The rose is rightly called the queen of flowers. With its filled or unfilled, small, large, fragrant or non-fragrant flowers, it is one of the most versatile and beautiful garden plants. Rose care extends over the whole year and must be adapted to the respective season. Even if the care is a bit more complex, these beauties are worth every effort.
Characteristics
- Order: Roseate
- Family: Rose family (Rosaceae)
- Genus: roses
- Growth form: upright or climbing, mostly with thorns
- Height of growth: bed roses up to 0.80 m, shrub roses up to 2 m, climbing roses up to 4 m
- flowers: mostly fivefold, simple or double, fragrant or not fragrant
- Fruits: rose hips
Roses are deciduous, rarely evergreen shrubs. A distinction is made between shrub, stem, bed, climbing and hybrid roses as well as wild and historical roses. There are now more than 30,000 varieties worldwide.
Roses are ideal companion plants for decorative leaf perennials, filigree grasses or delicate flowering perennials, but they also come into their own when placed alone. As a background plant or ground cover, they provide colorful contrasts or fill in gaps. Even in the bucket, on the balcony and terrace, they do not fail to have an effect.
maintenance
Proper care is the basis for splendidly blooming and healthy roses. Roses have special requirements for each season, so care must be adapted to the respective season. Watering and fertilizing alone is not enough.
location
Almost all roses are sun worshipers and love sunny, wind-protected and airy locations. Windless areas without sufficient air circulation and too dense planting should be avoided, as they could promote fungal diseases. Planting under large-crowned trees is similarly unfavorable.
soil condition
Roses prefer fresh, sandy-loamy soil with a humus content that is neither too wet nor too dry. They should never be planted in a location where roses have previously been planted. The result would be rose fatigue. The roses would grow weak and develop slowly.
planting
Roses are offered bare root and as container plants. Bare root roses can be planted in fall and spring. However, the best planting time is from October to early December. When planted in autumn, the plants grow better and flowering begins 2-3 weeks earlier. Container plants can be planted all year round.
Prepare roses
Before planting, bare-root roses are placed in a bucket of water for about 8 hours. They should stand in the water up to the grafting point. If planted in the spring, they should be watered for about 24 hours. Container plants also grow better after a dip. Leave them in the water until no more air bubbles rise.
After watering, the shoots of bare-rooted roses are cut back to around 20 cm, so that at least five buds remain per shoot. Then dead and damaged root parts are removed and the ends of the remaining roots are shortened to stimulate the formation of new roots. For container roses, only remove dead and damaged root parts. Now you can plant.
planting
- Before planting, dig up the soil about two spades deep and loosen it thoroughly
- remove larger stones and weeds
- Dig a planting hole about 40 cm deep and wide
- Loosen the excavated earth with peat, hummus or rose soil
- Mix in some gravel for better ventilation
- do not incorporate fertilizer or compost as this could burn the roots
- when planting, the grafting site should be 5 cm below the surface of the earth
- then fill in with excavated earth
- move the plants back and forth carefully so that no cavities form
- Tread the soil carefully and water abundantly
- a pouring rim helps with watering
When planting, ensure sufficient planting distances, because roses are weak in competition. We recommend 40-50 cm for bed roses, 100-150 cm for shrub and climbing roses and 60 cm for a solitary plant. After successful planting, proper care is important.
Rose care in spring
Remove winter protection
Spring heralds the end of winter and it's time to remove the winter protection, ideally on a mild and cloudy spring day. If the roses were suddenly exposed to direct sunlight and drying winds, it would come as a shock. After all, they were sheltered from the sun for months under a protective blanket of mulch, leaves, or pine twigs. Simultaneously with the elimination of winter protection, the soil should be loosened.
cut
The spring cut is the actual shape cut. If you don't do this, the roses will grow old, no new shoots will form at the base and they will become more and more bare. The best time is around the forsythia blossom. Remove dead, weak and diseased shoots from bedding, noble and standard roses. The remaining shoots are grown on 4-7; cut back to 4-5 buds in standard and hybrid roses. Strong shoots are left a little longer and weaker ones are cut back a little more.
In the case of shrub roses, dead and crossing shoots are cut off. Remove old shoots just above the ground. In the case of shrub roses that bloom several times, withered inflorescences should also be removed regularly. Even with climbing roses, dead, frozen and dense shoots must be cut off. Shoots older than 5 years are cut back close to the ground.
pour
Freshly planted roses need to be watered thoroughly. Well-developed roses are watered depending on the soil conditions and individual needs. As a rule, good soils can store water better and are also more fertile. The watering frequency depends on the prevailing weather and the age of the roses. Younger roses require more water to develop sufficient roots.
Fertilize
- In addition to pruning, fertilizing is the most important care measure in spring
- many hobby gardeners look to the hazelnut blossom for the optimum time
- well-rotted compost is worked into the soil around February/March
- or a mineral fertilizer in the appropriate dosage
- second fertilization takes place in mid/end of May
- as soon as the first buds open slightly, full fertilization with liquid fertilizer takes place
- Liquid fertilizer should be applied immediately after a downpour
- after rain, the fertilizer can be better absorbed by the soil
- Give potted plants a long-term fertilizer in spring
Rose care in summer
Plant tub and container roses
Even if you don't usually plant roses in summer, potted roses can now be planted. Because of their taproots, the corresponding planter should have a diameter of at least 35 cm and be about 40 cm high. Furthermore, good drainage made of lava granules or expanded clay should be ensured. Special rose soil is suitable as a substrate. After the rose has been planted, it is watered and the tub placed in its intended location.
cut
By mid-August at the latest, summer pruning is carried out on bedding, climbing, shrub and hybrid roses that bloom more often. First you select all faded shoots that are healthy and strong and have developed after the spring pruning. Five- and three-leaf plants play an important role in summer pruning.
