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Beginners’ Guide to Growing Roses

Kashmira Lad
With some tender loving care, you can grow excellent roses right in your own backyard. Here are some useful tips that would help make this task an easy and enjoyable affair.
Growing roses is not a difficult task if you know how to go about the entire process. You have to bear in mind that they need a lot of care though. Attention has to be given to the soil and the water requirements.
For the soil, you will need to get those which have a pH balance that ranges from 6.5 to 6.8. Always remember that the soil should provide a good drainage system to get rid of the excess water.
You would also need to take into account that some organic matter would be needed to add to the soil. This would help enrich the soil and also nourish the roots of the plants. Use organic matter like manure for better results.
These plants need plenty of sunlight. Around 6 hours of the morning sun is required for them to flower as well. Roses also need a lot of water. Experts recommend watering them thoroughly twice a week.
It would also depend on the amount of sunlight that is reaching your rose plant. Water the plant frequently for the first 2 - 3 weeks. This is needed because the top layer of the soil tends to remain dry.
If you plan to plant many varieties in your garden bed, do not plant them all next to each other. Roses will grow better if you can maintain proper distance between each plant.
Pruning is very important; this should be done specifically in early spring. Use a sharp pair of hand shears. This would help to make this task easy, as most branches tend to overlap each other. The last thing you would want to do is to cut the wrong branch.
Fertilization should be done after 3 months. This would help grow the roses faster. Around 3 - 6 inches of mulch should be used for the soil. This would help maintain the moisture levels, and prevent weeds from growing around the bush. The most important factor of using mulch is, it helps lock the nutrients in the soil and helps keep your roses healthy.
You will also need to be very careful to keep your rose bush free from all the diseases. There are many such conditions that you will have to watch out for, such as the black spot fungus or a certain virus. You can look for specific sprays for such cases. Neem oil can also be helpful for these problems.