Location: Roses require at least 4-6 hours of direct sun each day and the more sun, the better. Good drainage is important since they do not tolerate standing water, especially in the winter months. Spacing of most modern roses should be about 3’ apart depending on the variety and its growth habits. Avoid planting too closely as this could increase disease problems due to reduced air circulation.

Planting new roses:

• Make sure the rose is thoroughly watered the day before transplanting.
• Dig the hole 2-3 times wider and 4” deeper than the pot if the rose is grafted. (This is to help protect the graft should we have an extremely cold winter.)
• Fill the hole with water first to check for drainage problems and to ensure the new roots have good moisture in the surrounding soil.
• Carefully remove the rose from the container with as little root disturbance as possible. If the rose is well rooted, tease them out gently and place in the hole so they will grow outward into the surrounding soil.
• Back fill the hole with soil or ½ compost, ½ native soil mixture if your soil needs amending. Be sure to bury the graft 3-4” at this time or be prepared to add additional mulch and soil in the fall before winter.
• Firm the soil lightly to ensure no air pockets are left and water thoroughly.

After Care:

Fertilizing: Amendments such as bone meal, transplant fertilizer or super phosphate may be added to the back fill soil at the time of planting. One month later, another application of rose fertilizer is recommended and each month after until mid July. After that, allow the rose to wind down in preparation for winter. Established roses will benefit from a regular feeding from April thru Mid July as well.

Watering: Besides being heavy feeders, roses need adequate moisture. Deep watering once a week is preferred, however if you have fast draining sandy soil you may need to water more often. If you have heavy clay, water less often. Newly planted roses may need more frequent watering until their roots are well established. If you are overhead watering, try to water in the mornings so that the moisture on the foliage has a chance to dry out before cooler evenings. This will help avoid diseases such as black spot and mildew.

Diseases and Pests: Factors such as good growing conditions, good sanitation (removing dead or diseased canes and leaves) and selection of disease resistant varieties are the best ways to avoid most insect and disease problems. Ask our staff to help you diagnose the rose problem. There are many products on the market to help control these diseases and pests.

Pruning: There is some debate about this subject; however the following basic principles should help you enjoy beautiful flowers all season. Remove any dead, damaged or diseased branches and prune the canes to ¼ inch above an outward facing bud. During the growing season, remove faded flowers for better repeat blooming.

For varieties such as Hybrid Teas, Floribundas or Miniature roses, pruning should be done when new leaves begin to break bud, about March or April in the Spokane area. Some like to use the blooming period of the forsythias as a signal to prune roses. Cut out all weak or crossing canes and leave about 5-7 main canes cut back to 18”.

For Climbing roses prune back the lateral or side branches on the canes to 6” if they flowered the previous year. Remove old canes that are no longer productive. This will encourage new, young canes and they should produce more blooms.

For Shrub, Species or Old Garden Roses, remove any dead canes and wait until just after they bloom to remove old canes and rejuvenate growth. Prune any one time blooming roses just after they bloom since they flower on wood from the previous year’s growth.

More information about Roses can be obtained through the Spokane Rose Society at: http://geocities.com/spokanerosesociety/comments.htm .