It’s been a good summer for roses and autumn promises to be even better, with the roses producing their biggest and brightest blooms as the days cool down.
Healthy roses, like ‘Liz McGrath’ (above) are not shy to flower and are more disease resistant, says rose grower Ludwig Taschner. Here are his tips for getting your roses into tip top shape:
- Fertilise now with a rose fertiliser like Vigorosa 5:1:5. Roses need food to produce those spectacular blooms. Well-nourished roses are also more resistant to black spot fungus disease.
- Prevent black spot fungus: Heavy dew and rainy weather make roses susceptible to black spot fungus disease. Black spots appear on the leaves and they eventually fall off, leaving the bush without leaves. Prevent infection by spraying alternating fortnightly with Chronos or Rose Protector during the rainy season. Both fungicides are sold through garden centres and hardware stores.
- Water regularly: Water deeply once a week, in the absence of Deep watering, for about 40 minutes, is better than five or 10 minutes every day. To grow well, roses need water to penetrate the soil to reach their roots.
- Remove dead blooms: Cutting off the dead flowers with two or three leaves encourages the rose to sprout new flowering stems. Always make sure there are leaves under the cut. The bushes look neater too.
For more information, visit https://www.ludwigsroses.co.za/category/rose-growing-tips/rose-care/
Did you know? Apricot, peach, brown, lilac, and old-gold coloured roses, as well as the softer-petalled pastel varieties are at their best in autumn. Their delicate colours intensify in the cooler weather and the blooms seem to treble in size.
Try these cool season beauties.
‘Beauty from Within’ produces brilliantly coloured blooms, from deep gold to orange pink. The healthy bush grows to shoulder height.
‘Garden and Home’ has softly fragrant old fashioned blooms in shades of cream and pink with a honey centre. The medium high bush grows neatly upright and flowers profusely.
Frohsinn ’82 ‘produces blooms in glowing colours; a blend of deep apricot in the centre to orange red on the outer petals. The fragrant, full petalled blooms stand out against dark green leaves. The bush grows to shoulder height.
‘South Africa’ is a floribunda rose with golden yellow blooms that become more intense as the season progresses. It is disease resistant, and a top performer.
‘Leana’ has creamy white blooms that are superbly shaped and long lasting on the bush and in the vase. The bush grows up to 2 m.
‘Spiced Coffee’ has an unsurpassed colour of pale amber flushed with lavender and pink. It has a spicy fragrance and is an excellent cutting rose that grows to shoulder height.
TEXT: Alice Coetzee.
