Gardens

Rose Care for the Year

Gardens

Early Spring to Mid-spring: Prune established plants. Apply a rose fertilizer and then spread a mulch of garden composted manure around the base of plants.

Mid-spring to Late Spring: Watch for yellowing leaves speckled with black - the first symptom of black spot. If roses become infect- ed, spray at recommended intervals with a fungicide approved in your region, and dispose of diseased foliage as it falls away from the bush. Continue until all signs of disease have disappeared. Apply a rose fertilizer.

Early Summer to Midsummer: Prune spring-blooming old-fashioned roses. Dead- head hybrid teas and floribundas. Apply fertilizer. Treat for mildew, Japanese beetles, and aphids, if necessary. Continue to spray for black spot, if need- ed.

Midsummer to Late Summer: Prune ramblers after flowering. Continue to dead- head hybrid teas and floribundas. Regular, deep watering is essential for roses during hot, dry weather. In cold-winter zones, don't fertilize after mid-August.

Early Fall to Late Fall: Deadhead to encourage late flowers. Tie in new shoots on climbers. Watch for diseases. Transplant and relocate any bushes you set too close together in the spring.

Mid-fall to Late Fall: Take cuttings of species, ramblers, and some floribun- das. Prune climbing roses. In cold regions, protect hybrid teas by mounding soil 9 in (23 cm) over crown- s; remove climbers from trellis, and lay them, covered, on the ground.

Winter: Begin to prune floribunda and hybrid tea roses in mild regions.