JANUARY AND FEBRUARY:

Plant roses!! Unless the ground is frozen this is an excellent time to buy and plant new roses.  When choosing a new rose pick a grade#1 rose with the most canes (at least 3-4) and the best vase-like shape possible.  It doesn’t matter if the rose is sold bare-root or potted up.  The cost is always less for the bare-root rose because the labor and materials added to plant the rose up increases cost. When planting a new rose remove at least one third if not one half (50%) of the existing soil from the hole you dig and replace it with a high quality rose compost like Gardener n’ Bloom’s Rose Compost.  Add in gypsum (either liquid or granular) if your soil contains excessive amounts of clay.  You can add in 4 cups Terosa Ultimate Rose Food as this fertilizer is all slow release, eliminating any risk of burning the roots. In the past this has been the main objection to adding in fertilizer with a new rose.  This is also a good time to apply a dormant spray to both the rose bush and the soil around it.  This helps to eliminate the blackspot and mildew spores and bug populations that may have overwintered in your garden.

MARCH:

After growing roses for 30 years I am convinced (because of late winter freezes) that the first 15 days of March is the best time to prune roses.  When pruning get rid of all cuttings and pull off any old foliage from the plant, leaving the rose “bare-naked”.  Do not compost any of this. You can fertilize all roses with Terosa this month.  4 cups per rose (4-5 cups for climbers and 1-2 cups for minis) applied around the base or drip-line of the rose works perfectly.  The food can be worked in to the first 1-2 inches of soil if so desired to eliminate the risk of run-off. I also like to apply 2-4 cups of either rose compost, mushroom compost or worm castings on top of Terosa, watering in well afterwards on all existing roses. Dormant spray can still be applied.  PLANT MORE ROSES!

APRIL:

 Bare-root season is over now so all roses will now be potted up for sale.  Fertilize with Terosa if you haven’t already and water in well.  When you fertilize with organic food you will notice better disease resistance, more blooms, richer color, better fragrance and so on.  There is no comparison between using an organic fertilizing program and a chemical fertilizing program.  I promise.  As the plants begin to leaf out you will need to watch for aphids.  Aphids treasure and destroy the succulent new foliage and forming buds.  Keep a bottle of neem oil on hand to help control them.  Greenlight’s Rose Defense works well and can be sprayed on every 2 weeks to control bugs and disease.  Read directions carefully and you shouldn’t need a gas mask and a coat of armor to apply it.  Pull out an ugly shrub and plant a new rose.

MAY AND JUNE:

 You can apply my alfalfa/epsom salt treatment during this time.  Apply 2 cups alfalfa meal and one half cup Epsom salts around the base of each rose as you would Terosa.  Water in well.  This can and should be done 30-60 days later, but before September.  Continue to watch for bugs and disease and control with neem oil.  Make sure your roses are receiving 1-2 inches of water per week. Fertilize with Terosa if you haven’t already.  Enjoy the fruits of your labor; the big bloom is getting ready to explode.  Dig up some lawn and plant a new rose.

JULY:

This is a great month to do a “mini-pruning” on established roses.  When they have finished their first bloom cut down the cane to the third or fourth 5 leaflet.  This will encourage more growth and more bloom.  I will then pull off the bottom third group of leaves as this foliage now serves only to encourage bugs and disease.  Keep watering 2-3 times weekly and feed if necessary.

AUGUST:

 Usually our best month, in terms of weather, so be vigilant about watering.  Pull off any diseased leaves.  Continue to cut off dead blooms.  If you didn’t apply Terosa or do any alfalfa/epsom salt treatments this is the last chance until next year. 

SEPTEMBER:

Some of the best blooms happen in this month, hence the fall rose shows.  Keep watering.  No additional fertilizer of ANY kind should be applied.  Watch for mildew and spray as necessary.  Fall is a wonderful time to plant roses.

OCTOBER:

Let some of the dead blooms form rose hips, in other words don’t cut off all the dead blooms.  It no longer matters where you make your cuts.  Around Halloween make sure all bushes (except climbers) are no taller than 4 feet to avoid “wind whipping” during the winter months.  Cover the bud union (at the base of the plant) with either mushroom or rose compost.  3-6 cups (per bush) seems to give enough coverage.  This mulch will keep your rose warm all winter and thus protected from freeze damage.  Remove this mulch and spread it around the day you prune in March.

NOVEMBER: 

Not much to do, except pull of any leaves that are diseased and get rid of them! Do not compost! Mother Nature will provide water.

DECEMBER:

Apply 2 cups lime around each rose bush.  Terosa contains lime, but in the PNW another application is important.  Lime can and should be applied to perennial, annual and vegetable gardens, clematis, lilacs and YOUR LAWN!