Focus on Roses

Sun/Water
Two key ingredients for
success with roses.

Graphic by Broderbund Clickart

     All flowers need sun and water, but finding the right combination of both, for roses in particular, is an absolute necessity.  Many folks give up on growing roses before they've barely gotten started.  They become discouraged because their roses don't thrive or blossom the way they envisioned.  These problems can sometimes be traced back to the lack of these two ingredients for healthy roses-- sun and water.
      Proper siting is the first step to success.  Roses need a minimum of six hours
of sun per day.  There are a few shade-tolerant beauties out there, but this is not the norm.  Choose a sunny, southern exposure for roses.  A full day of sun will give them the energy they need to produce abundant blossoms.  Perfection would be a southeast location so roses can get their fill of morning sun.
      Now, about water-- why do you suppose Portland, Oregon is called "The City of Roses?"  Yep, you guessed it-- rain!  Roses are thirsty plants that require at least an inch of rain per week.  We all know that rain doesn't fall on schedule, especially here in Michigan.  Last year we had a drought, and my roses were thirsty all the time.  What can you do when there's no rain? 
      A great tip for watering roses is to save empty milk jugs, fill them with water or manure tea, and take them out to the rose bed.  Poke small holes in the bottom of the jugs and set one at the base of each rose.  The water will slowly drip out of the jug and into the soil.  This method is much more efficient than dumping on a bucket of water that will just run downhill and away from your shrubs, or spraying with a hose which effectively stirs up disease fungus, and loses most of the water between the hose and the rose to evaporation.
      So, growing roses may not be as difficult as you think.  Combine proper siting, and plenty of water, throw in judicious pruning, (and a good deal of compost in the planting hole), and you should have beautiful roses! 

When at last I took the time to look
into the heart of a flower,
it opened up a whole new world...
as if a window had been opened
to let in the sun.

Princess Grace of Monaco

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Copyright (C) J. Kovalcsik 1999