Growing Roses: Tips for Beginners

Aptly referred to as the 'Queen of Flowers', you can grow rose bushes
in your garden and watch them queening it over other flowering plants.
In fact, growing roses is an absorbing way to spend time that can be
relaxing and give you lots of joy. Coming in a variety of colors, from
the deepest of reds to the palest of whites, roses will enhance the
beauty of your surroundings. There are many types of roses that are
quite easy to grow and hence are great for beginners. Given below are
a few tips for beginners for growing roses:

When purchasing rose varieties to grow in your garden, make sure to
buy varieties that are fragrant. Many of the modern varieties of
roses, although beautiful to look at, do not have much fragrance.
Scented varieties of roses can be a great way to add fragrance to your
garden and life.

Roses thrive in the sun; so make sure to plant them in a place that
gets at least six hours of sunlight. However, since the sun in the
afternoon usually is very hot, it is better to plat them in a place
where they get their sun in the morning, and shade in the latter part
of the day.

Plant your roses in soil that has good drainage. If that kind of soil
is not available then planting them in raised beds can solve the
problem. Also, each rose plant should be planted with about a foot of
space from the next, so that there is adequate circulation of air.
This also helps in preventing disease.

Prune your rose plants in the early part of spring, when new growth
signs are visible, with tiny red swellings on the stem, which will
grow into new branches. First of all, snip off damaged or dead
branches. Then, except for 4 to 5 main stems that are healthy, prune
the rest off.

In order to get the best blooms and healthy plants, roses need to be
fertilized well. Use a liquid fertilizer to fertilize your roses every
3-4 weeks during its growth period.

Roses, in general, are also thirsty plants, and need plenty of water.
As a rule of thumb, they need to be watered thoroughly twice in a
week. In dry areas, it is a good idea to install a drip irrigation
system.

Mulch your rose plants by laying down organic matter like grass
clippings, pine needles, and chips of wood. This helps to retain
moisture in the soil, thus requiring less watering, prevents weeds
from growing, thus requiring less weeding, and also acts as a
preventive measure against diseases.

In order to prevent insect infestation, as well as a preventive
against fungal infestations, you could try out Neem Oil. A chemical
pesticide or an insecticidal soap will be needed in case there is
severe infestation in your plants. One of the common pests of rose
plants is the aphid, which can be hosed off with soapy water. The
Japanese beetle is the next most common pest, for which you will have
to use insecticides. An organic method of preventing insect
infestation is to plant garlic along with your roses, or use a garlic
spray.

Add an extra mound of soil at the base of the rose plants to protect
them in the winter. In places where it gets very cold, the whole plant
will have to be covered with burlap in order to provide protection for
the upper parts.