rd bud. Once cut, clip the bottom leaves and dip the cut end into a rooting compound. The rooting compound can be a powdered product or can be a jelly compound, both working the same. The rooting compound is an optional product that I like to use, because I have had excellent results with them. Since keeping a cutting out in the open air may cause an air bubble in the stem, take a couple cuttings and place them in water right after the cut. Once done with the cutting you can go back and stick the stems of the clones in the rooting compound before placing into the soil.

Properly planting you cutting

You have 2 options when growing roses from cuttings. You could either plant directly into the soil where you want the cutting planted, or you can plant your rose cutting in a pot and transplant it to your garden once the roots have been established. Either way is just fine. Before placing the clone into the soil it is best to make a hole in the soil with a sharpened pencil. By doing this, you are further insuring that the stem end will not get damaged when placing into the soil.

Once the cutting is placed into the soil, close the hole that surrounds the stem being careful not to compromise the stem. Now that your clone has been planted, go ahead and water the rose cutting. Plants love humidity when rooting, so what I like to do is cut the bottom out of a 2 liter bottle and place it over the rose to give it a green house effect. When watering, just water around the outside of the 2 liter (you may also use a glass jar). Take the 2 liter off when you start to see growth.

After about a week, when watering, I like to add a bit of B1 vitamins to the water. B1 vitamins are used to help with root growth. This is just something extra I like to do. By not adding B1, by no means mean that your rose plant will not root. Your rose plant will be just fine without it.

Growing roses from cuttings will easily multiply your rose plant count without having to spend any additional money than what you have paid for your original rose bush or plant. This is an easy procedure that anyone can perfect. I encourage all novice and experienced rose gardeners to continue reading and learning all that you can in order to have a beautiful and flourishing rose garden.

Landy Centeno is a rose gardening enthusiast. For more information on transplanting roses, please visit http://www.roselanding.com