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Philadelphia Flower Show 2004
Rose Lecture
Rose Lecture
at the 2004 Philly Flower Show
by Henry Weisl of the West Jersey Rose Society
For answers
to your rose questions, email Henry at henjan@erols.com
Success
with Roses
Requirements
- Six hours
of sun daily
- well-drained
soil
- water at
1" a week or that translates to 5 gallons of water per week
(do not spray roses with water, use a soaker hose or bubblier,
or water the ground by hand)
Dont's
- Don't prune
in the Fall (only prune when the forsythia blooms)
- Don't use
anvil shears as it crushes the canes (only use bypass shears)
- Don't use
black tree prune sealer as the aromatics will kill the cane (seal
only with Elmer's white glue to keep out cane borers)
- Don't use
Japanese beetle traps near roses as you will only attract beetles
to your yard (shake off beetles, or dump into bowl of water containing
detergent) or use milky spore disease.
- Buying the
right Rose for the conditions will help you succeed.
Don't buy from a large wholesaler where the roses are likely to
have suffered from lack of care or the quality may not be appropriate
- Don't buy
roses in March; plant them only after frost
Only buy bushes with canes over 1/4 inch.
Types
of Bushes
- 90% of bushes
sold are hybrid teas
- Floribunda
(have cluster flowers)
- Grandiflora
(big hybrid tea type)
- Shrub roses
(landscaping roses)
- Ramblers
- Climbers
- Miniature
Roses
(Editor's note: Old Garden Roses are increasing in market share
and interest because they are more disease resistant and take
much less care than 'modern' roses. Many classify the OGR under
the shrub heading. Check out the other article on roses we posted
on our website.)
Planting
your Rose Bush
- Prune it
back as most bushes are dug from a field and have lost roots.
Mulch it an keep it wet (use the hose to clean off mulch if you
need to do so)
- Remove as
much of the paper carton as possible without disturbing the roots.
Cut the bottom of the container (plastic too) so you have a cylinder.
Then cut vertically keeping the cylinder on the roots. (Paper
containers don't really dissolve.)
- Place the
bush with the cut container into the hole, then pull up the split
container–leaving the bush in the hole.
- Make sure
that the graft is at or about one inch below ground level as you
fill in the hole (in this area).
- Fill the
hole with you composted soil mix, add some fish fertilizer, and
then mulch it with pine needles or cedar needles.
Pests
- Aphids, spider
mites, Japanese Beetles, thrips and cane borers are the most troublesome
to roses.
- For aphids,
you can see the red or green insects–hose them off, or pick them
off.
- Spider mites
show themselves when leaves yellow on the bottom leaves and then
progressively up the bush. You can determine if you have spider
mites by holding a sheet of paper under the leaves and shake the
leaf–you will see tiny insects on the paper.
- Borers are
dealt with by prevention of using Elmers' Glue on each cut cane.
- Thrips attack
the bloom (distorted blooms indicate you have thrips). Spray with
a rose insecticide such as and Ortho or Bayer systemic insecticide.
Othene is the active product.
- Japanese
Beetle control–use milky spore disease (apply the year before)
and pick off beetles–or let them eat the roses for a month.
Diseases
of Roses
- Blackspot
is contagious. Start spraying in mid-April and go through the
summer to fall. Use a fungicide such as Rose Pride or Bayer "all
in one." (Also baking soda at a half percent concentration-5
tablespoons a gallon--will work on Blackspot as will Daconil 2787).
- Mosaic Virus
is not contagious. The leaf will show veining. You can either
live with it or avoid buying a bush that has mosaic.
- Powdery
mildew the bush can live with it, but you can again use baking
soda at a half percent concentration to do away with it.
Fertilizing
- Use Rose
Tone once a month. (Don't use nitrogen after end of June for repeat
bloomers). (Editor's Note: You can use fish fertilizer or manure,
or compost as the alternative. Some Rosarians use Epsom Salts
at a low concentration for a magnesium boost in mid season.)
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