Winter is Rose Planting Season

STEP 1

When you get your new rose home, unwrap the plastic from around the roots and then place the plant in a bucket of diluted seaweed solution, so that all the roots are covered. It’s important not to let the roots dry out.

STEP 2

Choose a well-drained, airy spot in the garden that receives at least 6 hours of sunshine a day, as roses growing in shady conditions will develop spindly growth and have less flowers.

STEP 3

Dig a hole around 30 cm wide and deep. Mix some Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser into the soil dug from the hole. It will improve the structure and quality of the soil and provide the rose with gentle slow release organic nutrients as it establishes.

STEP 4

Create a pyramid shaped mound of soil in the bottom of the planting hole. Place the rose in the hole with its roots sitting on and around the mound of soil.

STEP 5

Ensure that the graft union (bump on the stem) will be sitting at least 5 cm above the final ground level. Backfill around the roots gently with enriched soil and then water in well.

STEP 6

Apply a layer of organic mulch, like bark chips or pea straw, around the new rose, keeping the mulch a few centimetres away from the stem.

STEP 7

Keep the soil moist while the new rose establishes.

Some common Rose pests and diseases include Powdery Mildew, Scale Insects and Mites. 

After pruning with sharp and clean secateurs, spray all stems thoroughly with Yates Lime Sulfur to control Powdery Mildew, Scale Insects and Mites. Spray with Yates Lime Sulfur at the higher winter rate. Spraying in winter will help break the pest and disease life cycle and give Roses the best start in spring.

To control Rust, Two-Spotted Mites and Powdery Mildew on Roses in spring, summer and autumn spray with Yates Lime Sulfur at the lower recommended rate as indicated on the bottle.

If you live in cold regions, delay pruning until August as pruning can stimulate new leaf growth and make plants more susceptible to frost damage. If your Rose does produce vulnerable new shoots prematurely during winter, spray leaves and stems with Yates Waterwise DroughtShield. It creates a thin flexible protective film over the shoots which helps reduce frost damage.

At the end of winter and early spring, Roses will start to wake from their winter slumber - then it’s time to feed them with a specialised rose food. Yates Thrive Natural Roses & Flowers Pelletised Organic Based Plant Food is a complete fertiliser that is specially formulated to provide roses with the nutrients they need to grow healthy foliage and lots of heavenly flowers.