What do roses need to be healthy?

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ross88online

New Member
Most people, no matter how well intentioned they are, do not tend the compost as they should therefore the heat does not build up to the temperatures needed to kill any insects and their eggs or diseases that are on plant material - therefore- unless you know you’re going to put the right amounts of carbon (brown material) and nitrogen (green material), water and turn your compost pile on a regular basis - don’t put the above things into it!!
 

Trax

Active Member
what's the purpose of epsom salt and how do you apply .

I just sprinkled the epsom salt around the bushes and mixed it into the soil with a hand digger. Dunno what it's for yet. :eek:

Update on my rose bush project. :) 3 of the bushes survived. The Blue Moon, Yellow Star of Texas, and Mystery tea roses. But they're doing awesome so it's def a great start! :D
Thanks for all the great advice guyz! :) If you hadn't helped I prolly wouldn't have any roses period.

Here's pics I took of each bush today!
The 1st pic is the Blue Moon rose, the 2nd pic is the Yellow Star of Texas rose, and the last one is the Mystery rose. They're all tea roses and the last one is really cool. The flowers are red and pink with some yellow in the center.
Btw, I got the names mixed up in my Flikr folder. :eek:

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Mystery Tea rose by Trax, on Flickr

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Yellow Star of Texas Tea rose by Trax, on Flickr

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Blue Moon Tea rose by Trax, on Flickr

I discovered something really weird when I took the photos. It's January 22nd and the Chrysanthemums are still blooming! :eek: Veeery strange weather! I took this photo outside today too.

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Mums outside by Trax, on Flickr
 

Trax

Active Member
Thanks, Styx! :) I'll def try that with my rose bushes. I was hoping the bone meal would make them grow faster but they prolly do need ferts too.
 

RonsGarden

Super Moderator
Staff member
Trax, I noticed that you do not use mulch around your roses! Mulch will help to retain soil moisture as well as to keep the soil cool during the growing season!
It also helps to prevent soil born diseases from splashing up onto the foliage!
 

Trax

Active Member
I found out why Epsom Salt is important. Roses need more magnesium than they usually put in fertilizers. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon (2 inches from the base) around each rose bush in the spring. That's all the bushes will need. If you give it more than that each year, it can damage the rose bushes.
I used the Epsom Salt for the 1st time last spring and I'll be doing it again this spring.

I also used Bone Meal for the 1st time last spring and I'll do it again this spring. That adds phosphorous and nitrogen. They make the roots and stems healthier and makes the bush blossom more. But only use it once a year cause too much will burn the roots.

Anyway, this works really good.
1. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of Epsom Salt around the bush, 2 inches from the stem.
2. Sprinkle 2 cups of granulated rose fertilizer the same way around the bush.
3. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of bone meal the same way around the bush.

I'm really glad I remembered this thread cause I forgot to add roses when I started my Wordpad plant guide last year. :eek: Now I can put that info in there too! :)

3 of my 4 rose bushes survived and they're 10x healthier than last year!! :D The bone meal and epsom salt helped tons and they look like real bushes now!!
I'll add some photos sometime this week. :)

Hey Ron! Cool! I'll def be putting some mulch around the roses this year! :) And I still have lots of copper fungicide if I need it. Those bushes are growing fast now and the leaves are even bigger than they've ever been!
 

Crabbergirl

Super Moderator
Staff member
The beautiful rose Tim gave me for Valentine's day went into total shock when I planted it. It dropped every leaf and bud about a week after planting. This weekend I was going to take it back to Lowe's , they have a guarantee on plants, but when I went to dig it, it had new budding spots all over it. So I guess it is going to recover. :D I was so sad but now I am hopeful!
 

Trax

Active Member
Okay! :D Here's photos I took today of my ever-blooming long-stem tea roses! They look like real bushes now and it's still only March. I can't wait to see how big they get this summer cause I'll be feeding them plant food once a week.
Oh, I added some pics of other flowers I found when I was weeding. :)
Btw, my Flikr username is Dekzper. I only use Trax at this site.

This is the Lavender tea rose bush.
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Lavender tea rose by Dekzper, on Flickr

This is 2 pics of the Yellow tea rose. It already has buds! :D
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Yellow tea rose by Dekzper, on Flickr

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Yellow tea rose by Dekzper, on Flickr

This is the Red/Orange tea rose.
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Red/Orange tea rose by Dekzper, on Flickr

And the Hostas are back up this year!
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Blue Hosta by Dekzper, on Flickr

So are the Irises!
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Irises by Dekzper, on Flickr

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Irises by Dekzper, on Flickr

And the tulips! :D
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Tulips by Dekzper, on Flickr

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Tulips by Dekzper, on Flickr

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Tulips by Dekzper, on Flickr

Oh, and my handprint signature in the dirt, lol! :)
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My handprint by Dekzper, on Flickr
 

Crabbergirl

Super Moderator
Staff member
Beautiful pictures Handy. I would love to work there.

To add a picture to your post you need to click the "post reply" button directly below the last post. Once in the reply screen , scroll down to manage attachments. From there you can choose the file to attach.
 

Crabbergirl

Super Moderator
Staff member
Hey Nancie, def let it grow! :) Those buds can really grow fast and make a big bush! :D

Yup I will! If it had been a couple days earlier I would have yanked it and taken it back. That's one good thing about not being home much, somethings correct themselves without any intervention from me:D ;)
 

Flowerbed1

New Member
Flower Bed Design

Roses are elegant, they're colorful, and there exquisitely beautiful, but unfortunately many people tend to be under the impression that roses are difficult to take care of. I'm sure that there are many people out there who feel this way although I can guarantee you if you make a point of learning the basics, then caring for roses is not very difficult at all.
 

Wombat

Active Member
This is depending of course, on your climactic conditions. In an area that has humid summers ( like mine) a lot more care is needed to keep your rose bushes ( I have 7) healthy and flowering. It's worth it in the end I suppose but fungal and disease susceptibility is still prevalent even in the "fungal resistant" varieties. Roses can thrive here but constant monitoring is required to keep your bushes pest and disease free.
 


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