Rose Bush Care & Feeding Your Roses

Roses are surprisingly easy plants to grow and ones that will supply your home with beautiful vases full of colorfull blooms.  There is a full collection of roses to decide upon.  There are three main things to keep in mind when it comes to rose care.  First, is rose bush choice, second, is how much water and fertilizer, and finally, apprpriate pruning.  Purchasing a good book like the Ultimate Book of Roses is nice to have at your fingertips for quick referencing.  It has beautiful pictures on the different rose varieties and how to care for them.

It is vital that you choose the right rose variety.  Depending on where you live and how much sun your yard gets each day will determine which variety will survive easily.  Some types can be problematic due to their tendancy towards disease and fungus.  But there are several types that are generally quite hardy and need very little rose bush care.  Plant the rose bushes about 3 to 4 feet apart to allow enough room for them to flourish. They will require at least 5 hours of sunshine so plant them in an area you know will accommodate that need.

The appropriate amount of watering and feeding is a necessary ingredient for good rose bush care. We encourage watering early in the day, just at the roots.  If it is a newly planted rose bush it should be well soaked everyday for at least the first couple of weeks.  After that a good soaking once a week should be sufficient unless the weather is extremely hot and dry.  Enable to keep the ground around your roses wet and weed free surround the bush with some type of mulch.

Once Spring arrives feed and fertilize and then repeat once a month after that until Fall.  Find a good rose food at your local nursery with which to feed your roses. It is not recommended to feed or fertilize during the cold winter months.   

The biggest mistake most growers make in their effort to give good rose bush care is pruning.  You only need to trim them when it is necessary such as when there are dead flowers or branches.  Trim the dead flowers or flowers you want to put in a vase leavng two to three inches that include three nodes. Prune back your plants in January or February to promote maximum spring growth.

For more detailed information The Ultimate Book of Roses will definitely answer all your questions.