Rose care is easier than you think and with a little guidance, just about anyone can grow them successfully! Once you have your beautiful rose planted, you then need to be thinking… What’s next? In order to give your roses, the best possible chance of flourishing blooms you will need to follow the next 5 steps. 

Step 1 -Fertilise and often!

To get the absolute upmost from your roses, a rose bush needs to be fertilised regularly. Organic methods provide a slow, steady supply of nutrients. Monthly applications of compost, composted manure, and other organic and natural fertilisers work well. Organic amendments also help to encourage a well-balanced soil pH.

Slow-release fertilisers supply the right balance of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and other helpful nutrients. They also give rose bushes the nourishment they need for the best growth.

For the bare-root plants that have just gone into the soil: Apply slow-release compost and fertiliser to the soil at planting time. Once the bush has produced its first flower, apply full-strength fertilisers this will mean there is less chance of burning the new roots.

Step 2 – Water, every drop counts!

Throughout the growing season, the soil should be kept evenly moist. Depending on your soil type and the climate where you live will determined how much you need to water. Roses do best with the equivalent of 1” of rainfall per week during the growing season. Roses growing in sandy soils will need more watering than those in clay soils. Hot, dry, and windy conditions will also mean that watering needs to happen regularly.

How you water is as important as the frequency. To keep roses healthy, water directly onto the soil trying to avoid wetting the leaves.  

Step 3 – Prune your heart out!

It’s almost impossible to kill a rose bush by over pruning. But, if you follow a few simple rules, the results will look great and result in a healthy, happy plant. Many newer rose varieties don’t require a great deal of pruning, if any. A good pair of secateurs and gloves can make the job even easier.

The full prune should be done in March. For all roses, start by removing any dead or damaged stems. Some roses may require a hard pruning, cut back a third to a half of the previous year’s growth until you find healthy, white centres inside the stems.

Throughout the year, you can maintain the shape of your roses with a light prune.

Double flowering roses will require deadheading to encourage the second flowering throughout the season. Cut old blooms back to the first five-leaflet stem to promote flowering.

If your rose bushes varieties don’t develop rose hips, deadheading isn’t required. The flowers will drop off automatically and the plants will keep on producing more flowers.

Step 4 – Healthy and Happy

You can prevent rose disease by choosing disease-resistant varieties ( we have many ). These roses are bred and selected to resist the most commonly occurring issues found amongst roses, including powdery mildew and black spot.

Powdery mildew will often appear during the summer, especially when the days are hot and dry, and the nights are cool and wet. The signs of this are the leaves curling and twisting and white powder on the leaves. To help your roses to avoid this, water the soil around your roses in the morning. Pruning the leaves back on your rose bush to allow air to circulate through the plant.

Black spot is another common rose disease found in the UK as it prevented in a similar way to powdery mildew. Black spot is a waterborne fungal disease. It appears as circular black or dark brown spots on the leaves. It starts toward the bottom of a bush and works its way up, eventually causing the leaves to drop off.

There are a few insects that like to feed on rose bushes. Most of these pests can be controlled with neem oil or insecticidal soap. Companion planting with alliums can keep unwanted insects away but still attract the good ones!

Step 5 – Bringing the beauty indoors

As we all know, roses make beautiful cut flowers. Picked from your own garden is just fabulous! Here are our top tips for keeping your cut roses for as long as possible:

• Roses will last the longest when they are cut just after they have come into bud just as the petals are starting to open.
• Use hand pruners or garden scissors with sharp blades to cut the stem.
• Recut the stems before putting them into the vase. This helps with taking up water. Also, cut the stems at a 45-degree angle so they don’t stand on the bottom of the vase.
• Strip off any leaves that are below the water line to avoid rot and bacterial growth. Above the water line, keep the leaves on the stems, this will help to draw up water.
• Change the water frequently to remove any bacteria.

Rose care is easy when you know how. These simple steps will make sure your beautiful roses thrive. If you are looking to shop for more roses click here.