Gardeners are all encouraged to give their roses a little love this summer during the heatwave – and these little tricks will help keep them blooming all summer long
For those who love to grow roses, there is one weekly trick you can do to make them bloom constantly. With summer in full swing, there is nothing nicer than sitting in your garden and enjoying the fruits of your labour.
Roses are one of the most popular flowers for people to grow, but if you find you are only getting a few flowers from your plant, Mark Dwelly, Head Gardener at Audley Stanbridge Earls shares his tips on how best to care for rose bushes in the garden.
From pruning to watering and feeding, if you look after your roses properly, they will treat you all summer long with big blooms, and here’s how…
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So when it comes to pruning, the expert compared it to giving them a haircut. While it might sound scary, Mark said you will have ideally “snipped away any dead or weak stems in late winter or early spring, and shaped the bush so air can move through it”, but also encourages people to safely snip off faded flowers to “encourage more blooms during the warmer months.”
He said most new roses will flower in bursts from late spring right through to autumn and said this will happen as long as you keep removing the old flowers. However old fashioned type of roses only tend to bloom once.
So when it comes to watering, Mark advised to “give them a good soak at the base once a week especially if the weather is hot or dry. Try not to splash the leaves though, as wet leaves can invite trouble such as mildew.”
They particularly love the sun, and he aims to plant his roses where they can get “at least half a day’s worth of sunlight to help them thrive”.
The expert further noted: “Roses are also hungry plants. Feed them during spring when you see new leaves appear, and then again after each big flush of flowers to replenish them.” He advised to use specialised rose food or “simply sprinkle some general garden fertiliser around the base,” but urged people to remember to stop feeding them in late summer so they can prepare for winter.
It comes after fellow gardening expert Michael Perry, the green-fingered wizard behind Mr Plant Geek, who said our daily cuppas provide more than just a caffeine jolt for us. Coffee and tea are brimming with acid and high nitrogen levels, ingredients that roses and hydrangeas especially adore for their growth.
Michael said: “Did you know that it’s not just us that can benefit from a hearty beverage? Our plants can get a kick from tea, coffee and even milk!”
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