Contemporary Gardens

June is a perfect time to enjoy and care for your rose bushes.  Here are a few tips to keep your roses looking healthy and beautiful all summer long:  

Prune Climbing Roses
After your climbing roses finish flowering, prune canes back to 4 to 5 feet long. This is also the time to train new growth by additional supports and wiring, giving you more flowers when they bloom again in the fall.

Look for Disease It’s important to be on the lookout for a powdery mildew substance and black spots.  If you see these symptoms on your rose bushes, you can treat infected plants with a fungicide. To help control these diseases, make sure you water roses early in the day and direct the water to the soil and not over the leaves. Last, don’t compost infected leaves; throw them in the trash to prevent the disease from spreading.

Fertilize You can fertilize roses until late August through several easy methods. One of the most common is to use liquid fertilizer – simply mix a powder or liquid form with water and apply every two weeks. You can also select a slow-release fertilizer by inserting one of these products into soil every 6 weeks.  Last, add compost monthly, this will improve the soil while fertilizing your roses.  Enjoy your roses and for more on rose fungicides and how to best treat the issue, go here: Fungicides Made Simple