Staying home or going away for the holidays? Either way, we have some wonderful tips to keep your roses happy.
For gardeners heading for the coast or anywhere but home, there may be a bit of apprehension about leaving the garden behind without any TLC. Especially the roses!
Here are some rose survival tips from rose grower Ludwig Taschner:
- Before you get into the holiday mood loosen compacted soil so that water easily reaches the roots of the roses. A thin layer of mulch on top of the soil will keep the roots cool and reduce evaporation.
- Make sure the automatic irrigation system is set to provide about 20 litres of water a week and that all the nozzles are working.
- Consider linking container roses up to an irrigation system so that everything is watered just by switching on the tap. This makes it very easy for a house-sitter to manage.
- Alternatively, move the pots into the shade and place them on saucers to conserve water that flows out of the bottom of the pots.
- To prevent disease and pests, spray with Rose Protector just before you leave on holiday.
- Pinch off the tips of young shoots and buds; this reduces the need for water and will delay flowering until you return.
Staying at home?
The second flush of flowers usually occurs just before Christmas and it is possible to groom the roses to have good cutting blooms for Christmas as well as a display in the garden.
Take out the centre bud of clusters that 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.
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.
Fill the gaps
After the first flush one can also see where new roses are needed or extra colour can be added. December is a good month to plant roses and the selection of new roses can be an exciting project.
When visiting a rose outlet, ask for sample blooms of the roses that catch your eye. Take them home with you to see how the colours work with the others in the garden. In that way you won’t make bad colour choices. Also check the height and spread.
Try these
‘Goose Bumps’ is so pretty and ethereal that it may just give you goosebumps! This compact floribunda produces clusters of blooms as well as single blooms. As they unfold, the ivory petals develop deep pink edges that gradually intensify. The flowers remain firm until they naturally drop, ensuring a consistently neat and tidy appearance. Its blooming cycle is continuous. It can be a striking standalone feature or a colourful hedge.
‘See you in Pink’ is a Persica rose, of particularly ancient lineage, that is distinguished by its striking ‘eye’. This compact, shrubby rose produces generous clusters of semi-double, open blooms in soft pink, with deep purple at the base of each petal base. Golden stamens frame the heart of the flower drawing the eye and pollinators.
‘Garden Flame’ is a rose on fire! Each bloom is different, with the golden yellow centre and red edging varying from bloom to bloom, rather like dancing flames. This floribunda grows between hip and chest height, producing a profusion of pickable blooms, each on a single, slender stem. It is an Eco-Chic rose with bright green, disease resistant leaves. It is a compact grower that will also do well in a large container.
‘Ludwig’s Favourite’ is a beautifully upright bush about 2m high, with well-balanced leafy stems each carrying a single, elegant and highly fragrant bloom on a thornless stem. The blooms are a radiant salmon-orange softened by a silvery cream edging that gilds each outer petal. Initially the bloom opens into a classically shaped hybrid tea bloom that opens finally into a lush, peony-style flower. It is perfection.
‘Memoire Kordana’ is a 60m high miniature rose with an old-fashioned rose pink bloom in the shape of a peony. Ideal for containers or as a rosy border in front of taller roses.
Basic tasks – keep it simple.
- You can also take a holiday from the roses by keeping rose tasks to a minimum.
- Water deeply at least twice a week in the absence of rain. Early morning or late afternoon is the best time to water.
- By mid-December give the roses a boost with an application of Vigorosa fertiliser and keep pests away by spraying with Ludwig’s Insect Spray Plus.
- Cut off dead blooms on your daily walk around the garden.
For more information: www.ludwigsroses.co.za
Article and images by Alice Coetzee.
