Precautionary Things You Can Do To Protect The Beauty Of Your Rose Garden

There are several precautionary measures you can adopt in order to protect your precious rose garden.

Your rose gardening efforts might have been zilched by extreme weather conditions, diseases, and viruses. The dreaded mosaic disease affects 9 of 10 rose gardens and black spots are as infectious as the common cold. But don't give up yet. These are things that you can do to keep your rose garden looking beautiful all season, and many more to come.

Extreme weather conditions-There is not much you can do to change the weather and short of erecting a hot-house you can't even protect your roses from harsh climates. However, you can keep an eye out-and when you see harsh weather approaching take protective measures like covering your roses with tarpaulin to keep out the rain.

Hygiene-It is not just enough to clip away the dead stems and leaves. You must also brush them away from the rose beds and dispose of them in the trash can or compost pile.

Plug the cuts-If you prune, you leave behind exposed inner area of stems. Seal them up with a special plant glue so that diseases and insects cannot erode or eat away the delicate inner parts.

Cleanliness-On a regular basis, clean the beds and remove dead leaves, fallen debris, clippings, and so on.

Regular pruning-Most gardeners will prune the sides of rose bushes without really thinking about what is going on inside. Well, you need to prune within the bush as well so that enough air is circulated to the inner flowers, leaves, and stems.

Winter-ready roses-1. Start by pruning them back in the fall, cutting them only enough to keep them from whipping around in the wind. Climbing roses should be pruned only to keep them from rubbing the roof or the walls. Do not forget to plug the cuts.
2. Lightly tie your rose bushes with an old nylon stocking. Use one stocking per bush, tying about 3/4 of the way up the bush to keep it from breaking in a storm.
3. Remove all fallen leaves and petals from beneath the bushes. Spread mulch around each plant to a distance of at least 18 to 24 inches. Place a "No-Pest" strip from the branches,cover the plant with straw, and they are now ready for a nice cozy winter.

Now you know the precautionary things to do to help protect your rose garden. May it grow beautiful for many seasons to come.

Copyright Dan and Deanna Finlinson "Marketing Unscrambled"