Eco Gardeners

Roses are my most favorite flower to grow. They provide the most colorful, perfect blooms that enhance any outdoor or indoor living space. Whether they are growing among your perennials or are the focal point of a formal accent garden or are enjoyed in vases in your home, roses bring a fragrance and beauty like no other horticultural specimen.

Many people are disheartened by the common threat that roses are difficult to maintain. Disease and pests can turn many away from even attempting to grow them.  The thought of using so many harmful chemicals can also discourage the inclusion of rose bushes in the garden.

I have been growing roses for as long as I have been gardening. And I have not used anything other than organic, non-toxic products on them for summertime maintenance and care. Following are some of my tried and true tips for continued beautiful, low-maintenance and ORGANIC roses:

• Condition the Soil: Healthy, organic soil will provide roses with a safe garden home and will encourage healthy, strong stem and leaf growth. Provide a summertime feeding by adding some compost or an organic soil conditioner (I recommend Happy Naturals Soil Conditioner for Roses) around the perimeter of the plant and cultivating it into the top 2-3 inches of soil will give roses a well-deserved boost.
• Water: Roses like to be watered at the roots. Limit water getting on the leaves and stems as humidity and water can lead to fungus and disease.
• Deadhead: Removing dead blooms will encourage reblooming. I recommend pinching spent blooms right off from the base of the bloom leaving as much foliage as possible. After deadheading, water your rose plants with an organic nutrient supplement such as SeaResults Micronutrient Solution.
• Pests and Disease: If you see signs of aphids or Japanese beetles you can either pick them off by hand or use an organic pest control. I recommend Outdoor Foliar Feed as it is made from 100% vegetable oils and takes care of pests and provides nutrients that will enhance leaf color. If you see signs of black spot remove the affected leaves, discard and treat your plant with a fungus preventative to eliminate risk of spreading.

These are some easy ways to keep your roses looking beautiful all summer long. If you have any other questions, feel free to email me at annette@thehappygardener.info or post a comment/question below.

Roses are a beautiful addition to our outdoor gardens. Whether we use them as focal points among perennials, or as a natural drapery on a trellis, or gather different varieties together in a dramatic rose garden, having roses adds so much to our garden aesthetics. Many people shy away from bringing this magnificent garden accent because of the “high maintenance” stigma. Following is a step by step, easy, and organic rose care schedule that will help you achieve fantastic results:

Early Spring:

• Remove any die-back

• Fertilizer with an organic, slow-release Rose Plant Food. For easiest organic rose feeding, we recommend The Happy Gardener’s Drop n’ Feed Packets for Roses or The Happy Gardener’s Soil Conditioner for Roses.

Spring:

• Plant container-grown roses using equal parts compost or potting soil and coir fiber (an eco-friendly alternative for peat moss).
• Apply a fungus control to rose leaves and stems. We recommend The Happy Gardener’s Foliar Feed with Soybean. Just spray on the leaves and stems to prevent black spot, powdery mildew and rust.
• Deadhead spent blooms.

Summer:

• Water once or twice a week soaking the soil around the perimeter of the rose bush. Avoid watering the rose leaves/stems.
• Apply a monthly Foliar Feed to increase photosynthesis and resistance to disease, pests and drought. We recommend The Happy Gardener’s Outdoor Foliar Feed which will feed the plant through the leaf spores as well as control pests such as aphids, japanese beetles, spider mites.
• Deadhead spent blooms.
• For huge amounts of blooms use an organic bloom supplement. We recommend The Happy Gardener’s top-selling SeaResults Micronutrient Solution. Apply 1 tsp per gallon of water as a monthly feed.

Fall:

• Deadhead spent blooms.

Winter:

• Transplant roses. To eliminate transplant shock, apply 2 cups per 12″ height of The Happy Gardener’s SeaResults Micronutrient Solution to soil surrounding rose plant.
• Prune climbing roses.

Late Winter:

• Plant bare root roses.
• Transplant roses.
• Prune all except Chinas, Teas and Old Garden Roses.

To learn more about The Happy Gardener’s organic rose products, visit our website.

The Happy Gardener is committed to finding healthy, chemical-free garden products that are safe to use around children and pets. We have developed several Foliar Feeds that also act as beneficial pest control:

Deer Control: Springtime meals for deer unfortunately consist of our beloved pansies and tulips. How to control them? THG’s Foliar Feed plus Garlic is made to repel the deer also feed your plants through the leaf spores. Your flowers and trees will look great but taste and smell awful to the deer. It stinks but it works!

Japanese Beetle Control: For those of us who dread the upcoming Japanese Beetle months, it’s a great idea to get THG’s Top Selling Outdoor Foliar Feed ready so as soon as they arrive, we can wipe them out before they have time to reproduce. Lovers of roses, fruit trees, crepe myrtles and flowering plants, these pests can’t withstand our organic blend of vegetable-based soap and sea veggies.

Ants: Everybody wants to get rid of ants. Whether they are covering our houseplants or front steps, they are a real pest. THG’s Foliar Feed plus Cinnamint repels the ants and is safe enough to use in the kitchen.

Roses should be transplanted in late winter or spring, as soon as the soil is workable. Dig the new hole 18” deep and about 2’ wide, and make a mound in the center of the hole to drape the roots over. Include an organic soil conditioner such as The Happy Gardener’s Soil Conditioner for Roses. This will help with transplant shock and root growth development. Keep the bud union only about 2” above the finished soil surface, then water well. Keep the rose bush evenly moist until you see signs of new growth.