April is here and you should have completed all of your heavy pruning. Lime sulphur should have been sprayed and organics applied to the bushes and worked in.
Bushes should be leafing out and some are already starting to bud. Lady Banks should be full of buds and by the end of April she should be in full bloom.
The first week of the month give each bush about three tablespoons of a rich nitrogen fertilizer and three tablespoons of Epsom salts. Sprinkle this mixture around the drip line of the bush and work into the soil. Mid-April, I recommend that you give each bush another dose of fertilizer. The mixture that I use is mix one tablespoon of a good rose bloom food (Bloom Kote, Super Bloom), one tablespoon of Epsom salts, one tablespoon of fish emulsion, and one tablespoon of chelated iron. I mix these items in a gallon of water and pour them around the drip line of each rose. The roses that I do this to are hybrid teas, floribundas, and grandifloras. The other roses in my landscape I give them about one half cup of triple 13. The last week in April I repeat this same fertilizer program. This formula is for large bushes and I cut this formula in half for mini roses and smaller new bushes.
April is also the time to get your roses on a regular spray program. I spray all my roses every seven to ten days with a mixture of fungicide, insecticide, and miracle grow. The only roses that I do not spray this often is knockout roses and I spray them at the beginning of the season and then once every six weeks. The fungicides that I prefer are Compass, Daconil, Banner Maxx, and Mancozeb. There are others on the market and Daconil is not a good choice after daytime temperatures reach 85 degrees on a daily basis. I add Malathion to this mix to control insects. I also add a few drops of dish wash soap to the mix to make the chemicals stick to the bushes. I like to alternate the fungicides to help prevent fungi from building an immunity to them. Keep a close watch when the buds start to show color and mist them with a hand spray bottle to control thrips and bud worms. I use Malathion, but other insecticides will work also. If you only have a few roses (a dozen or so) I recommend a product that is a soil drench, that you use about every six weeks. That product is called Bayer Once and Done. It is, however not cost effective if you have a large number of roses in your landscape.
Sprayers are available in all sizes and styles. I prefer the four to six gallon size that are on wheels or as a backpack and are battery powered. These sprayers are available from Rosemania at 888-600-9665 and Rose Inc. at 918-455-7673. Both of these companies have good reputations and have fairly quick delivery times. These sprayers are on average $125.00 to 200.00 and are good investment if you have a large rose garden.
As always when using chemicals, especially when spraying, wear protective clothing and a respirator. Please read the labels and follow the directions, more is not better. If you have any questions, send me an email at colorsbytim@hotmail.com or give me a call at 662-316-0088.
Happy Gardening and Keep Digging in the Dirt.
Some great advice here. Thanks for posting... I use Mancozeb mostly. Have had some problems with Powdery Mildew this spring. First time ever.
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