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| ROSE
GROWING INFORMATION
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| Roses
are easy to grow |
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Roses
are easy to grow but being the acknowledged royalty amongst flowers,
they do thrive on extra attention.
Roses need to be watered at least weekly with a good penetration of
approximately 20 litres per plant. During summer’s heat and when
planted in sandy shallow soil, irrigation should be every other day.
Modern roses are programmed to supply long stemmed flowers for most of
the year, but they do need regular additional feeding. A well grown
plant should receive a handful (about 50g) of fertiliser such as 5:1:5
or Wonder 8:1:5 (25) every month to 6 weeks. This fertiliser is best
scattered around or over the bush to spread fairly evenly over the root
zone. The water will dissolve the active food particles and carry it to
the roots. Do not dig in.
The important and active roots of rose bushes are shallow and flourish
in well aerated soil. However, they are very sensitive to heat and it is
therefore of utmost importance that the root zone is insulated with a
10cm thick layer of mulch. The best mulch is coarse organic material
such as pine needles, wood shavings, peanut shells, leaves, or pieces of
wooden planks. By spacing roses 60cm apart rather than 1 metre, they are
able to provide their own shade to a fair extent. To be able to pick
immaculate long stemmed blooms, the roses should be sprayed weekly with
"Rosecare" or the non-toxic solution of 20ml Oleum plus l0g of
Sodium Bicarbonate, plus a teaspoon of G49 or liquid soap to 10 litres
of water.
With the above treatment, roses will grow and flower. With the personal
touch of cutting flowers for the vase or just by dead-heading and
cutting off irrelevant small side stems, the quality of flowers can be
regulated. You cannot cut wrongly, as long as you ensure a good balance
of remaining foliage on every bush.
Roses need to rejuvenate themselves annually. By doing a harsh winter
pruning, the bush is assisted to do so. One cannot prune a rose wrongly.
Plants are simply cut back to about knee height and older stems are
removed from the inside. The best time to do so is from mid-July until
mid-August, depending on the severity of the winter in each garden.
Spraying with Lime Sulphur after pruning will kill spores and eggs of
pests.
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