Monday, September 10, 2012

If you love roses...

'New Zealand' from the September garden

Some people think roses are too high maintenance, or believe they'll need to use chemicals to grow them successfully. Too much fuss is the number one reason I hear from people who admire my garden roses but won't grow their own. 

My garden is chemical free and my approach to growing roses is "green." I feed them with well rotted composted  manure. When conditions are dry, I use the water from two dehumidifiers to keep them happy, and I control blackspot by spraying the foliage with a concoction of baking soda, water and mild detergent.

If you love roses and wish you could grow them in your garden, late summer and early fall are good times to plant them. Wait until next spring if you can't plan them soon roses need time to get their roots firmly established before the ground freezes.

Program yourself for success by choosing roses that are  disease resistant and plant them where they will get at least six, and preferably eight, hours of sun.

The American Rose Society is a great resource and because I'm fond of old roses, which are very disease resistant, I recommend The Antique Rose Emporium.

To learn more about 'New Zealand' click here.

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