Maintenance tips

We’d like to take a moment to talk about some things you should do now that you have purchased your roses. Rose growing is not all that complicated but as with most gardening if you get them off to a good start, then do some simple chores during the season you will get lifelong enjoyment from your roses. Download here the instruction in detai: Lifelong Enjoyment of your roses.

 

 

Planting Instructions

 

 

Location, location, location is a phrase often used in Real Estate and the same applies to roses. Different kinds of roses can tolerate some varied conditions but the one thing all roses have in common is they like sun and good drainage. Roses need water just like any other plant but they do not like “wet feet”. That means sitting in damp ground. So when you think about locations think sun and good drainage.

 

 

Before you plant

 

Make sure you have the necessary materials to improve the soil. Natural compost like well rotted manure (the smell is gone) or compost you make yourself is perfect. If you are planting a new bed you can amend the entire area before planting. If you are planting in an existing bed, you can add the materials to the soil while you are planting the rose. Roses love a healthy soil environment and it plays a major role in keeping your roses strong.

 

If you are planting potted roses before planting sink them in a bucket, or tub, of water until you don’t see any more bubbles. Then leave them in there for up to two hours but no longer. We realize we said rose don’t like wet feet but before planting is the exception!

 

When planning your garden don’t set the plants too closely together. Roses grow to all kinds of different sizes and it’s important each type is properly spaced. They can certainly touch each other at the edges, and in fact that is a nice full look but if they are too crowded they will be unhappy.

 

 

While you are planting

 

Loosen up the soil using a spade, fork or your favorite tool. Dig a hole approx 40 cm wide and 40 cm deep. If you are ambitious it’s okay to loosen the soil deeper than 40 cm. This offers the roots more space to grow.

 

Mix the soil you dig from the hole with one-third good compost, rose soil or garden soil. If your native soil is poor then increase this to a mix of fifty-fifty. Whatever you use do not add any fertilizer at this point. That comes later because fertilizer added directly to the hole may burn the roots.

 

Examine the plant before you take it out of the pot. Does it have any dead canes? If so cut them off. Any canes that are intersecting and could rub each other when it gets windy? Take out the weaker of the two. If you are planting bareroot roses snip about 5cm off the bottom of each root. Most importantly make sure you are using a good sharp pair of secaturs.

 

What is the proper planting height for roses? It’s simple and there is one rule. Make sure the bud union (that knot above the roots where the canes come out of) is 2.3 – 5 cm below the soil level. It is very important that this bud union is buried no matter where you live.

 

Hold the plant in the hole at the proper height to make sure the hole is big enough and the roots will have room to grow. If the rose is bareroot make sure the roots extend fully downward and don’t curl back up at the bottom because the hole is too shallow.

 

If the rose you are planting has only been in its pot for a short while carefully slip off the pot and try to keep the root ball as intact as possible. This may require two hands and some careful handling!

 

If the rose has been in the pot for a while and appears to be “root bound” loosen the rots so they will point away from the root ball. This will help them grow out and down once the rose is fully planted.

 

Using a shovel, begin to slowly refill the hole. Periodically gently shake the plant to make sure the soil is settling nicely between the roots, leaving no air pockets.

 

When the hole is about two-thirds full take a moment to gently pack the soil down with your shovel. Gently being the optimum word!

 

Next continue to fill in the rest of the hole but don’t pack it down with your shoe and don’t shake the plant. Once the hole is full the plant should be firmly in the ground with the bud-union approximately 5 cm below the soil level.

 

To further settle the rose in and get it off to a good start pour a minimum of 10 liters of water on it. If the water doesn’t absorb into the ground quickly pour some, wait until it does and then pour the rest.

 

This is the time to sprinkle some rose fertilizer (see the flyer “Custom Manure”) around the base and water it in well so it gets dissolved into the soil. Roses need nutrients and trace elements all year long. This means you have to fertilize two to three times per year using the same method.

 

If you are planting your roses just before winter we recommend mounding soil or compost around the base of the plant for protection. In the spring you can pull the mound away.

 

If you plant following, or during, a dry period you will need to water occasionally. It is better to periodically deeply water all at once, instead of watering a little each day. Roses like infrequent deep watering. If you have a lot of roses use a sprinkler and water for 3 hours once a week as opposed to a little every day.

 

Congratulations. Your roses are now planted!

 

 

 

Good nutrition is important for roses. Without it roses grow weakly and are more susceptible to disease and pests. As we mentioned earlier this starts with a healthy soil. In addition to that quality fertilizers are a must. While there is nothing wrong with many of the standard packaged fertilizers the word “standard” is a give away as to why they might not be best. Not all soils are alike and not all seasons are the same so there is nothing “standard” about gardens!

 

Here at Bierkreek we feel you can do better. To help we have developed a new fertilizer line called “Custom Manure®”.  To echo the seasons it comes in a Springmix, a Summermix and a Fallmix. Because we all have different soils there are versions for sand, clay, poor and peat soil. There is even a special version for newly planted roses. Whatever you soil, whatever your season we have you covered. Please see our flyer on Custom Manure® for more information.

 

 

 

 

Roses grown organically are naturally stronger and more vital plants. Our way of organic rose farming yields plants with a strong, solid foundation, having higher disease and pest resistance. Therefore intervention through the use of pesticides is not needed – and not encouraged.

 

As previously mentioned keeping the plants healthy begins with selecting the right planting site and making sure they have a healthy soil environment to live in. Roses when planted in the right place and in the right soil (not too wet or dry) and are given enough light and nutrients develop into healthy and robust plants. Plants that are better able to withstand aphid infestations and even diseases such as powdery mildew and blackspot.

 

While there are certainly some roses naturally more susceptible to disease, even these roses when given the right environment and nutrients can become nice plants. However, if you are planting a variety more susceptible never put it in a dry or shady place or one with little nutrients because that is asking for trouble.

 

 

 

Over time natural enemies such as hoverflies, parasitic wasps, lacewings and ladybugs will arrive on their own. But they will come only if you don’t use pesticides to control insects such as aphids because often those chemicals also kill the good guys.  This is a case of the cure being worse than the disease. If you do want to attack the aphids do so by hand. You can squirt them off with water or use a solution of mild soap. It kills only the so-called soft bodied insects and won’t harm for example the ladybugs.

 

For mildew, black spot and rust you can best avoid these diseases by giving the rose the correct start and care using the methods we discussed above. Susceptible varieties can be given a helping hand through the use of biological agents. The principal of these agents is they make the leaf harder so the fungi have little chance of infecting the rose.

 

It’s important to note that in humid weather, the chances of mildew and black spot are greater. So be on the lookout and if you feel the infestation is about to get out of out of hand you can use biological agents to regain control. Once you have done so stop and let the roses keep them at bay on their own.

 

To see how useful insects work in your garden we’ve written a little story. Click here to download it.

 

Pruning

text p.m.