1) Pick the correct spot – There are three keys to a good location for roses. The first is full sun. Roses won’t grow in shade, so you need a spot with at least six hours of full, direct sunlight. The second is well-drained. Roses want water, but then want it to drain away from their roots. Don’t plant in an area where water accumulates or stands for extended periods of time. Finally, make sure the area has good air circulation. Roses don’t always like our high humidity, so making sure they are planted in an area that gets a nice breeze helps to move the humid air around and helps them thrive in Florida.
2) Use Rich Soil – Roses thrive in rich soil. That’s probably not what you have in your backyard naturally. So whenever you plant roses, use Black Gold Ultra Outdoor Planting Mix or Black Gold Garden Compost to create a rich, acidic condition to help grow big, beautiful blooms.
3) Water Well – All care instructions have to include something about watering. It is the most important thing you can do for your new plants, but it can also be the easiest to forget. Water daily for the first month, always in the morning with a deep soaking. In the second month, go to every other day, and in month three, you can back down to twice weekly. This watering schedule slowly transitions plants away from their nursery watering schedule and allows them to grow a strong root system. Strong roots mean strong plants and the best blooms.
4) Prune and Deadhead – Here are some basic tips. First, sterilize your clippers. This keeps disease from spreading. Second, deadhead (or remove spent blooms) regularly, and prune offshoots and branches that are too long anytime throughout the year. Lastly, save a severe prune for the winter – late January to February is ideal.
5) Give your Roses Food – Monthly fertilizations with our Kerby’s Special will give your roses everything they need to thrive; another option is Rose-tone by Espoma, a natural and organic fertilizer. We have also gotten really great growth and blooms from our roses when we use FoxFarm’s Grow Big liquid fertilizer weekly as an additional supplement. Roses need plenty of food to produce the large, healthy blooms.
6) Watch for pests – Roses can get different insect pests as well as diseases. The best protection is prevention. Stop insects and disease from taking hold in the first place and you’ll grow the strongest roses. To prevent both, do a soil drench on your rose bushes every two months with Ferti-Lome’s 2-n-1 Systemic Drench. We also like using Liquid Systemic Fungicide in the humid months as a treatment for the dreaded, but common black spot fungus.
7) Enjoy – We always say, why buy a bouquet of roses that will fizzle in a few weeks when you can plant a few rose bushes that will give you bouquets for years to come?