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Tips for Growing Roses
by Lata Tokhi

Description: Tips for planting, growing, and fertilizing roses.

Roses are the crown of any garden and rosarians all around the world unite in their care for their beloved plants. Here are some tips for planting, growing and fertilizing rose plants in your garden.

Planting Purchased Roses

1. Unlike buying roses from your local nursery which come in pots, roses ordered by mail will need to be put in water immediately until they are planted. Don't wait for more than a week before they are planted and don't ever let their roots dry out.

2. For roses that come in pots, cut the pot away (use a utility knife) instead of trying to loosen the soil along with the plant. It is important that the soil remains intact.

Watering Rose Plants

3. Roses love water. The more you water them, the better they will perform.

4. Water rose plants at soil level and not overhead. This is because fungus may develop in wet rose leaves. Occasional overhead watering, especially during hot weather, is good.

5. If there is shortage of water in your area, add a soil polymer to the soil. It will reduce the water requirement from 50% to 75%. For adding soil polymers, use a dowel to make several deep holes at the base of the plant and spoon about 1/4 teaspoon of dry polymer into each hole.

Fertilizing Rose Plants

6. Feed your rose plants with a well-balanced, high middle number fertilizer once a month. Scratch half-cup of Epsom salts in the soil at the base of the plant to helps fertilizers work better and for canes to form at the base.

7. Roses require an optimum Soil pH of 5.8 to 6.3. This can be achieved by limestone to acidic and gypsum to alkaline soil.

8. Wait a month before you start fertilizing newly planted rose plants.

Preventing Diseases

9. Establish a regular spray regimen with a good biological or chemical fungicide to prevent fungal diseases like Black spot and powdery mildew in your roses.

10. Prune and discard infected canes and leaves regularly and avoid wetting the leaves when watering the plants.

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