After the Big Clean Up

....... I dont need a lecture here, I just want to know what you do when you have pruned and cleaned up all the leaf mess and weeds and littler around your roses, do you spray , feed, mulch, more so looking for Vic. members here .............

Mulch

okies,

I put all the leaf mess, weeds, branches, etc, all through the chippers and put it all back on the garden That's another myth.. about black spot leaves causing black spot.. not sure about rust though... has been proven by university tirals even

As Simon does not spray, I would spray prior to mulching from a NSW person.

Hi Cheryl,
as I prune, I clear away some of the mulch from up against the base of the rose, leaving a small clear patch of soil around it. I feed the roses with slow release Osmocote AND either Dynamic Lifter or Rapid Raiser. I think the Osmocote and pelletized fertilisers do different jobs which is why I use both at pruning time. Then after each flush of roses I use alternately cow manure and a pelletized chook manure.
I don't usually, but this year will probably give a Triforine spray too.
As I prune this year, I'm removing a lot of perrenials from the rose garden to get more air flow.
Barbara B

Thanks everyone, and yes Barbara I have removed a lot of daylillies in one bed as they where taking over and not planting any annuals anymore , it is to hard to get into to weed. I have never spayed my roses with Triforine, bought some but never got around to doing it Will organize some mulch when I can get someone to help me and when I have finally finished all the pruning. I usually go for the eucalyptus mulch or mushroom compost, last time I used a 50/50 mix , then spend half my time cleaning up after the birds

Hi Cheryl,
I use redgum mulch. The pieces are largish (is that a word?) but the birds don't move them around as much.
Barbara B

After pruning, I try to clean up everything, make everything neat, not add any fertiliser yet; just a diluted, liquid soil conditioner (with a very low value of N, P and K) once a week. Slightly stir the soil, open it to the sun, see what new idea can I use for design of the border for the next spring. Then in few weeks, when I plant supplementing perennials, I'll add in fertilisers accordingly.

Know what you mean Barb, I dont like the look of the larger chips as they take too long to break down, I really need to level my garden beds out or make them higher so the stuff does not overflow. Plus a lot harder to weed I think, but that is MOO ?

What sort of liquid do you use, seasol one of those types Oz ?

Rose Petal wrote:
What sort of liquid do you use, seasol one of those types Oz ?

Yes, Seasol is fine to me. I also use it through the year, for feeding thru the foliage. When you feed through the foliage, no need for soil conditioning because all that water goes in the soil. So you help roses grow healthy by feeding them different ways, and feed the soil too. When you do this, you must take into account how much pellet fertilisers or mineral fertilisers you use and what you want to achieve (say, stronger upright growth, root system development or bushy spread with more blooms).
Using manure gives a great kickstart form many roses, but during the years I've learned to be cautious because it's hard to get the exact nutritional value for different manures, coming from different places. I use it cautiously because it can create a total mess of a rose diet if you use other fertilisers too.

I usually mix up all together, poopoos, B & B and Seamungus and or Sudden Impact and scatter around the garden and when I remember or get time use the seasol on the garden hose for the foliage

It's too expensive to do all that for me here... I have an acre and a half of rose gardens... would cost me thousands every year to follow a regime like above... I use any cheap mulch I can get, animal manure my own animals make (I have lots of animals.. alpaca poop is awesome on the garden LOL), and that's it. If a rose can't survive this here... it dies and makes room for somethng that can LOL Survival of the fittest here.. no time to mess with fussy feeders here...

I get my bagged SI and Seamungus almost cost price via the VRS other that that I would not be buying and using my reg poo pellets

And you right there Simon I dont spend a great deal anymore on ferts and stuffs but find my roses do much better if they are fed a bit more on the reg, than the non reg. I tend to forget or just have the time these days , and have given up on the stress and try to concentrate on being able to retire than wishing I was retired so I have the time like I would like to spend in the garden and that way some times would not actual feel like a chore anymore

.. as kidlets say ' are we there yet' another 2 days will see the main bed in the back yard finished, and then I am afraid it is back to work

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I agree with Simons 4.31 post, bring them up tough. Sprays will kill your immune system so your roses must survive and look good without it.

Take more notice of Bemo's posts and you will see where survival during long periods of snow is bred for. Those roses end up as PBR roses here in Australia and need all this fungus treatment.

I don't clean up under the bushes but just throw on more from the compost bin and home grown manures. Am going to investigate the benefits of worm culture and compost tea.

My methods are designed for acres and propagation but would not suit a small formal garden where everything has to be kept very tidy.

are we there yet no AND wont finish 100% before my annual leave is over, but that close I can smell the glasshouse , but all in all been great and great for my mind , not the body, and yes the soul has had a great work out

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