ROSE ARTICLES

As you walk in your garden, in the park or through the fields, noticing the lovely colors, unique shapes and interesting textures, can you imagine bringing this beauty inside your home to enjoy again? This will be an interesting task and very rewarding. When we paint pictures we create dimension by increasing or decreasing the depth of color and diminishing texture; however, in a flower arrangement, placing live plant materials side by side creates depth, width and height so

Rose aphids are one of the most common pests, and one of the first, we see on our roses in the spring. Although I, like most rosarians, can speak about aphids from first-hand knowledge, some of the following information was gathered from extension service reports and other sources. Description Aphids are tiny (1/8″) green or pink insects with plump, pear-shaped bodies and two tubes, or cornicles, which project like exhaust pipes from their abdomens. Life Cycle Aphids have thr

Well, yeah. Sort of. Botanically speaking, at least. Any plant that arises from the ground without a single woody trunk separating the roots from the branches is technically a shrub rather than a tree. That makes roses—at least those growing on their own God-given roots—shrubs. (The thing in the rose catalog called a tree rose is a Frankenstein creation of grafted parts from several roses; it doesn’t exist in nature.) So why would we refer to just some roses as shrub roses? O

Alfalfa tea is a great spring or fall potion that doesn’t interfere with normal seasonal processes. Alfalfa tea releases a growth hormone that makes everything work better. Just add 10 to 12 cups of alfalfa meal or pellets to a 32-gallon plastic garbage can (with a lid), add water, stir and steep for four or five days, stirring occasionally. You may also “fortify” with 2 cups of Epsom salts, 1/2 cup of Sequestrene® (chelated iron, now called Sprint 330) or your favorite trace

Roses love to grow. Given minimal care they will survive and produce flowers. With a regular feeding program and a varied diet, roses will thrive and produce armloads of large, beautiful blooms. There are many types of fertilizers, liquid (soluble) or dry (granular), organic or in-organic. Find a program that works for you, but do it on a once-a-month basis during the growing season. ORGANIC VS. IN-ORGANIC: Organic (or natural) fertilizers are derived from any formerly living

You can discourage deer from entering your rose garden and still maintain a nice view of the garden roses. Simply construct an almost invisible deer fence made by using strands of thin low visibility green fishing line strung on green garden stakes. The fence blends in with the green leaves of the roses and any other green stakes used to support roses in the garden. When you look at the garden from a distance, it is hard to see that there actually is a fence. The green stakes

Mulching is one the best things you can do for your rose garden. By definition, mulching is simply the spreading of a protective covering around the rosebushes and on top of the surrounding soil. The benefits are tremendous. It prevents moisture from evaporating, stunts weed growth, improves soil structure, maintains an even soil temperature during the summer months and gives the landscape a handsome well groomed look. APPLICATION It is best to apply the mulch after pruning

The mysterious ‘rose replant disease’ or ‘rose sickness’ has puzzled rose growers for years. Nothing specific has been identified as the cause of this phenomenon. When new roses are planted where old roses used to be, they may not grow as well as they would if they were planted in soil never planted with roses. Many suspect that key nutrients may be depleted in soils where roses have been grown for a long time, and as a result, the new roses do not get all the nutrition they

In my role as District Chair of Arrangement Judges for the Deep South District, I am asked to review the arrangement section of local rose shows in the district. In the schedule for the Fall Augusta Rose Show, Linda Boland submitted as the class for personal adornment a “Tussie Mussie”. In their Show the theme was the “University of Roses” and the class title was “Department of Psychology”. The description was: A Tussie-Mussie, with water source, not to exceed 16” in height,

By Raymond A. Cloyd Insecticidal soaps may provide control of a variety of insect and mite pests of roses including aphids, thrips, scales and the twospotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae). A soap is a substance derived from the synthesis of an alkali such as sodium (hard soap) or potassium (soft soap) hydroxide on a fat. Fats are generally a blend of particular fatty acid chain lengths. Soap is a general term for the salts of fatty acids. Fatty acids are the primary compo