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June is the most popular time for horticultural societies to have rose shows, because roses often are at their peak.
Many of us have a love-hate relationship with roses. I love a rose. There is something perfect about their blooms.
A rose symbolizes many things including love, royalty and beauty. Roses often are associated with perfection and achievement. Roses are among the most recognized flowers around the world.
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Growing roses often is challenging as they are prone to diseases such as powdery mildew, black spot and rust, and to insect problems such as aphids.
When planting, make sure the graft is buried in the ground at least five centimetres below the surface. The graft is where the rose was grafted to a hardy root stock. If the graft is above ground, it will be damaged by frost, and snow and the plant may not make it through the winter. In the fall, I always add a couple centimetres of soil to this area as extra protection for the graft.
Aphids are another big problem for roses. They are most likely found in clusters just below the flower bud and they suck sap from the plant. A good spray with some insecticidal soap will help kill them. Make sure you get the underside of leaves. Allow the soap to dry and then I like to give the plant a good bath with a fairly strong blast of water. This will knock off the dead bugs and any living ones and rise off the sticky honeydew left behind that ants love so much.
As for black spot, powdery mildew and other such diseases, you will need to use a good fungicide and spray the plant often. It is too late to prevent if for this year but you can help to slow it down. These diseases are caused my humidity and large amounts of water, which we got this spring. You need to start spraying your plants in early May right through to frost to prevent these diseases from taking hold.
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Remember never put leaves that have fallen off your roses into the compost. We do not want the fungus spores from living in our compost and re-infecting our plants at a later date.
If you are a first-time grower of roses, try some of the more recent types, such as any of the Knockout series of landscape roses and rugose rose as they are least likely to have many problems.
Even though roses are work and sometimes they are missing some of their leaves I still love them and they have a place in my garden.
Denise Hodgins is a professional gardening coach in London. Send your questions to coaching@diggendirtdesigns.com
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