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ROSE CARE FOR MAY
by Frank Treadway, Consulting Rosarian
by Frank Treadway, Consulting Rosarian
We had plenty of April showers to bring us loads of May flowers. Gardening is a lesson in patience. I must say that I am a little impatient to have all these new buds begin to open. We need to have them for the Spring Rose Show on May 7th at Northgate! I do hope all of you will enter this show and bring in your roses for all to see. We will help you put them in the show. It is our big annual event and the 37th Spring Rose Show our Marin Rose Society has hosted.
Looking at our garden we see plants pushing out glossy new leaves, lots of buds, and even a few blooms. It is so easy to get caught up in this renewal of growth and beauty that we forget that it time to also pay close attention to diseases and pests that attack new tender growth. We have had trouble with rust. This caused us to remove gently all the affected leaves and dispose of them carefully. Aphids love new buds and leaves. Knock them off with a strong spray of water and get those lady bugs working for you and they will love this fabulous meal.
We live with oak trees and the many tiny green caterpillars that fall down on our bushes. These caterpillars are very small and hard to spot on rose leaves. They eat leaves and roses. Keep a daily watch on the garden to stop pests early and use IPM solutions. We use no sprays and only organic methods to cultivate our roses.
Right now we find soldier beetles and lady bug larvae in abundance. These are beneficial insects and they are great for balancing out the pests. You can purchase lady bird bugs at the local nursery to release on a cool moist evening. Make sure the area is well watered and they will stay around feeding on aphids.
It is always amazing to find one rose with a big disease problem such as rust on ‘Abraham Darby’, and right next to it will be disease free roses ‘Julia Child’ and ‘Eureka’. By selecting disease resistant varieties you will reduce the spread of a number of nasty things that can harm your roses. If a rose continues to show significant disease for several years, then we remove it and try out a new variety.
We try to increase air circulation on roses by removing inside growth. This is a good month to weed and then mulch your garden. Suckers are coming up and need to be removed. Weeds and suckers take up energy and nutrients that should go to the primary canes to build good leaves and blooms.
We send you fragrant, colorful wishes for a great season. Remember to share your roses with all at our Spring Show!
A YEAR OF ROSE CARE:
January
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Last Modified: 4/20/11