{"id":17950,"date":"2023-12-08T14:00:10","date_gmt":"2023-12-08T12:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/joburg-north\/?p=17950"},"modified":"2023-12-07T18:02:22","modified_gmt":"2023-12-07T16:02:22","slug":"how-to-get-the-best-rose-blooms-for-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/joburg-north\/blog\/2023\/12\/08\/how-to-get-the-best-rose-blooms-for-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"How to get the best rose blooms for Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Like everything else in South Africa, the December rose garden fits in quite happily with the holiday spirit.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The second flush of rose blooms usually occurs just before Christmas says rose grower Ludwig Taschner and it is possible to groom the roses in such a way that there are good cutting blooms as well as a show in the garden.<\/p>\n

Ludwig\u2019s advice is to take out the centre bud as clusters develop on floribundas and some hybrid teas,. This will allow the rest of the shoots in the cluster to develop better stems and it will spread out the flowering.<\/p>\n

Hybrid teas can be disbudded in order to have one large pickable bloom per stem rather than three smaller blooms. Count the number of flowering stems on a bush, disbud half of the blooms and allow the others to flower freely. This will provide a display in the garden and for the vase.<\/p>\n

If the roses were not finger pruned at the beginning of the season they can still be pinched back to stagger the flowering. Pinch off a third of the buds. This will also produce good long stems for the vase.<\/p>\n

Water deeply\u00a0 twice a week and control pests with Ludwig\u2019s Insect Spray every second week. Should there be heavy rainfall, add Chronos to the spray. It is a fungicide that prevents black spot. Fertilise towards the middle of December with Vigorosa.<\/p>\n

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Picking roses for the home<\/strong><\/p>\n

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vase of mixed hybrid tea roses.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The best time to cut garden roses is early or late, rather than in the heat of the day. Have a bucket of water with you so that you can put the stems into water immediately after cutting.<\/p>\n

Blooms which have opened on the bush – to a third or half open – last better in the vase than immature buds.<\/p>\n

When cutting the stems to put in the vase make a long-slanted cut that is not easily blocked when drawing up water.<\/p>\n

The bigger the wound the more water the stems take up. To get the balance right the length of the flower stem should not be more than double the height of the vase.<\/p>\n

Chrysal flower food is better than vinegar and sugar for extending the life of the flowers. If you haven\u2019t used Chrysal, change the water every two or three days, especially if you have not stripped off the leaves as the water becomes murky.<\/p>\n

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\u2018Ballerina\u2019 rose.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Planting roses <\/strong><\/p>\n

December is a good month to plant roses and the selection of new roses for the garden can be an exciting project.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t let heat and water restrictions discourage you. Roses that are more drought-tolerant have specific characteristics. Generally, they will be spreading groundcovers or neat shrubs. The aspects to look out for are:<\/p>\n