5 Things About February Rose Management That You Haven't Done Yet
An in-depth introduction to the five things about February rose management that you haven't done yet for the readers who are interested, let's take a look together!
Time flies, and it's already mid-February. For rose enthusiasts like us, February is a very important period, because once February is over, roses will enter their rapid growth phase. Therefore, the work we haven't completed in winter must be finished by the end of February. What specific tasks need to be done? Check them one by one to see if there is any work you have overlooked.
1. -- Pruning Shrub Roses --
Last winter was particularly rainy, and many rose enthusiasts haven't had the chance to give their roses a heavy pruning due to prolonged cloudy and rainy weather, right? If your shrub roses haven't been pruned in winter yet, then as soon as it stops raining these next few days, be sure to seize the opportunity and prune them promptly. ( Exceptions for the south)
Usually, potted shrub roses can be pruned to about 10 cm in height, and for those planted in the ground, leaving about 20 cm is enough. If left too tall, the plant will grow taller and become harder to control later. If you really don't know how to prune, you can refer to the previous articles about rose pruning or the pruning chapter in the book "How to Grow Explosive Roses from Scratch."
2. -- Pruning and Training Climbing Roses --
Shrub roses pay more attention to training, and relatively speaking, climbing roses pay even more attention to training, with pruning being simpler. Usually, just cut off some very thin and weak branches and some old branches.
If we haven't finished pruning and training our climbing roses last winter, now is the time to catch up because climbing roses will soon enter the germination stage. By then, training will not be conducive to the germination of the lower buds and may easily knock off the already sprouted buds.
5 Things About February Rose Management That You Haven't Done Yet
When pruning and training climbing roses, there is one situation to note, which is when we have previously bought super large seedlings that haven't grown strong new branches. During pruning, we need to pay attention to preserving the buds on the small branches.
For example, in the picture above, when pruning, we leave two buds on the short thin branches and cut them off, while for some slightly longer and thicker branches with full buds, we can leave 3-5 buds. This is because there aren't enough new branches, and it's a measure to ensure the number of flowers in spring. If there are enough new branches, these old branches should be pruned.
3. -- Applying Long-acting Fertilizer/Repotting --
In winter, for roses planted in the ground, we apply winter fertilizer, and for potted roses, we should repot and change the soil, adding fertilizer. Due to last year's excessive rainfall, many people haven't had the chance to repot. If you haven't repotted yet, then you should seize the opportunity to repot, change the soil, and add enough bottom fertilizer.
If you don't plan to repot, then you should apply enough long-acting fertilizer, like well-fermented organic fertilizer or slow-release fertilizer. It can be buried shallowly around the roots or sprinkled on the soil surface.
Applying long-acting fertilizer is a must. If it wasn't done in winter, then it's urgent to make up for it now because it's the period when rose bud points are swelling, which is the time to store nutrients needed for spring flowering.
4. -- Removing Weak Buds and Some Dense Buds --
If the above three tasks have been completed before, then you need to pay attention to observation. If you find that there are new buds that have not germinated well and small clusters of buds, remove some of them to save nutrients for the normally germinated buds. This way, the new branches will be stronger, and the flowering will be better.
5. -- Do a Final Cleanup of the Garden --
To reduce diseases and pests for roses in spring, you should apply lime sulfur or sodium ricinoleate again before the roses germinate in early spring. Personally, I recommend lime sulfur, as sodium ricinoleate is too pungent.
Lime sulfur must be applied when the bud points have not yet unfolded leaves. If the buds have already grown small leaves, you can't apply it, at least not on the leaves, as it can easily cause burns. However, it can be sprayed on the soil surface. In fact, most pests and pathogen spores are hidden in the soil, so spraying only the soil surface is also effective.
The above comprehensive explanation of the five things about February rose management that you haven't done yet is hoping to be a stone that attracts jade and solve your problems with green plants.