Rose Care

• Roses enjoy soil rich in organic matter.   Amend at planting time with compost, peat moss, or aged manure.
• Good drainage is very important.  Roses do not like consistently wet root systems.
• Water roses early in the morning, providing a deep drink every few days
• Ideally, roses enjoy morning sun, shade during the hot hours and a return to late afternoon sun.  If you cannot accommodate this in your yard, plant your rose in a place that receives at least 7 hours of direct sun.
• When planting grafted roses, bury graft 2” below the ground
• Remove pots, including cardboard types when planting
• It takes 6 to 8 weeks for bare-root roses to develop an adequate root system
• Feed roses once a month from mid-May to mid-August
• Grafted roses should be mulched after the first frost—combine soil and mulch and mound 6” – 8” around roses for insulation purposes.  Rose collars help hold this material in place over the winter.  Remove mulch material around mid-May
• VERY IMPORTANT:  Water roses twice a month during the winter
• Good cultural practices prevent many insect and disease problems

Special Considerations for Winter

• As autumn approaches, you'll need to protect your roses from the harsh winter elements.
• To discourage tender new growth, do not fertilize after mid-August
• Refrain from pruning (including spent flowers and rose hips) after the last flush of fall flowers, which is generally about six weeks before the first frost (Remember the average first killing frost in downtown Colorado Springs is October 10^th,)
• Continue watering during autumn but begin to reduce your water frequency early to mid September
• Avoid transplanting in Fall, this is best done in Spring.
• Insulate the plants by mounding each with 12” of soil around the crown early to mid-fall—mulch after the ground freezes solid, usually after several nights of temperatures around 20 degrees.   Rose collars help hold this material in place over the winter. 

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