Ideally, roses need five to six gallons of water per week. Make sure your roses have good drainage and don’t sit in standing water. If you plant in terra cotta pots with a single drainage hole, make sure that roots don’t find their way through the hole and gradually expand to the point where the …
The first blast of Winter I in this great El Nino year seems to be over. The lull in rain storms from the end of January through most of February reinforces something my son was told in college: our seasons will be splitting into two. We will have two winters and two summers. This was …
On Tuesday, February 11, the Marin Rose Society was delighted to welcome Tom Bressan, founder and former owner of The Urban Farmer stores, to discuss and demonstrate the latest (and easiest) technologies in garden irrigation. Members and guests learned so much from a gentleman who is more than likely THE most knowledgeable authority on the …
Roses dotted with rust or beaded with aphids, whiteflies on geraniums, fruit trees blackened by fireblight or twisted and deformed by peach leaf curl – all are examples of nasty pests that, with a little preventive action now, can be reduced or eliminated from the upcoming spring garden. That bit of prevention comes in the …
February is one of my favorite months in the garden. It is a time to look back and think about last year’s challenges and look forward to working towards a healthy, water wise, environmentally friendly garden. Most rose gardeners are working hard to finish up their pruning to meet the suggested rule of thumb deadline …
Immediately after bringing your new bare root rose home, soak it in water for a minimum of 1 to 6 hours. It is safe to leave them in water for up to 6 days. This is to rehydrate your rose and to help it come back to life in your garden. A five-gallon bucket works …
Recently, a team of Marin Rose Society members were busy pruning roses in one of our client’s rose garden as part of our annual fundraising project. Some of the team members were gathering cuttings to try their hand at rose propagation. As they were selecting cuttings, most confessed they were not having great success in …
December’s rains ended Marin’s drought and gave our gardens the deep water soaking our roses and other thirsty plants needed. Now we must prepare our roses for what I hope will be a beautiful and bountiful blooming season. Winter in the garden is the time to get to the “bare bones,” the structure and form …
Thinking about adding some new roses to your garden? Bareroot season is the BEST time to do so – more varieties are available, and prices are generally lower. Check out Tips for Choosing the Best Garden Roses before you start shopping; it’s a good idea to do a little homework and identify varieties that will …
Although roses are still blooming in our Mediterranean climate, there is a definite nip to the air, as the days shorten, and nights are cooler and moister. While it is a time to lessen one’s chores in the garden, there are a few things you can do now to help your roses get through the …