May 1, 2012
I only planted these David Austin's roses one-year ago following these tips and they just keep getting bigger and better.
These rose garden tips are a combination of trial and error in my own garden along with a hefty dose of wisdom from Pat Omweg, my favorite garden guru and rose specialist. Follow these tips and your roses won’t only feel the love, they will bloom to be the most beautiful roses on the block.
1. Roses like a sandy soil, so use a mix of equal parts peat moss, sand and chicken manure (see, I told you I should have a chicken coop!) to have wonderfully happy and healthy roses.
2. Create a strong cane for your roses by disbudding the smaller buds on each single stem. Simply pull off the buds that are just beneath the top bud. (It seems so counterintuitive, you know?)
3. A rose is ready to be cut when its sepals are down – these are the little leaves attached to the bottom of each bud.
4. Simply cut above a five-stem leaf formation. I always wonder if I am cutting in the right spot, Pat reassured me I was doing fine.
5. Cut the canes at the same height throughout the plant so the new buds grow uniformly on the same level.
