Planting Guide
Roses
Different Types of Roses
We divide roses into four basic groups. The first group consists
of hybrid tea and grandiflora roses. These are taller (4' to
6' tall) plants which bear large single-stemmed flowers, and
are the best plants for cut flowers. The second group, floribundas,
are generally smaller (2' to 4' tall) plants which bear smaller
flowers in large, showy clusters. Usually unsatisfactory for
cut flowers, they make an excellent long-blooming landscape
shrub. The third group, climbing roses, produce long canes that
work well trained up along fences or trellises. And lastly,
there are shrub roses. These are plants which are best used
as landscape shrubs or hedges and usually don't require any
of the typical rose care and pruning.
Planting
Dig
a hole twice as wide and only as deep as the rootball of the
plant. Adjust the hole so that the top of the rootball is 1"
to 2" above ground level. Next, remove the container. Plastic
pots can be removed by turning the rose upside down and gently
easing the plant out. Refill the hole with a blended mixture
of 1/3 Sunshine Peat Moss or Soil Pep and 2/3 of your garden
soil. The use of Fertilome Root Stimulator at planting time
will greatly reduce transplant shock and help the plant resume
normal growth more quickly.
Feeding
Roses are extremely heavy feeders. Feed them monthly during
the growing season with Fertilome Rose Food. Sprinkle the recommended
amount around the plant and immediately water it in well.
Pruning
Roses should be pruned in early spring just as the buds swell.
All dead or winter damaged canes should be removed. Remove crossing
or competing canes. Your goal is to shape the plant into an
upside down cone with no branches in the middle. Cut back remaining
canes to about 12". Cut immediately above an outward facing
bud. Paint over cut ends with Fertilome Pruning Paint to prevent
problems with cane borer.
Watering
It is impossible to give a watering schedule that will be right
for everyone all of the time. Factors such as the soil type,
how big the plant is, how fast the plant is growing, air temperature,
humidity, wind and light intensity all will affect how often
a particular plant will need watering.
The basic rule of thumb is to water deeply, but infrequently.
Get the water down a minimum of 18" at each watering. This
encourages the plant to develop a deep, drought tolerant root
system. Then give the soil a chance to dry slightly between
waterings. It is common for people to kill or unnecessarily
stress their plants by watering too frequently. The roots of
a plant require oxygen in order to function. If the soil is
constantly waterlogged, there is not enough oxygen available
to the root system and the roots suffocate and begin to die.
Knowing this, our recommendation is to water deeply by building
a basin around roses that are not watered by lawn sprinklers.
It should be wide enough to accommodate the root system of the
plant (generally out to the drip line of the plant) and high
enough to hold three or four inches of water when full. Fill
the basin full, let it soak in, and fill it a second time. Then
don't water the plant again until the soil in the basin begins
to dry. Don't just look at the soil surface; dig down 4"
to 6" to see how dry the soil is. The soil should be showing
some significant drying down at that depth. One little trick
is to scoop up a handful of soil from that depth and squeeze
it into a ball. If the ball holds its shape after you let go,
the soil is still wet. If the ball falls apart, its time to
water. Using this method several times, you will be able to
determine your own watering schedule.
For plants that will be watered with lawn sprinklers, water
as described above at planting time. Then remove the basin.
Most of the plant's day to day water needs will be met by the
lawn watering. However, a deep soaking every month or two is
recommended in addition to the lawn watering. In addition, during
the winter a monthly deep soaking of all newly planted roses
is a good idea. This should be done for the first two winters
after planting.
Pests
Roses are subject to several insect problems: aphids, thrips,
cane borer, and spider mites being the most common. Regular
use of Fertilome Rose Food or Bayer All In One Rose & Flower
Care will minimize infestations of these pests. If problems
occur in spite of this, using Bayer Rose & Flower Insect
Killer or Ortho Systemic Insect Killer will help bring these
pests under control. Cane borer is best prevented by painting
cut cane ends with Fertilome Pruning Paint after pruning. Our
most common disease problem is powdery mildew. To prevent this
disease, use sprays of Ortho Rose Pride Disease Control during
late spring and during periods of cloudy, rainy weather. Avoid
getting the foliage wet when you water the plant to greatly
decrease the occurrence and severity of the disease.
Weeding
Roses have a shallow root system, so it is not advisable to
cultivate under rose bushes to remove weeds. Hand pull weeds
or spray weeds with Hi-Yield Killzall, being careful not to
get it on the rose's foliage. The best solution is to heavily
mulch your rose bed with a 2" to 3" layer of bark
chips or cedar mulch. This will keep weeds down as well as protecting
your rose's shallow root system.
Our Guarantee
Thanks for buying a plant from Bookcliff Gardens. Our goal
is that you be successful with every plant you purchase from
us. We'll try to give you as much information and instruction
as it takes to make this happen. If you have any questions,
please ask! We'll do our best to answer them. However, since
this is not a perfect world, and in spite of the best of both
of our efforts, plants sometimes die. If this happens within
the first year after buying the plant from us, we will replace
it; give you an equal amount of credit; or refund your money
if you have your receipt. We limit our guarantee to replacing
a plant only once, and the guarantee does not apply to annual
bedding plants or house plants. If you're having a problem with
a plant, come in and talk to us about it; we'll try to find
out what happened so we won't lose another plant. It's in both
of our interests that the plants you buy from us grow and thrive.
We want you to be successful!
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Bookcliff Gardens
(970) 242-7766
755 26 Road (North 1st at I-70) • Grand Junction, Colorado 81506
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