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How to Take Care of Your Garden Roses in Summer

Claudia Miclaus
Do you love roses? Taking care of them in the summer is important. Read ahead to know how to look after your roses during the summer months to make the most out of your rose blooms.
Although you've successfully accomplished your task in the spring time, that is to plant your new roses and to take care of the old ones, now summer is here and how lovely are those first buds you've been waiting for!
Every gardener rejoices over his/her roses in beautiful bloom! If you love these flowers, here are a few pieces of advice from the most experienced to make sure you do your best taking care of your roses in the summer time as well.
The battle with insects that plan to suck the energy out of your roses continues from spring before the first buds open, until later on in the summer, when the flowers are in full bloom. Insecticide is the solution for summer pests like thrips and spider mites but Japanese beetles must be handpicked.
Don't assume that using pesticide once will do for the rest of the summer! You'll have to repeat the spraying often. The homemade pesticide with water and soap may not work well, so use more aggressive chemical. Check the plant for disease and treat it well.
A common rose disease is powdery mildew when the leaves, buds, and stems are covered in a white powdery coat. It is a fungus that develops in warm humid weather but can be reduced by proper sanitation - removing all dead or infected branches and keeping the rose aerated, and by fungicide application.
The fungicide should be applied each week or even more often if required, especially when new growth is affected or when there are frequent rains. You need to follow the instructions on the label and apply accordingly.
Another common rose disease is Black Spot, and it is caused by a fungus named Diplocarpon rosae. As its name already implies, this disease appears like black spots on the leaves and then the foliage turns yellow falling completely in early autumn, also as a consequence, the flowers lose the intensity of their color.
Black spot can be prevented by means of proper sanitation but also fungicide needs to be sprayed once or even twice a week during rainy seasons.
In spite of all problems, summer is when the focus is on fertilizing and watering roses. They do well with plenty of fertilizer and don't mind benefiting from it in abundance: natural fertilizers as manure or special rose food; mulch is valuable as roses love these!
When it comes to watering, roses do best if they have enough water, which means once a week a good soak especially when it is very dry, but you should check the soil's moisture content and if the case water twice a week.
If you allow the soil to dry (for seven days or so), the rose will develop new roots looking for water and it won't be lazy! When applying water, you need to know that it has to be put on the soil around the rose bush and not on the leaves, if you water the leaves in the evening, the moisture can cause powdery mildew and your plant will then be infected.
Once your flowers bloom and then fade away, you need to remove them if you want to encourage new flowers growth. Simply cut the stem up to two centimeters and use a clean disinfected tool so as not to spread diseases.
If your roses have at least 6 hours of sun per day, they should do well and bloom abundantly; if you keep them in a rather shaded place that affects their development and they will still flower but the quantity and quality of the flowers are diminished.
In summer, keep a constant eye on your roses, checking them against disease, keep them fertilized (fertilizing period should stop in August) and watered as needed and you will enjoy their lovely and enchanting flowers for many years! If you take good care, the next year they will come back even stronger!