Spring into action with your rose care
As summer approaches it’s time to keep on top of feeding, weeding and watering
Now the weather’s warmed up considerably, your roses will have shot into life. If you live in southern areas of the UK they’ll probably be showing flower buds and maybe even colour. If you haven’t already given them a good solid rose feed by now, then it’s time to do so. If you’ve already fed them, now’s a good time to give them a boost with a foliar feed. You should also spray against pests and diseases as prevention now saves continually spraying during the summer.
Keep going over the beds and borders to keep the weeds down. If you’re using a hoe do so gently so as not to break any of the roots, especially the small feeder roots growing near the top of the ground. As with pests and diseases, work done now will save much hardship during the summer.
Make sure to give your roses in pots plenty of water as late April and early May can be very warm and dry. It’s best to water in the morning so the plants are dried out by evening time and any frost won’t cause damage.
My plant of the month
‘Sunny Sky’ (Koraruli): This is a beautiful and healthy, classically-shaped Hybrid Tea from Kordes in Germany, and was the 2016 Rose of the Year winner. It has a slight ‘fruity’ fragrance and is honey yellow in colour. The blooms last a long time on the plant and as a cut flower. Easy to grow, it will reach about 1m (3ft 3in) in height.