Summer is here! With the temperature hovering into the high 90s and the heat index at 100+ for several days now, there are several things we ought to do to keep our roses happy during the dog days of summer. The roses are suffering from extreme heat and so does the rosarian who takes care of them. With the searing heat, you have to learn how to slow down. Drink a lot of water while working in the garden. Take a break every so often. Wear protective gear like hat, long sleeves and sunscreen. Try to work early in the garden before the sun is up or late in the afternoon when it is cooler.
Water, water, water - Roses needs at least 2" of water every week especially during the hot dry summer days. So when the rain stops, water them deeply. This week I ran the sprinkler for an hour every day in different section of the yard. Following the town ordinance of water conservation, instead of running the sprinkler for two hours, I opted for 1 hour on each section. I used to run the soaker hose but since it is extremely hot, I do overhead watering this week.
Fertilization - do not overdo it in the summer. More roses suffer from overfertilization in the summer than from too little. When you water your garden, the water releases the nutrients that are already in your rosebeds. Sometimes you see the leaves of your roses wilting and start to turn yellow. We have this notion that if we give them more food, they will come back to life. Wrong! Giving them more fertilizer can make the matter worse. They could have excessive fertilizer to begin with and not enough water. Too much fertilizer without enough moisture in the soil is deadly to your plant. You will get fertilizer burns. If in doubt, water, water and more water especially in a very hot weather. Do not fertilize when the temperature is in the 90's. I just give them an overhead watering if the temperature is too hot and no rain in sight. When you want to be in an air-conditioned room and feel like doing nothing, your rose feels the same. They don't want any work. All they need is water, possibly a cold shower.
Mulching - Rosebeds with 2" or 3" of mulch do not need as much water as the beds without mulch. Mulch is an important thing our garden needs during the summer months. There are all kinds of material we can use as mulch - pine bark nuggets, pine needles, cocoa hulls, hay, shredded oak leaves, seaweeds, cedar mulch or cocoa mulch. I find out that shredded cedar mulch is much better mulch than pine bark. I don't recommend cocoa hulls if you have a dog. They smell great and dogs love it but it is not good for them. There is evidence that it can be harmful to dogs. One report said that a dog died because the dog ate so much cocoa mulch. You know chocolate is bad for dogs and chocolate comes from cocoa beans.
The rose beds look much better with mulch and the mulch also helps the roses retains moisture in the soil during the dry, hot spell. However, mulch takes up nitrogen when it decays to feed the bacteria. Take a pH reading. Low pH means the soil is nitrogen starved so add lime to correct the situation. Mulch also keep the roots cool and keeps weeds under control.
Weeding is an essential aspect of gardening. At the height of the summer heat, the weeds are growing at a rapid pace. You must control it, otherwise they take over. I don't use herbicide so I'm constantly weeding. After two weeks out of town, I came back with weeds all over the place. I have been weeding ever since. With the heat wave going on, I could not be out in the garden more than two hours a day. My perennial beds do not have mulch and the weeds are as tall as the perennials.
Spraying - If you are spraying, discontinue the spray program while the temperature is on the 90's. You'll burn the leaves. When the temperature cools down, you can resume your spray program every 7-10 days. Spray early in the morning or early evening. This year, I have sprayed just once with Messenger and Pyola, both organic spray early in the season.
If you have blackspots, you might want to spray though it might be too late to control it now. With the high humidity, it is blackspot season in our area. Blackspot known as Clean Air Syndrome in the plant world is rampant this time of year. Roses grown in industrial towns where air is too polluted don't get blackspots. Blackspot starts as tiny spore in the leaves and in about 3 to 5 weeks develops into a spot as big as a pencil eraser with a yellow band around it. If left untreated, leaves turn yellow and can defoliate the whole bush. The cure is to have a spray program regularly every 7 to 10 days. Bayer or Ortho systemic 3 in 1 (Fertilizer, insecticide and fungicide) is excellent. Neem Oil is another environmentally safe fungus control. If you don't mind chemical, Manzate, Maneb, Triforine and Daconil are effective fungicides. But just like any other chemical spray, please read the label and follow the directions. If you do spray, be very careful when spraying to keep the spray out of your skin, eyes and lungs. Wear a protective mask if at all possible without scaring your neighbor. DO NOT SPRAY WHEN TEMPERATURE IS ABOVE 90 DEGREES. You'll burn the leaves. Unless the situation is so grave, your roses will bounce back. Don't worry too much about it!!
Copyright © 2010. By Rosalinda Morgan, "The Rose Lady". All rights reserved. *SUMMER CARE FOR YOUR ROSES*
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Thank you Rosalinda for sharing your tips on keeping our roses healthy through this summer heat. I only have one rose and it is suffering. I'll heed your advice about watering and be better about weeding too!
Silvia - Keep it hydrated. Roses need water more than anything else when the temperature is too high.
Good info - passing it along to my wife
Andy - Long Island is a great place to grow roses. I started with 5 roses and now have close to 150.
I don't do so well with roses but I keep trying. I need to get some mulch down and is it true you need to cut back the dead rose flower to the next 5 leaf stem or is that a myth?
Liz - For its first year, you do not have to cut to the first five-leaf down. You want to keep more leaves. That's where roses store their food. However, when I'm exhibiting my roses in June, I cut as long as 18 inches if I have the stem. Judges want long stem to win an award.