How To Care For Your Rose Bushes
Growing roses can feel intimidating, even for experienced gardeners. But with a few simple habits, you can enjoy healthy plants and beautiful blooms all season long. Here’s how we recommend caring for your roses at Barlow’s Farm & Flowers.
1. PLANTING
- Dig a hole as deep as the pot your rose is in.
- When planting, make sure the top of the root ball is level with the soil surface.
- Gently loosen the roots so they don’t stay tightly wound in the root ball.
Soil tips:
- Use fertile, well‑drained soil (we love Bumper Crop Organic Soil Builder) so roses don’t sit in water.
- Remove compacted, low‑quality soil and replace it with organic matter.
- Break up clay—water can’t penetrate heavy clay, which can lead to root rot.
- Mixing in peat moss or sand helps create space for oxygen to reach the roots.
2. LIGHT
- Roses prefer about 8 hours of sun and will usually do well with at least 6.
- If your yard gets less than 5 hours of sunlight, consider shrub roses and monitor closely for fungal issues.
- Sun helps dry the foliage, which makes it harder for fungi to take hold.
3. WATER
- Roses use a lot of water, but they don’t like to stay soggy.
- Aim for about 1 inch of water once per week, adjusting during very hot or very dry spells.
- Keep foliage as dry as possible when watering to reduce disease pressure.
- Water in the early morning (around 5–8 AM) so leaves can dry by late morning.
- Avoid late‑evening watering—wet leaves overnight (12–15 hours) are a fungus playground.
- Midday watering mostly affects your water bill (more lost to evaporation), not the plant’s health.
4. FEEDING
- Roses are heavy feeders; lots of blooms require lots of nutrients.
- Use a balanced garden fertilizer that provides both macro and micro nutrients.
Fertilizer options:
- Water‑soluble fertilizer: Every 7–10 days. Heavy rain after feeding can wash some nutrients away.
- Granular fertilizer: Every 3–4 weeks (products like Espoma Bio‑tone® Starter Plus and Rose‑tone® work well).
- Time‑release fertilizer: About once a month. The capsules don’t shrink—they hollow out as they release nutrients.
Pro tip: Water plant first – then add fertilizer – nutrients follow wet soil down to root zone – not pushed past roots by too much water.
5. DEADHEADING
Deadheading means removing spent flowers to encourage more blooms.
- If old flowers are left to form seed, the plant diverts energy into seed production instead of new blooms.
- Once seeds set, the plant “thinks” its job is done and shifts energy to the roots—good for next year, not great for color right now.
- Waiting too long to deadhead can cause big flushes of flowers followed by bare periods.
- Be consistent, and your rose is more likely to stay in steady color.
6. PRUNING
Pruning removes larger portions of stems (canes) to keep plants healthy and productive.
- Without periodic pruning, shrubs get woody and less efficient at sending nutrients to the top of the plant.
- Renewal pruning helps maintain good growth and bloom.
- Improve airflow by removing canes that grow through the center of the plant or that crowd neighboring plants.
When and how to prune:
- Spring is the preferred time to do major pruning.
- When you see small red foliage, the plant is moving stored nutrients into fresh growth—that’s your cue.
- A common approach is to leave the plant about 12–18 inches tall after pruning, depending on variety.
- Don’t remove too much green growth at once—the plant still needs foliage to photosynthesize.
- Take down individual stems, then give the plant time to recover before pruning more.
Fall pruning:
- If you must prune in fall, wait until the plant is dormant and has lost most of its leaves.
- Pruning too early in fall encourages new, tender growth that can be badly damaged by frost.
- In spring, you may still need to remove another few inches of winter‑damaged cane.
Stephen Barlow's Shopping List
(available in limited quantities at our Seasonal Garden Market)
- Bumper Crop Organic Soil Builder
- Espoma Bio-tone® Starter Plus
- Espoma Rose-tone®