Administration:
Consulting Rosarians
History of MRS
Officers
Bronze Medal Awards
Membership:
Join Us!
Newsletter sample
Upcoming Events:
Programs
Directions to MAGC
Rose Culture:
Diseases
Fertilizing
Garden Good/Bad Guys
Great Roses
Planting
Pruning
Watering
Annual Rose Care
Monthly Rose Care
Rose of the Month
Rose Purchasing:
Buying Roses
Mail Order Sources
Rose Shows:
Latest Show Results
Previous Rose Shows
MRS Trophies
Misc:
Poet's Corner
Rose Books
Join the ARS
What's New?
Rosey Links
Site Map
ROSE CARE FOR JULY AND AUGUST
by Barbara Picarelli, Master Rosarian
by Barbara Picarelli, Master Rosarian
I don’t know about the rest of you but I can do without this super hot weather. My poor roses are burned, despite keeping them well watered. Remember that those in pots will lose more H2O than those in the ground. I water VERY early in the morning and in this hot weather do not spray the leaves, as the sun will just fry them with water on them.
Nanette’s article on Rose Curculio was timely as my garden was infested with them. An empty coffee can with lid works well to fill ˝ full of soapy water and knock those suckers into it. The lid is good for afterwards to cover up the unsightly mess. I went out early in the AM and usually got a dozen or more every day. And now we have those pesky devils, the “cucumber beetle”, Dia-brotica undecimpunctata howardi, that little green dotted critter that looks like a green version of a lady bug and seems to be everywhere. The beetles feed on newly emerged stems and especially love the blooms on roses, chewing holes in mine. The adults lay eggs in the soil near seedlings. Primarily a pest to curcubits, they can also do significant damage to roses and other plants. The same technique works well for getting rid of those you see, use soapy water and knock them into it. However these critters can fly, so get above them and knock them down into the can.
If the weather is cool enough in July (or early August), the last fertilizer for the year can be applied. Applying fertilizer when too warm causes rapid growth of a plant; the new growth is very tender and will burn super fast. Water well before any application of fertilizer, be it foliar or compost tea poured onto the soil, and also water afterward. (Gail Trimble’s fabulous fertilizer recipe is on the Marin Rose Website). But use foliar fertilizing carefully in this hot weather. Some fertilizers are composed of a lot of salts and when applied to leaves in the heat will make “potato chips” of them, in other words fried and crisp! I’ve found NOT to use fish emulsion in my garden, the raccoons love it and will dig up any and everything with that odor. The odorless fish emulsion does not alter their desire to root it out, they smell it anyway. I have had some success with beneficial nematodes (ordered from Gardens Alive) and sprayed onto the soil. They are microscopic organisms that affect the grubs in the soil and those are what the raccoons are digging for. I admit it’s difficult to cover the entire garden with them, but surprisingly they have been pretty effective on the areas I’ve managed to cover with spray. They come in a very small package, are dumped into a hose end sprayer with water and sprayed onto the soil. I just ordered another 10 million, and NO I am not counting to see if they sent the right amount. Enjoy the rest of the summer and may your roses grow and bloom!
A YEAR OF ROSE CARE:
January
Return to the Main Page
gail@marinrose.org
All Rights Reserved
Last Modified: 7/15/08