​​Articles and information on Roses and Rose Growing

• The Basics :
  
  
• Rose Growing Basics for the Atlanta Area
  
• What Kind of Rose Is That?
• What Kind of Rose Is That?Planting Roses
  
• An Introduction to Rose Pruning
  
• Fertilizing Roses
  
• Spraying Roses
  
• Annual Pruning
  
• Taking Rose Cuttings Basics for the Atlanta Area

List of Disease Resistant Roses
List and Description of Earth Kind Roses
List of Lower Maintanance Roses for Atlanta area
No-Spray Roses for the Southeastern United States
Tom Seibert's (Week's Roses) List of Recommended Roses (pdf version)
Tom Seibert's (Week's Roses) List of Recommended Roses (web version and slightly different format)
Robin Ross's List of Roses (Eden Bioscience representative)

Rose Suppliers
The Bogan Park Rose Garden

Bobbie Reed, Master Rosarian
​Summer Rose Care
Watch what’s happening in your garden
Water

• Measurerainfall in your garden – don’t rely on TV, radio, or what you saw at work
• Roses need 1-2 inches of water per week, every week, rain or hose or drip.
• Water directly to the soil, not overhead.  Drip irrigation is best.
• Water pots at least every other day while it’s hot.
• If roses droop due to heat, overhead water in morning or midday so foliage will dry before evening.

Feed

• Feed at least every 2-4 weeks.
• Dry, granular fertilizers increase risk of root burn in dry weather.
• Liquid (every 2 weeks) or organic is best.
• Between mid- and end of August, feed with Purely Organic to stimulate fall bloom.

Disease

• Are roses getting enough sun and air circulation? Can you change this?
• Is water standing on leaves for hours or overnight?
• Are leaves developing black spots, turning yellow, and falling?  Blackspot!
• Remove diseased leaves from plant and from ground.
• Try neem-oil type spray regimen, every week.  Beware of foliage burn in heat.
• Try Bayer All-in-One every six weeks.  May cause problems in pots or newly planted roses.
• Start a regular fungicide spray regimen:  
  1. a contactfungicide kills existing disease:  Manzate, Mancozeb, Daconil
  2. a systemicfungicide prevents future disease:  BannerMaxx/HonorGuard, Cleary’s 3336, Compass.  Old-fashioned sprays are often more toxic.
  3. Combine one contactplus one systemicfungicide each week. Rotate the systemic every third or fourth spray.
  4. Use real measuring spoons, always use the dose from the label.
  5. Spray early to avoid rush-hour thunderstorms.
  6. Don’t save left-over spray – it won’t be effective next time.

Critters

• Japanese beetles

Limited problem season of June-July
Don’t attract them with landscaping (apples, cherries, crepe myrtles, hollyhocks, grapes, Japanese maples, peaches, plums, rose-of-sharon, or poison ivy)or beetle traps
Knock them off bush into soapy water.  Or squish, but don’t drop on ground.
Insecticides will kill those present, but others fly in from 1-2 miles away.

• Thrips

Attract them away from bush – blue plastic cup with STP Oil Treatment.
Mist JUST THE BUDS with insecticide like Conserve, only when bees aren’t around.

• Assorted chewing and sucking insects

Are they really eating so much that it’s a problem?  Insecticides only work if you spray the bug that’s doing the chewing/sucking.  No prevention.

• Spider mites

Plant vampires, live on bottoms of leaves, starting at bottom of plant
Most prolific in hot, dry weather.
Hard spray of water aimed at undersides of leaves, every 2-3 days.
Miticides will help, but are expensive:  Avid (it must be sprayed every three days or so in summer), Floramite(it kills eggs and adults, so it can be sprayed less often, but it’s very expensive), Forbid, or TetraSan.

• Deer

Disturb their regular travels and eating patterns.
They quickly adapt to scents and sounds, so you’d have to change often.
Barriers work, but must be HIGH (8-10 feet) without openings.
Deadhead

• Cut or break off spent blooms. This conserves the plant’s energy and removes potentially infectious material from the garden.
• Cut just above an outward-facing 5-leaflet leaf, far enough down the cane so new growth will be strong enough to support the growth for a new bloom.

Cut Back

• Between mid- and end of August, cut plants back by about one-quarter to stimulate fall rose blooms.  Cut out dead and diseased canes, remove anything that crosses.

Take care of yourself

• Avoid working outdoors during the hottest part of the day.  Take frequent breaks.
• Stop for water often.  Beer and caffeinated beverages don’t count!
• Wear a hat and long sleeves to protect you from the sun and the mosquitos.  OK, the hat at least, and SPF 30+ and a mosquito repellent with DEET or picaridin.