Full Bloom Nursery | Clermont, GA

Roses are probably the most loved and hated of all shrubs. Everyone wants roses, but not the problems that go along with them. Fortunately, there’s a class of roses that’s taking the gardening world by storm because they are maintenance free: Knockout shrub roses. Here at the nursery, we have a display garden of the ‘Knockout’ roses. We chose to use shrub roses in our display garden because we don’t have time to spray for diseases that the hybrid tea, floribunda, and grandiflora roses are plagued with. We have never sprayed them with any fungicides and their foliage is very clean and healthy. They start blooming heavily in April and will continue until a hard frost with no deadheading. Most years, they will still be blooming in mid-December.

You should prune your shrub roses hard in early March, leaving about 8- 10” of canes, no matter how tall they are. This keeps the plants full and bushy from the ground up. Don’t worry; they’ll be 4 ft. tall again by summer.

It’s true that Japanese Beetles love roses but remember that with shrub roses, you get about 32 weeks of blooms and the Beetles are only around for about 6 weeks, 8 at the most. Sevin Dust works very well on Japanese Beetles and will actually repel them as long as it’s on the leaf.

If you love the fragrance and large blooms of the hybrid teas, you can be successful in growing them but you must make time for the regular maintenance that they require. Spraying for diseases and deadheading are the two most important tasks that you must perform on a weekly basis. Spray for blackspot disease every 7-10 days as a preventative maintenance even if you don’t see it on the leaves. Modern hybrid roses also need lots of organic matter added to the beds. They like moisture but not “wet feet”. Topdress every year with compost or aged manure to keep the soil around the rose loose and rich. And don’t forget to add 2-3” of mulch every year. This keeps the soil moist and the temperature around the roots lower in the summer.

All roses are heavy feeders so apply a good quality, slow-release granular fertilizer around the base of each rose every 6-8 weeks. If your roses look lean with pale green leaves and few blooms, they’re probably hungry. Consistent fertilizing will keep the blooms coming. We use, sell and recommend a great granular fertilizer that is combined with a systemic insecticide. This product feeds the plant and kills pests in one easy step. We apply it in March, followed by another application in mid- summer.

Below is a recipe for disease and insect control that works well for blackspot, powdery mildew, rust, aphids, whitefly, mites, and as a bonus, it smothers insect eggs and fungal spores. This mixture is non-toxic and can be used on fruits and vegetables also.

Recipe

Add the following ingredients in the order listed to 1 gallon of water and stir thoroughly. Pour into a pump sprayer and wet all upper and lower surfaces of leaves and stems. Apply the spray early in the morning or late afternoon when the temperature is below 85 degrees.

2 tablespoons fine horticultural oil

1 tablespoon mild liquid soap (not a detergent)

1 heaping tablespoon baking soda

You can spray this mixture every 2 weeks, but you’ll probably find that spraying only once a month is enough.