Some of the most popular flowers in the world are roses.
I often hear about the difficulties people face when caring for roses.
In my 20 years of experience with roses, I found that with the proper steps, it can be very simple to have stunning, healthy roses.
Don't let those rumors detour you from growing these beautiful flowers.
Roses are just like other plants.
They need constant attention.
And also have the same basic needs like water, light, good soil, and a few more things we'll get into.
When you know exactly what to do caring for roses can be easy.
All plants need water to survive.
Roses are just the same.
They only bloom and look their finest when they have been well watered.
The roots really need to be taken into account when you water.
Roses need about one inch of water a week.
Roses' roots go fairly deep so they can suck all the moisture deep below the surface, where the soil is dry.
This allows rose bushes to tolerate dry weather.
When you water the roots of your rose bushes it promotes them to grow deep down in the soil.
When roses are under-watered, even just a bit, the roots will not grow very deep.
Then the plant will have a lower chance to survive in dry weather.
Good rose care also involves fertilizing your plants.
Roses planted in good soil can go many years without being fertilized.
Organisms dwelling in the soil make nutrients, which plants eat with their roots.
If chemical fertilizers are over used, it could exterminate those organisms and there would be no more nutrients.
Plants can become very defendant on these fertilizers and that would force you to persistently feed them.
That's why its best to use a slow release fertilizer in early spring, when the roses are just coming out of their dormancy period.
It's also good to add a little fertilizer after spring when the plant is saving energy for the next season, but not after the middle of summer.
You can use organic or inorganic fertilizer, but the organic has materials that the soil can digest.
The soil becomes more fertile with organic.
4-8-4 or5-10-5 are the best combination of inorganic fertilizers.
Caring for roses properly also means you have do some pruning.
Pruning rose bushes is usually taken care of in the spring after the plant has come out of the dormancy period.
At this point you want to clip away all the broken, diseased, and dead wood from the rose bush.
This will give your plant some good ventilation, and keep it healthy.
Many growers prune their bushes to shape them.
The next step of pruning happens after the blooms.
Prune the flower of the plant, this will promote growth, and when you remove the flower bud it allows for a new plant to start.
It takes time and dedication to care for healthy, beautiful roses.
It also takes a little knowledge.
Without the right approach and the correct know-how, growing roses will be very difficult.
The greatest feeling is having so many big, beautiful roses around the house.
The Mrs.
doesn't mind them either.