A five-leaf can be found at about two-thirds of the height of the flower stalk in strong varieties and at about half the height in weaker ones. Shoots that develop above a five-leaf are significantly more vigorous than those that grow above a three-leaf. The selected shoots are cut back to 1-2 cm above this five-leaf. In the weeks that follow, new shoots will form in the leaf axils and the rose will bloom all the more magnificently.
Remove wild shoots
Many commercially available roses have been grafted onto wild roses. These roses keep forming wild shoots. These are light green shoots, usually covered with thorns and smaller leaves, which grow below the grafting point or from the rootstock. These wild shoots should be removed regularly, because they inhibit the growth of the roses and, in the worst case, cause them to die.
pour
- On hot days, water young and newly planted roses regularly
- this is important because these roses have not yet developed long taproots
- only water older roses during persistent dryness and heat
- water extensively but not over the leaves
- wet leaves pose a risk of burns and fungus
- water in the early morning or evening hours, never during midday
- Slowly reduce watering in late summer
- This allows the plants to adapt to the colder season
In summer, the soil should be loosened regularly to avoid soil compaction and to promote aeration. Covering with mulch prevents the soil from drying out too quickly.
Fertilize
At the end of July/beginning of August it is time for another mineral fertilization, the last fertilization of the year. At a later point in time, fertilizer should no longer be used, as the wood could no longer mature before the onset of winter. Unlike hard wood, unripe wood contains more water, which can lead to frostbite in winter.
Rose care in autumn
cut
In autumn, a stronger pruning should be avoided. This would also promote new shoots, but lead to the young shoots freezing to death in winter. That's why you only shorten overly long shoots on fast-growing roses to eliminate the risk of snow breakage. If individual shoots are affected by mildew or another fungus, they should also be removed.
pour
At this time of year, roses should slowly come to rest. As a result, it should only be watered very sparingly. Too much moisture would encourage pest infestation and make the plants more susceptible to rose diseases.
Roses hibernate
Even a single unexpected frosty night can cause considerable damage to the roses. Accordingly, they should receive winter protection. From October to the beginning of December at the latest, they are piled up with soil or compost to a height of about 15-20 cm. In cold locations, this mound of earth or compost is covered with fir branches. In the case of standard roses, the crowns should also be protected by covering them with burlap or winter fleece.
Roses in tubs are placed in a sheltered place and piled up. Fir branches between and around the shoots protect against the winter sun and dehydration. The bucket is wrapped in jute bags and between the jute bag and the pot you fill straw, polystyrene, leaves or bubble wrap. In addition, the bucket is placed on a styrofoam plate or a wooden pallet.
multiply
cuttings
- cut cuttings with 5 eyes from faded shoots in late summer
- Remove all leaves except for the top pair of leaves
- Plant the cuttings directly in well-loosened soil or pots
- Pot should be 30-40 cm deep and have drainage holes
- Substrate preferably slightly sandy
- Put the cuttings in such a way that the upper pair of leaves protrudes
- Lightly moisten the soil
- after some time, cuttings will sprout
sowing
Sowing is suitable for all types of roses that form rose hips, because they contain the seeds. In autumn they are picked and the seeds removed. These are stratified in the refrigerator for about 1 month. Then sow in growing substrate, moisten slightly and keep cool. As soon as seedlings appear, move to a brighter and warmer place. If the cuttings have 4-6 leaves, they are placed in small pots in nutrient-rich soil and planted out in the garden after the ice saints.
Diseases
rose rust
Rose rust manifests itself in orange to rust-red spots on the leaves, brown leaf edges and spore deposits on the undersides of the leaves. It occurs in unfavorable locations and in damp weather. Remove fallen leaves and cut back in spring.
rose rust
blackspot
Large, irregularly shaped purplish-black spots with fading edges are indicative of blackspot. Most of the leaves fall off in summer. Blackspot occurs in cool and humid weather. Fallen leaves must be removed to avoid reinfection. Horsetail or comfrey broths can be used to combat them, with which the leaves are sprayed several times when they begin to sprout.
powdery mildew
Powdery mildew shows up as a white, mealy coating on the leaves and shoot tips. It also occurs in warm, humid weather. Appropriate sprays from specialist shops are available to combat it. Sulfur-containing preparations should be sprayed as a preventive measure.
pests
rose leaf scroll wasp
Rolled leaves are typical damage. An infestation occurs from May, preferably on climbing roses, because this pest overwinters in cracks in the wall. Collect and dispose of affected leaves as well as the larvae. Otherwise only early injections with systemic preparations help.
aphids
Aphids are particularly common. They prefer to sit on young shoots and buds. In the event of an infestation, the plants are first sprayed with a strong jet of water. In addition, it can be sprayed several times with nettle suds and beneficial insects such as lacewings or ladybirds can be used.
aphid infestation