The arrival of May brings our first big bloom cycle of the season.  To have blooms with lots of substance, be sure and keep your roses well watered.  They need at least an inch per week.  Remember, water is the key ingredient that makes everything you do to your plants work. 

During the early part of May, we like to give our plants a boost with a chemical fertilizer.  Nothing fancy here, just use a well balanced fertilizer such as 10-10-10 or 13-13-13 with trace elements.  Make sure your soil is moist, and sprinkle roughly a ¼ cup of fertilizer evenly around each plant.  Lightly scratch the fertilizer into the soil and then water well.  If you simply apply fertilizer and don’t water, you are likely to suffer some plant damage due to nitrogen burn.  Water is the key to getting the fertilizer to the root system where the plant can intake it and use it to grow strong and produce beautiful blooms.  For an extra boost, about mid-month you can apply your favorite liquid fertilizer.  

Continue with your spray program focusing on preventing disease, particularly blackspot.  Remember, disease is always easier to prevent than cure!  If you don’t have a spray program, develop one now.  Some products to consider for the average rose garden of fewer than 50 plants include Funginex, Immunox and Fertilome Liquid Systemic.  To get the best results, we recommend alternating at least two of these products on a weekly basis.  If blackspot is a problem for you, add some Maneb to the program on a weekly basis.   

For insects, we recommend the integrated pest management approach, which basically says you don’t spray for insects until they are likely to be present.  Early in the month your focus should be on aphids.  They are the small green insects that cluster around your newly forming buds.  Almost any good garden insecticide will take care of them.  Later in the month, thrips can attach your just opening blooms.  They are so small that you care barely see them.  They suck juices from the blooms thus leaving a brown unsightly edge.  They are more difficult to control.  The best approach is to begin treating for them about the 2^nd week of the month and continue through the first bloom cycle.  A product to consider is Bayer Rose & Flower Insect Killer.   Please refer to our Spray Formulations chart.

Why not consider visiting one of our monthly meetings?  The schedule is located else where on this site.  If you have any questions, please visit the Ask the Exerts tab and send us your question.  We’ll respond in a timely fashion.  Remember, the only dumb question is the one not asked.