Fall Rose Care

Now is a good time to deadhead your roses. As you cut off the spent blooms, cut the stems back to help shape the plant. To have mores rose blossoms, cut the stems just above a 5-leaf leaflet (see picture below). A new stem programed to make a flower or flowers will grow from that leaflet.
The more vigiorous the plant, the more you can prune back; be careful with a small or weak plant as they will need the leaves for food. Once pruning is done, give your roses a good dose of fertilizer (coffee grounds?!), so they will have another flush of rose blooms for your Thanksgiving
table!

Black Spot

I have a miniature rose that is in a wet spot in my back yard. I guess it is a little too wet, because it now has a fungus that's called black spot.
None of my other roses show signs of black spot, so I think it is because this rose is getting too much water. And, yes, again, this is the first time I have seen this problem in my garden!

Drift Roses

No, this is not my yard! I get a weekly gardening newsletter from P. Allen Smith, and the picture is his. This week he showcases Drift Roses. They seem to be useful in several situations--ground covers, and small gardens to name two; and they are low maintenance and trouble free. Here's a link to Allen's Drift Roses articles. If you go to the bottom of the page, there is a link to other pages that talk about the Drift Roses (related articles).

Hoplia Beetles Have Arrived

This is how my roses are starting to look. The hoplia beetles are busy chewing holes in my flowers. The beetles aren't here long, but they ruin my first flush of roses, and some of my iris flowers.
This is a closer look at the same flower--you might need to click on the picture to make it bigger, so you can see the beetles better. These beetles are easy to knock off into some soapy water, just be careful as they just as easily fall to the ground!

Hoplia Beetles

A couple of days ago I found a hoplia beetle in my garage. Usually, they go after are the rose and iris blooms. My roses are just small buds, but my yellow and white iris are opening up. My blue iris blossoms are about to open. I haven't seen any beetles on the iris flowers---maybe they are waiting for the roses! When the hoplia beetles arrive, I will post some pictures.

Leaf-Cutter Bees

I recently made a post about the leaf-cutter bees. They would cut circles out of my Mr. Lincoln rose leaves each year. Last January that rose was removed to make way for a fruit tree. I thought the bees would go elsewhere when they couldn't find "their" rose. But, as you can see in the picture above, they have chosen another rose in my garden to adorn! This made me happy. It's always a surprise when I find the leaves decorated with circles! I love helping nature. I use organic methods in my garden and encourage the good bugs the best I can. Having some "bad" bugs is part of the process--who else would the good bugs eat?!? Each year I see an increase in the number of praying mantises, which are the real warriors in the garden. Lady bugs appear when they are needed, and go elsewhere most of the summer.

Good Bugs . . .

Do your rose leaves look like this? If so, you have been chosen by a leaf-cutter bee to help line her nest! The bees nest in soft, rotted wood or in the stems of large, pithy plants, such as roses (but are non-damaging). These bees are native to the U.S. and are important pollinators. They are non-aggressive and have a mild sting that is used only when they are handled.

Leaf-cutter bees are solitary bees, unlike regular honey bees that live in a hive with many other bees. The females dig out their nesting areas, creating nest cells, and provide their young with food. She may live two months and lay 35 to 40 eggs during this time. The bee cuts a circle or oval out of certain leaves, often times roses, and will line the cells of her nest with these leaf pieces. She adds a mixture of nectar and pollen, and then lays an egg in each cell. The young bees will develop in these cells, and will eat the nectar and pollen that was deposited with the egg. The new young bees will emerge the next season.

Each year, for many years, I have been visited by leaf-cutter bees. I never saw them, but they left their signature holes in a few of the leaves of my Mr. Lincoln rose. I loved it, and I felt honored somehow. I now realize it might not happen again, because Mr. Lincoln was taken out last winter so a fruit tree could be put in it's place. I may have to buy another Mr. Lincoln!

Beauty in the Garden

Beauty among the nutsedge!

Roses

Soon the first flush of rose blooms will be finished and then it will be time to feed the plants. The hardware/garden stores have a lot of different kinds of rose food, but, to me, the best ones are the natural/organic. Chemicals are harsh to plants and soil beneficials, but the natural fertilizers are gentle and slow release. Roses are fed after each flush of blooms, so that it can revive its energy for the next flush. As the season goes on the roses will get smaller, but will emerge with large blooms again the next spring.

When cutting roses for bouquets, remember to cut the stems just above a five-leaf cluster and the plant will create more flowers at that point. Roses grow well in our climate. The only bug problems that I have had are the Hoplia Beetles (they are here for just a short time) and aphids (usually on the new growth in early spring). I have never sprayed my roses with anything other than a stream of water, and they thrive!