The cooler months of the year are the best time for roses in Florida. The lower rainfall and decreased humidity allow them to thrive, and since we stay warm most of the time, they usually keep on blooming. Below are some of our tips for both getting new roses started and for getting the ones you have back in shape after the summer. It’s great to be a Florida gardener.
1) Fall and Winter Pruning – People are always a little scared to prune. But once the daytime temperatures cool a little more, it is a good time to start removing any dead and diseased branches and start shaping rose bushes back up. In January to early February, do a more intense prune, cutting back up to 50% of the bush, removing crossing branches and encouraging a smaller set (4 to 7) of major stems for new branches and new roses to grow out from.
2) Keep Roses Strong – To stay healthy, a rose bush needs its fertilizer. Fertilize monthly with The Kerby’s Special or use a liquid fertilizer such as FoxFarm’s Grow Big to keep roses filled with the nutrients they need to grow and bloom. Even through the winter months, roses keep growing while it is warm, so we’ll usually keep up with our fertilizing schedule.
3) Watch for Pests and Disease – Rose gardeners breathe a sigh of relief with the arrival of fall, because both insect and disease issues become less of a problem. That doesn’t mean they go away completely, so keep scouting on a regular basis to catch problems before they overwhelm your rose garden. If you want to keep things on the natural side, spray every other week with Neem Oil or Copper Soap Fungicide. For something a little stronger, you can do a monthly spray of Liquid Systemic Fungicide.
4) Keep on Enjoying – Healthy rose bushes will bloom almost year-round in Florida, so stay ahead of the game, keep your roses healthy, and you’ll have bouquets of roses to bring inside each week of the year.