Consulting Rosarian Report July 2008

by Rose Gilardi

Are you still enjoying your roses?  It’s hard to believe this year’s beautiful spring has turned into summer already with the inland temperatures soaring.  This of course means the usual foggy days and cool nights of our coastal summer are creating our unique rose growing conditions again.

The drippy heavy fog looks like there should be enough water in the soil lulling us into believing we don’t need to water.  Wrong. This is exactly the time when we have to be diligent and supply our roses with this precious commodity. Digging into the soil an inch or so will very quickly reveal when moisture is needed. 

Diseases (mildew, blackspot, rust) are just waiting to pounce on those beautiful leaves you so tenderly babied through the early part of the year.  Remember, prevention rather than trying to cure them is easier when dealing with diseases.  Sanitation in the garden goes a long way to ward off many of these summer time problems. 

Many rosarians do a general light summer pruning.  This is pruning to a five-leaflet leaf and giving a light feeding immediately after the job is done.  Don’t do the same type of pruning as you would in January. That is much too drastic and would definitely stress the plants way to much.  In extreme hot weather plants conserve energy and moisture on their own.  

If you spray your roses, continue spraying with your usual fungicides on a regular schedule.  Remember only spray insecticides when insects are present – or let the natural predators do their job.  This isn’t always easy; waiting for them to arrive is a game of willpower. But predators will come if there is something for them to eat.  This doesn’t mean that they will totally eradicate all insects.  Predators will always assure that there is some food left for the future and this means for instance that there will always be some aphids present to multiply for food.  It is a matter of how many insects the gardener can tolerate. 

Keep a watchful eye out for spidermites.  These critters do not have many natural enemies and prevention is much easier than trying to eliminate them.  The least invasive way is to use a water wand every other day washing the underside of the leaves.  This has to be done early in the morning so leaves can dry before evening.  Spraying a miticide according to directions will break the breeding cycle and gives reasonable control.

Watering before any procedure (spraying or feeding) is a definite must.

Don’t forget to share your roses with neighbors and friends, even a small bouquet will make them very happy and your labor of love is greatly admired.  Plus it’s hard to complain about a spray program if your neighbors receive a bouquet of roses on a regular basis.

Remember your garden is to be enjoyed; it’s ok for the gardener to take a well deserved rest to stop and smell the roses.