RIVETING ROSES – Taking the thorns out of rose maintenance!
By GardenShop’s GardenGuru – Sue Both

It is often thought that roses are a pain to take care of but by following a few easy guidelines you can take the thorny sting out of rose maintenance.

• Drench your roses early in the season with a systemic insecticide like Protek Complete. The systemic insecticide will work from the inside of the plant making sure that no biting or sucking insects will attack your plants for at least 3 months. It will also only affect insects attacking the plant and will not kill the beneficial insects like bees and ladybirds.
• A few days later you can also drench with a systemic fungicide like Chronos. This will prevent early fungal infections like black spot and powdery mildew. Again the systemic fungicide works from inside the plant and should give you lasting results without having to repeat treatment too often.
• For big and beautiful blooms feed your plants monthly with Ludwig’s Vigorosa. You can also use Ludwig’s Vigolonger. This is a slow release fertilizer that you only need to apply at the beginning of the season.
• Make sure your plants are mulched. Mulching reduces the weed growth between your plants, keeps the moisture in the soil and looks aesthetically good.

By following these easy steps you can look forward to admiring your beautiful blooms without the sting of having to spend too much time on your rose maintenance.