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Rose Gardens

Rose gardens provide beauty and color to your outdoor areas. Fans of roses spend a great deal of time growing the perfect roses, but rose gardens do not have to take all your time and energy to be gorgeous. With the range of roses available you can find some that grow under challenging circumstances and bloom almost continually from late spring to fall.

Use natural pesticides and insecticides in your rose garden or purchase commercially available products and use exactly as directed. Rose gardens can be susceptible to fungus so you may also need fungicide. With these tools, almost anyone can be successful as a grower of fantastically beautiful roses.

The Number One rule in creating a great rose garden is to start with good stock. When you choose rose plants, select two year old field grown plants that are already budding. These plants, if not pruned, should have three or more canes of 18 inches or so. If you purchase pruned rose plants, the canes should be about one-quarter inch in diameter at the top. If possible, purchase plants potted in paper pots so they can be transplanted easily at most any time of year.

When planting your rose garden, select a location that provides good drainage and has lots of sun. Trim any broken or bruised roots from the stock and cut the top growth to about eight inches. Create a hole that is at least six inches deeper than needed for the roots. This allows the roots lots of space without crowding or bending them. Place a fistful of small rocks in the bottom of the hole to help with drainage. Mix one tablespoon of rose fertilizer with the soil placed over the drainage pebbles. Then add soil until the level desired for planting the rose plant is reached. Set the plant into the ground, spreading the roots out and then fill the hole with soil. Pack the soil firmly two or three times as you fill the hole.

If you plant hybrid tea roses, polyantha or floribunda types in your rose garden, the first feeding should be in early spring as the leaf buds begin to swell. Clear any mulch away and work plant food that is especially formulated for roses into the dirt around the plant. Use about 1 tablespoon per plant and do not over feed. The next feeding should be at the same rate and should occur after the first heavy rose bloom. The third feeding, again at the same amount, must be done in late summer. Perform the third feeding no later than mid-August. In the south where the blooming season can last until October or even November, you can add a fourth feeding during early October. Some rose gardeners feed monthly and have good results. You can experiment to learn which method works best for you.

When feeding tea roses in your garden, use half the amounts recommended for hybrid tea roses. Apply in the same manner and on the same schedule; simply reduce the quantity of rose food applied. With hybrid perpetual, climbing and shrub roses, feed one tablespoon of rose food for each square foot of space around the rose bush in the early spring and again when blooms appear.

Your rose garden may require watering during the summer months. If the soil is well drained, there is little danger of over-watering. Soak the soil so that it becomes damp at least six inches deep. Don't just sprinkle the rose plants. Keep the soil in your rose garden loose and aerated and remove any weeds that invade. Mulching your garden will help prevent weed growth and keep the moisture in the soil around your roses.

Rose gardens are susceptible to black-spot, mildew and blight. Insects such as thrips and red spider mites can cause problems. Control of the insects can be accomplished by use of insecticides or natural insect deterrents. Chemical dust that can control fungus diseases as well as most insects can be applied every week to ten days if you prefer this method of control.

Rose gardens containing bush roses must be pruned in the early spring when the leaves begin to bud but before growth starts. You must remove all wood that was killed or injured during the winter months. Cut back to solid, healthy tissue and remove any weak or twiggy growth. You can shape the roses in your garden to create plants of a uniform height or shape them as desired but remove as little healthy woody growth as possible. Old canes can be pruned back to ground level when necessary. Hybrid roses can be pruned back to 18 to 24 inches while rambling roses should be pruned after blooming by removing unwanted canes at the base of the cane.

Protect your rose garden in winder so that the frost does not kill the plants. Mulching with straw, peat moss or other material is necessary in all but the southern-most climates. This allows the soil temperature to remain above freezing and prevents the plant from repeated freezing and thawing which can kill or seriously damage the roots of the rose plant. To mulch properly, pile soil around the base of each plant to a height of about six inches just after the first light frost. Apply a thick layer of mulch when the first frost is expected or not later than immediately after the first frost.

Growing rose gardens can be satisfying. You'll be proud of your beautiful blooms and gorgeous colors. Roses are available in a rainbow of colors and varieties, so enjoy planting and tending a rose garden in your landscape.

About the author:
About the author:
Trond Kristiansen is a long time hobby gardener. On spare time he working at his home garden in Norway. For more information go to: http://gardening.items4you.biz/

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Known as Granny's Bonnets or Columbine, that well-known perennial Aquilegia Vulgaris is well-deserving of a place in anyone's home garden. This plant was around well before anyone even invented a bonnet for their granny! It has been found featured in medieval paintings and heraldic emblems and in the 15th century was believed to be a top cure for ulcers and various nervous disorders. However, those ancient healers may well have been run out of town, since it is now known that every part of the aquilegia is poisonous.

