Rose Gardening

Rose gardening is not as hard as it is assumed to be. Rose gardening can be a wonderful hobby to start. Roses are beautiful flowers and can make your house smell delightful. Rose gardening can be a little harder than the average flower, but with a little research and practice you will become an expert.

Before starting your rose garden you will have to decide on the types of roses you want to use. Depending on the time of season you are starting your rose garden you will want to choose between bare root, container, and pre-packaged roses. The bare root roses are planted when the ground has thawed from the winter and the early spring has started to warm the dirt. If you want to start your garden early you can purchase pre-packaged roses or container grown roses. It is advisable to keep them in pots in a warm place until the dirt heats up. The pre-packaged roses have a moisture barrier surrounding the roots to keep it conditioned. The container grown roses are already started and can be sold with the plant in the blooming phase. This can give you a nice head start on your spring and summer rose garden.

Starting a rose garden is not any different than a regular garden. The soil needs to be properly prepared with the correct nutrients and fertilizers. A good mulch or compost is always advisable. The rose garden, as with most gardens, requires the full spectrum of the sun for optimal growth. The garden area should have proper drainage. You should free the area of all dead leaves and twigs, which can carry disease and insects. Your roses should be spread apart so each plant gets the proper amount of sun. When the soil is properly mixed with a tiller you can start planning out the spread of your Rose garden. You should lay all the plants out above ground before planting the roses to make sure the spread pattern is correct. Make sure that a garden hose is near by. The night before you plant the roses you should soak the roots over night. This will bring moisture into the roots and help with the transplanting process. As always you should rid the plant itself of any dead leaves before planting.

Roses require more water then the general garden. Watering the area 2 times a week will suffice. Rose gardens also take more fertilizer. I would suggest contacting or visiting you local nursery, as they can always be a great help in this area. One thing to keep in mind is that you should always water heavily after each application of fertilizer so the plants do not get shocked. The fertilizer can be started in the beginning of spring and stopped in the beginning of fall. They make fertilizer specifically for roses and they include an instructional layout you can follow. A local nursery can point you in the right direction.

Reading up on the rose varieties you choose can really help with a successful rose garden. Different varieties of roses will require more or less pruning than the others and pruning is an important part of a rose garden. Pruning the roses will give fuller and healthier blooms and increase you plants rigidity.

Rose gardening can require more effort and participation than the usual flower garden, but in my opinion the rose is well worth it. A rose garden produces a unique and beautiful flower that in known for it's unique qualities. Your girlfriend, wife, or even husband will appreciate being given a rose once in a while. So, roses require more fertilizer and more water than the average flower garden but in my opinion having a rose garden more than pays for itself in the end.