Fun fact, did you know that roses will bloom again 42 days after you have given them a trim?
Let me start by saying that I would never profess to being an expert rosarian, but I do love roses and have been admiring and growing them in Perth for years and have had very good success selecting just the right ones and caring for them for my clients as well.
I am just like everyone else in the garden, sometimes I have great success and other times not so much…here’s what has worked for me.
Now that the worst of our Summer heat is over -and let’s face it, this year has been horrible-with dry heat backed up by a hefty dose of humidity. It is time to give my roses a bit of a trim. This “Summer Prune” will be more than just the deadheading, that I usually do to encourage more blooms when the flowers are spent.
In Perth, I am now having better success by doing the big traditional rose prune at the end of August and even sometimes mid September, rather than July. This results in a fabulous Spring flush of big healthy rose blooms. I love that time of the year. I am rewarded for my efforts. I give them plenty of Mature Compost, say 4 hands full per rose and a regular application of fertiliser that is low in Nitrogen and higher in Potassium. In addition, I give them Seasol and Powerfeed every 2-3 weeks. This regime keeps the soil healthy and the plants love it. That’s my Spring and it is really gorgeous in my garden.
The Summer months are very harsh on plants here at my place and the roses tend to spot flower only, despite my best efforts. Sometimes just when they are about to bloom we will have a 40 degree day and they will literally shrivel up in an hour or two. I am learning to live with that. I enjoy them for the day that they bloom and then deadhead them about day 3 and just focus on keeping the plants alive with water and Seasol and Powerfeed, https://www.seasol.com.au/ as well as a wettting agent, like Grosorb.
It is 42 days and counting to the Easter long weekend, which is about the right number of days from trimming the roses to blooming again. So, can you guess what I am doing this weekend?
Easter is a big deal at our place. I think it is by far my favourite holiday in the calendar.
We actually have more days off with all of the Public Holidays at Easter-time than we traditionally do at Christmas. At Christmas, in the middle of Summer, we race around the shops, trying to find the perfect gifts for everyone and prepare the perfect meal all at once as well as catching up with friends and family. It is mayhem.
Easter takes on a much more relaxed feel and the weather is so much kinder on people and plants! It is a lovely time for entertaining with friends and family. My garden takes on a softer feel, the sun is not as brutal, the mornings are cooler and the days are still spectacular.
Gifts are kept to a minimum too with a few chocolate eggs and yes, there will be cake, but it’s really about the decoration of the home and garden that I get a kick out of.
In preparation for Easter, I will be giving my roses a good trim this weekend, I will be “Summer pruning” my roses. “Summer pruning” is going just a bit lower than you would normally deadhead.
The shrubs will be reduced back under the next union from where I have deadheaded through the Summer months.
If there are any plants with defoliated leaves, which can happen in the Summer. I will not be cut back those too hard.
I will be adding Mature Compost https://www.swanvalleylandscapesupplies.com.au/ around the base of each plant, and I will be giving them some fertiliser. I will make sure that they are getting plenty of water as we still have not had any rain.
I will check on the lupin straw mulch and top it up, where required and offer a wetting agent like Grosorb, https://www.baileysfertiliser.com.au/products/category/wetting-agents/ grosorb before the mulch goes on top.
Some of my containers need a little work too. They are looking a bit sad after Summer and I will re-visit them with some fresh plants. Who needs an excuse to go plant shopping? Not me.
A little preparation now and around Easter many of my roses will be flowering their heads off again. I can’t wait. They will flower all the way through to June and even into July.
Will you be Summer Pruning your roses this weekend? You know that I will be.
