Things to note when planting roses in summer

Summer rose blooms

The characteristics of roses are that they like cold and fear heat, love sunshine and hate shade, tolerate fertilizer and fear barrenness, and like to grow in soil with sufficient water and rich fertilizer.

It can grow vigorously everywhere north of the Yangtze River, but the summer in Lingnan is hot and humid, with many diseases and insect pests, which pose a great threat to the growth of roses. In the past, many flower growers saw the branches and leaves turn yellow and fall, and thought that the roses needed to "hibernate" so they cut off the entire plant, leaving only the basic trunk, and then encourage it to sprout again in the cool autumn. As a result, roses are rarely seen in flower gardens of any size. In fact, during the "dog days" from June to September , its plants do not sleep in, and its cells are all living tenaciously. According to field surveys, roses planted per acre usually bloom about 3 times a year . 50,000 ～ 4 . 20,000 flowers, of which 15 % to 20 % occur in summer. Although the flowers blooming in summer are smaller, it does not mean that they cannot bloom.

Things to note when planting roses in summer

The first thing to pay attention to is "grafting". Instead of the commonly used cutting propagation, we should use wild roses as rootstocks and use branches and buds of good varieties as scions. This will make the root system well developed after grafting, with strong ability to absorb fertilizer, and extend the flowering period.

Secondly, we must implement "cooling off the heat" by tilling the soil and sprinkling water directly on the branches and leaves at noon to lower the ground temperature.

The third is to help “maintain health and strengthen the body”. Take the initiative to attack pests and diseases such as black spot, powdery mildew, thrips, and red spider mites. For diseases, a variety of broad-spectrum fungal pesticides should be applied in rotation every seven or eight days. For insect pests, pesticides with combined systemic and contact effects should be used. And apply topdressing frequently, and use more organic fertilizer. Regularly spread "black and white ash" mixed with lime and wood ash to enhance the plant's resistance to stress.

The fourth is timely "pruning and plastic surgery". Do not wait until the petals fall before pruning. Prune them before the flowers are about to bloom to avoid wasting nutrients. The cutting should be done on the leaf axils, because there is a young bud hidden in each leaf axil. If you keep it, new branches will grow soon and new flowers will bloom. As for the pruning location, it is best to prune above the leaf axil in the middle of the main branch. If you cut it too low or too high, it will not be ideal for the next flowering.