ROSES

Choose a site with:

• Full sun (approx. 6+ hrs a day of direct sun),
• Good air circulation (at least 3’ between your rose and other plants), and
• Rich, well-draining soil. If your soil has poor drainage or nutrient retention (common in clay or sandy soils), consider planting in a berm or raised bed.

1. Dig a hole twice as wide and as deep as your container.

2. If your soil is poor, amend with a good in-ground planting mix rich in organic material.

3. Plant with the 'graft mark' (bulbous structure at the base of the stem) 2” above the soil. This is to prevent the 'rootstock' rose from sprouting. 

4. Water deeply to minimize transplant shock. Then keep watering, infrequently but deeply, to make sure that the root ball is fully moistened.

Watering is especially important for the first month, and then the first year or two of your rose's life, especially for more old fashioned varieties. (Groundcover and Knock Out types roses are bred to be much more drought tolerant)

In the dry PNW Summer months, roses really only need to be deeply watered once a week to encourage a robust, healthy root system and reduce risk of disease.

Keep in Mind: Deeper, less frequent watering is always better than shallow, frequent watering everyday! Drip irrigation or hand-watering is better than a sprinkler or overhead water systems. Watering the leaves of roses promotes the spread of fungus and other common northwest disease challenges. 

The short is yes, absolutely.

Roses are ‘heavy feeders,’ which means that in order to create the large complex flowers we love them for, and avoid stress and disease, they need access to LOTS of nutrients.

We recommend an organic, slow-release, granular fertilizer. An all-purpose blend is just fine if you need to use it up, but you may find that you like a feed with a higher concentration of phosphorus (the P in the N-P-K), to encourage more blooms.

Generally, fertilize at these times according to product instructions, watering in well afterwards:

1. As soon as leaf buds begin to swell (usually mid March-early April)

2. A second time in mid June

3. One final time in mid-late August

If you'd like to do the extra care, you can also add other supplements for specific goals: alfalfa meal for growth regulation, kelp/seaweed or fish meal for disease resistance and micronutrients, and lime to adjust soil pH. Roses' ideal growing pH is slightly acidic at 6-6.5, which is common in the NW, but you may need to bring it up a bit in particularly acidic spots. 

For roses, heavy mulching (year round, but especially in the springtime) improves soil texture, adds nutrients, supports beneficial microorganisms, and protects from summer water loss.

Apply 2-4” of compost or fully composted steer manure whenever your roses are looking a bit, exposed. Be sure to avoid burying the graft line to prevent suckering!

Common rose problems in the NW include black spot, powdery mildew and beetles.

If you ask most experienced gardeners, you'll find that a small amount of mildew or black spot is par-for-the-course in our climate. However, if it's starting to take over instead of just a few leaves as we head into the summertime, there's likely a need to make changes to the care plan, or use a disease/pest intervention.

To Minimize Disease in Roses:

1. Choose disease-resistant roses for our climate (Check Sky’s List & Rose Signs, some of the older varieties we carry are classic, but might be more susceptible and need a little more care!)

2. Go back to basics. Follow the essential care instructions we mention here. Stressed roses are always more susceptible to disease due to lack of adequate sunlight, air, nutrients, and/or water.

3. Ensure good air circulation by regularly pruning dense foliage. Roses love pruning!

4. Additional supplements can also help to boost a rose’s disease resistance.

Remember, even the happiest of roses can get sick and need external intervention from time to time. See a Sky associate for more earth-friendly fungicide/insecticide recommendations. And as always, if you have to spray, be sure to do it in early morning to reduce danger to pollinators.

A Proper Rose Cut: Make your cuts a ¼” above an outward facing leaf bud (so new growth will grow outwards) at a 450 angle away from the center of the plant so that water will flow away from the bud. Keep those pruners sharp!

How & When to Prune: Here in the PNW, we prune roses in late February to mid-March, while the plants are still dormant but after hard freezes are likely. Each year is different, so be sure to check temperatures for your area. As you prune, the goal is to remove all but 4-5 of the healthiest looking canes.

This sounds a little intense, but it's a trued-and-true method, and will result in healthy, abundant branches and buds to enjoy later in the year. 

1. Remove dead, old, or weak canes

2. Prune canes to open up the center of the shrub, aiming for an open “vase” shape.

3. Once you have 4-5 strong canes, cut them back based on the width of the cane: 6-8” long if the cane is as wide as a pencil, 8-12” long if the canes are as thick as your pinky, 12-18” long if index-finger width.

See below for specific climbing rose pruning tips. Other roses, such as groundcover varieties, don’t require as much pruning, but will benefit from occasional trimming to reinvigorate them and encourage more blooms.

Climbing roses produce long canes that, with proper pruning, will grow abundant flowers on your trellis, fence, wall, or archway. For the first few years after planting, only prune out dead or weak canes. Prune in Feb-March as with other roses. Otherwise, do not prune until your climbing rose has become established on its support.