How to Care for Roses

Roses are a few of the most beautiful and loved flowers on this earth to grace our gardens and enhance our lives. However roses have had a reputation for being a hard to care for plant. Many rose bush owners find this is true, others have taken the necessary steps to learn the proper care that is needed for their rose gardens and bushes.

To keep the plant looking its best roses do require some regular attention, but after learning the proper methods in the care of roses, it is easy for a plant to look its best. The most basic necessity for a plant is it’s need of water. All plants need water, some need more and some need less, and roses are no different. Roses bloom and look their best if well watered but not over watered.


Roses need about one inch of water a week and the roots of the rose are what really need consideration in this step. The roots of the rose bush go deep into the ground, and because of this deep root system they are capable of extracting water from the deeper soil; even when the surface looks and feels dry. This helps roses to withstand dry spells.

Getting water to the roots of the roses bush encourages them to grow deep. Many times a plant owner will only give the roses frequent but light waterings. This is not good as the roots of the rose plant will only grow a shallow root system within the soil. This results in the rose plant not being able to withstand the drying of the upper layer of soil in a dry spell.

Proper rose care also means feeding, this is in the form of fertilizing. Most types of roses are capable of going years without feeding if they are planted in good rich soil. The roses feed on the nutrients that are produced by organisms that live in the rich fertile soil. Sometimes over using a man-made fertilizer you can smother these beneficial organisms. That and your plants can become dependent on the man-made fertilizers forcing you to be constantly feeding them.

Instead, we want to apply a time-release type of fertilizer to the soil when the plant is coming out of its winter dormant period in the early spring. We also want to apply a small amount of fertilizer just after the blooms have fallen or gone away as the plant is storing up energy for next season. But do not fertilize after midsummer.

Roses do pretty well with both inorganic and organic fertilizers, but only organic fertilizers are digested by the helpful organisms, bacteria and fungus found in good rich soil. This is good as the result will be your soil becoming permanently more fertile. The best combination for inorganic fertilizer is 5-10-5 or 4-8-4, and those numbers are usually listed on the fertilizers container.

Pruning is very important in the care of roses. It is usually carried out in the spring, after the plants winter dormancy period. It is at this stage pruning is done to remove the dead, diseased or broken wood from the plant. This helps to give the plant space within the branches so air can move freely throughout thus keeping it healthy.

Pruning is also done for shaping of the rose plant or bush, other than that, the next stage of pruning occurs after the plant has bloomed. Pruning the actual flowers themselves helps encourage growth and if the plant is new, by removing the flower buds it helps to establish the new plant and root system.

Caring for roses does take some time and a degree of commitment, and many people use this time for meditation or self reflection. The care of roses takes patience, skill, and knowledge, and there is nothing better to show for your hard work than a beautiful Rose Garden for all to see. The satisfaction of being able to display and show off your beautiful roses in your front yard is priceless. A reward time and again when people compliment you on your roses.

(source : rosebushcaretips)