Caxton magazines staffThis easy guide provides all the expert tips and advice you need to ensure a beautiful display of roses in your garden
Watering: Continue to water at least twice a week in the absence of a drenching summer shower. Install a rain gauge and check; a rain shower of 15mm is equivalent to one watering, so if the recorded rainfall is less than this, continue to water as scheduled.
Temperatures are rising and if there’s no regular rainfall, make sure your roses receive enough water. Under-watering is one of the main reasons why roses don’t perform well. Check for water run-off in sloping beds and make sure your sprinklers are reaching all your roses.
Where competing roots from other plants are a problem, increase the amount of water and transplant the rose in June. If planted into a large plastic pot, it can be sunk back into the bed so the top of the pot is level with the surface of the bed. Lift the pot every six months to check that nearby roots haven’t grown into the pot.
Fertilising: By mid-November apply a rose fertiliser.
Pest and disease control: To prevent pests, continue the fortnightly spraying regimen using the combination spray recommended in October.
Keep a look out for red spider mite on the underside of the lower leaves. At the first indication of speckled leaves, increase watering and spray Milbeknock Miticide or Ludwig’s Rose Spider Mite on the underside of the lower leaves. Fruit chafer and CMR beetles are becoming active now. Remove by hand or spray with Garden Ripcord or any other cypermethrin insecticide.
Other tasks: Replenish the mulch around your roses if necessary. Don’t pile it up against the stems of the plant; there should always be a gap around the stem so that water and fertiliser can penetrate.
