I hope by the time you read this you have already pruned your roses back to get ready for a fabulous season of fall color. If you are running behind, get on out there and prune those babies back. You can prune about one third off and cut about one half inch above an outward facing bud eye.
You can work in some granular fertilizer; 13 is a good all around one, the first of the month. Don’t use any granular fertilizer after the 15th of September, only water soluble. The middle of September give each rose about one gallon of a good water soluble fertilizer. I use 20-20-20 or the blue water works fine too. The last week of the month give each rose another drink with one tablespoon each of Epsom salts, fish emulsion, and a 10-52-10(Super Bloom) mixed in a gallon of water.
Be sure and keep up your spray program, this time of year roses are susceptible to powdery mildew as well as black spot. I use one half teaspoon of Honor Guard and one heaping teaspoon of Mancozeb per gallon of water.
Most pests are not a problem at this time of year to roses, although there a couple. Cucumber beetles (look like green ladybugs) seem to be swarming and can be controlled with a chemical called Talstar. I mix one ounce per gallon of water and usually one application will do the job. The other pest is a moth that lays eggs on the blooms and foliage just below the bloom. The old fashioned “Bug Zapper” works best to control the moths that lay the eggs, however to get rid of the egg and larvae you need a chemical called Dipel. This comes in different strengths, so be sure and read the label and follow directions.
Please be careful and read the label on all chemicals, follow directions and remember more is not better. Be sure to wear protective clothing, wear a respirator to protect your lungs, and goggles to protect your eyes.
Last but not least, be sure to water. Give your rose bushes at least an inch of water a week and if you are going to show roses, you might want to water at least twice that.
The rose garden is a good place to teach your young child or grandchild colors and smells. It is also a good place to teach about thorns. My good friend and avid rose gardener, Damon Ligon, loaned me this photo of his baby girl, Macy, smelling a rose. Isn’t she just the cutest thing you ever seen.
Send me an email with your comments or questions at colorsbytim@hotmail.com or you can send me a message on www.facebook/mastergardner.com
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