Aquilegia vulgaris, the common plant, is found growing naturally in woodland areas, so it is ideal for naturalizing under trees or amongst bushes where it will receive dappled shade. Here it will self-seed quite happily and abundantly if the seed is not smothered with too much mulch after it has dropped. It is great for filling up those unsightly gaps that can develop in the home garden and the ferny foliage is most attractive even without the happy little bonnets nodding in the breeze. The flowers can be white through to deep purple and take a variety of forms; single, double, starry or even rosiform.

The hybrids are even more beautiful with much larger flowers than the common variety. Colors available in hybrids are yellow (A.chrysantha), blue and white (A. flabellata), and even red (A.canadensis). These even like full sun, though in really hot climates they should be protected from the scorching rays of the late afternoon sun.

The aquilegia will tolerate most home garden soils and few pests attack them, making them a worthy and hardy addition to any garden. One thing they cannot stand is to have waterlogged roots and if they must live in damp, deep shade with little air-flow, they are likely to end up with fungal disease.

The abundant seed may be harvested when the pods begin to turn pale yellow, a good indication of imminent opening. They can also be divided at the roots by cutting in half or more with a sharp knife. Simply dig the clump out and wash the soil off the roots first. These beautiful larger granny's bonnets look stunning in a massed display of one color or in a riot of mixed colors. McKenna hybrids include pastel pinks, whites and blues.

Purchased seed should be sown in the autumn, but in cooler climates can also be sown in the spring. Transplant the seedlings when about 4 inches high and water regularly. When the buds start to form, a liquid fertilizer can be applied. Aquilegia will last for many years in cooler climates, but in warm climates are best replanted every second year.

About the author:
Trond Kristiansen is a long time hobby gardener. On spare time he working at his home garden in Norway. For more information go to: http://gardening.items4you.biz/

When spring comes and the ground is thawed, it is time to start planting your rose garden. Roses have been a cherished aphrodisiac since biblical times. They have been around for over 3000 years, yet they still hold a particular mystery and fascination, not to mention the fact that they just look and smell good!

One of the most important rules of growing roses is to plant the rose bush in an area that receives around 4 to 6 hours of sunlight every day.

It is preferable not to plant too many trees or other plants around the rose bush because most of these are likely to either mix with the rose or stifle it's growth. If you are replacing an old rose bush, approximately 1 1/2 cubic feet of old soil should be removed, and fresh soil added to replace it. When positioning your rose in the garden or landscape, consider the growth habit of the rose.

For example, place climbers and ramblers along fences, trellises, or next to arches or pergolas. This location offers them free range of growth, and optimal potential for the showiest blooms.

Roses also look beautiful in island beds interplanted with perennials. Miniature roses make great edging plants in front of their taller cousins. Planted singly, shrub roses make excellent specimen plants or they can be clustered to make a flowering hedge. You can also use them to camouflage unsightly garden objects.

Dig a hole large enough for the root mass and loosen the bottom of the hole. You should add bone meal, which is a slow acting source of phosphorus that leads to healthy root growth in the rose plant.

Then the plant should be placed in the hole carefully and the hole refilled with soil, covering the roots properly. Before making the final covering, water the rose plant and let it absorb the water. After this, water the plant more and mound the soil about 6 inches high. The dome will keep the stems from drying out until the plant is rooted. Gradually remove the excess soil as the leaves open.

Special care should be taken with the planting depth. It varies according to the climate you live in.

If you live in a colder area, plant a bit deeper and consult with the people growing roses in your area. If you are buying potted roses, you should plant them about 1 inch deeper than their potted level.

The best time to plant roses varies depending on the winter temperature. Where temperatures don't drop below -10 degrees F; either fall or spring planting is satisfactory. If you live in an area where winter temperatures go below -10 degrees F, spring planting is preferred. Plants should be planted in a dormant condition if purchased bare root, but container grown plants may be planted throughout the growing season.

Spacing of the rose plant is highly influenced by the temperature. In regions where winters are severe, the rose plant does not grow as large as in mild climates. Taking this into consideration, hybrid tea roses should be spaced 1 1/2 to 3 feet apart. Large vigorous growers, such as hybrid perpetuals need 3 to 5 feet of space, and the climbers need from 8 to 10 feet of space.

If the winter temperature is below 10 degrees F, roses can grow healthy if proper care is taken. The gardener must prepare for that cold, wet reality as he revels in the summer air conditioning.

In zones 7 and colder, the roses enjoy their last fertilization of the season by August 15th to limit the emergence of new rose canes, which will almost certainly not survive the winter.

About the author:
Trond Kristiansen is a long time hobby gardener. On spare time he working at his home garden in Norway. For more information go to: http://gardening.items4you.biz/