Design

Feeding and Mulching Roses

When roses start making their growth, it's time for maintenance

By Andrew Schulman
Gary Junken

Choose a fertilizer that is labeled as being especially for roses. It will have the right balance of nitrogen for top growth, phosphorus, which stimulates the bloom, and potassium for root development.

Mulch has many benefits. It helps to prevent competing plants from taking root in the rose’s territory; it decreases water evaporation and temperature swings in the soil; and it keeps you from running into the rose with the string trimmer.

Andrew Schulman, Fine Gardening author, landscape designer and old rose collector, shows how just a few steps will ensure the health of your roses and suggests a new use for an old remedy.

Related Videos:

How to Prune Shrub Roses

How to Prune Hybrid Tea Roses

How to Prune Floribunda Roses

Planting Garden Roses in Containers

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