Channel 7: Roses!

There will be a colorful display of roses, with a variety of types including Hybrid Tea roses, Shrub roses, and Miniatures.

Brief discussion over the most common types and their great characteristics.

Review August care tips:  Continue fertilizing until mid-month and watering regularly.  Avoid spraying chemicals for pests or disease (keep eye out for mildew and blackspot this month) above 85′ and deadhead properly!  Deadheading is removing the spent blooms.

Why it is important to deadhead is:

• Tricks the plant to re-bloom!
• Removes hiding places and food for insects/pests
• Create improvements for air circulation which reduces potential fungus problems

Deadheading is different than pruning – pruning really should be done in May here.  However, if you have a long cane, you can cut that back before winter winds and storms damage the cane.

Demonstration on how to properly deadhead:

• Cut off the faded flowers, below the bloom just above the 1st leaflet
• Always use pruning shears and make the cut on the angle
• The more foilage a rose plant bears, the more flowers it will produce

An idea for people would be to go to the following places that have really great rose display gardens (most are free and a fantastic way to see how experts care for the roses there)

• Denver Botanic Gardens
• Hudson Gardens
• Littleton War Memorial
• Longmont’s Roosevelt Park
• Jefferson County Sheriff’s Complex
• Fairmont Cemetary

A unique gift idea would be for example, a wedding gift of these three rose varieties: ‘Honor’, ‘Love’, and ‘Cherish’.

The Denver Rose Society’s Annual Rose Show is on August 22 and free to the public from noon to 5:00 pm at the Malley Center, 3380 S. Lincoln St., Englewood.