Newbie Questions about Basic Rose Care

[noreen]

Hello,

I kind of took over care of our garden roses and 'cause I'm unexperienced with such things, was browsing the e-net for help. And I found you Now I've got a couple of questions after reading many posts here.

1) I read some recipes for rose tea using alfalfa ect. I've got trouble understanding the fish emulsion part. What exactly IS fish emulsion? is it some kind of liquid or paste? Can I buy it in stores? And could I trade it with something else? Or can I leave it out of the tea? I guess fish fond isn't quite the same, is it?

2) Is there any way to give my roses a fertilizer "boost"? Meaning can I put something directly under the plants? Rose tea takes about 2 weeks to mature, doesn't it? I wanted to treat my darlings to something good before that time. But I don't know with what? Are banana peels ok?

3) one rose also has a VERY bad case of aphid infection Do you reccomend a special recipe for a neem oil spray? I only read to use neem oil, but not in which way to mix it with water or other stuff.

4) and last but not least: is it ok to get water on the leaves and buds when watering the roses? Or should I only water the soil?

ok, that's all for now. I'm sure other questions will come later.

noreen

update:

ok, I went shopping I took JPIXI's advice and checked the nearest petshop for chinicilla food. I found something, but it isn't 100% alfalfa. The rest of it is: maize, peas, extruded wheat, bean flakes, carob, oats, soya and carrot flakes. Do you think the other incredients are harmful? for the roses of course

I also checked the ingredients of ferret fod. And see hear, it contains fish! this is the (short) ingredients list: chicken flour, rice, chicken fat, maize, sugar beet, egg powder, fish flour (!), yeast, chicken liver, lecitin, vegetable oil, fish oil (!), table salt ( ) Kaliumchlorid, calcium carbonat and lots of vitamins and stuff. If I add a handful to my rose tea in stead of the fish emulsion, could it work? But I'm very unsure about the rest of the ingredients, especially the salt and stuff.

ok, that's it.

[JPIXI]

Hello Noreen,

Welcome to join the rose forum.

I believe that the chinchilla food is safe to be used even it is not 100% alfalfa. This is because in any chinchilla food that I have came across none contains any added flavoring like salt etc which is extremely bad for your roses.

However, I am not sure of the ferret food, nor tried on my roses before. Therefore, I cannot tell you if it is safe to use. A breif look at the content that you have provided, my instinct tells me that it is not something I will feel comfortable in using.

The reason why I have adopted alfalfa meal is because I do not have enough of green clipping to extract their nitrogen. If you have a feild and do regular cutting, you can consider to benefit from those cut grass. However, please becareful when you feed your roses with nitrogen too. The best time is still early spring, or latest mid May, when they needed a boast of growth.

Rule of thumb: When you start anything new application to your roses. Always start with small quantity.

Hope it helps.

Cheers,
Pixi

[noreen]

Hi JPIXI,

thanks for your answer.

Yeah, the ferret food might not be the best solution. It's just that I stumbled across it and was courious if it could work. But I'm not that comfortable with it either. I won't try it, no worry.

I've already read several times that people use green clipping or old blossoms for - something. What do you do with it? Make some kind of tea?

The best time is still early spring, or latest mid May, when they needed a boast of growth.

I might be a bit late for fertilizing. but I don't know when these roses have last seen some fertilizer. So I wanted to give them one boost now and then fall into the fertilizing routine you guys recommend here. BTW, the weather was so awfully cold and rainy until now, they didn't start blooming yet. There are several buds already but they're still waiting for some warmth and regular sunshine. So I think a bit of fertilizing now isn't that bad.

I soaked the chincilla food over night in water and burried a small handful under every rosebush. That shouldn't have been too much. Until now all roses look good. They have new growth like hell and the leaves look healthy and strong. But that also could have been the steady raining these last week. Anyway, I'll watch them carefully.

You do live in France, don't you? Could you give me an advice where I can buy fish emulsion? I'm still unsure about that. And I'm also lacking a source for epsom salt (exept maybe online stores). I haven't tried a pharmacy yet, though.

ok, 'nough for now.

[Grey]

2) Is there any way to give my roses a fertilizer "boost"? Meaning can I put something directly under the plants? Rose tea takes about 2 weeks to mature, doesn't it? I wanted to treat my darlings to something good before that time. But I don't know with what? Are banana peels ok?

I've read Val tucks some fish guts under her roses - not sure how often a year - if you have a fisherman around, have him save the guts.


3) one rose also has a VERY bad case of aphid infection Do you reccomend a special recipe for a neem oil spray? I only read to use neem oil, but not in which way to mix it with water or other stuff.

I just follow the directions on the neem bottle, I think it's something like 2 tbsns neem to a gallon of water. And it does, definitely, chase off the aphids.

4) and last but not least: is it ok to get water on the leaves and buds when watering the roses? Or should I only water the soil?

Only water the soil, roses develop black spot really easily, and overhead watering is a quick way to get it. If you do have to water them in the overhead manner, do it in the morning & make sure your roses get lots of morning sun so they dry quickly.

[noreen]

Hi Grey,

thanks for answering.

I just follow the directions on the neem bottle, I think it's something like 2 tbsns neem to a gallon of water. And it does, definitely, chase off the aphids.


Do you use only water and neem oil? I read that you also have to use some kind of emulgator. Is that just to blend the oil and water or is it really necessary for the oil to work? I mean, if shaking the mix before using it to blend the ingredients is enough, I'd be satisfied.

I just got my bottle of oil, but there're no directions on it for mixing, just how to store it.

Anyway, thanks for your answers.

cu

[Grey]

Well that's helpful! (about the Neem bottle).

It must be packaged differently in Germany - here we have the directions on how to mix it. I wonder what kind of emulsifier it is talking about adding to it? I just add water, the bottle doesn't say anything about needing another product. Maybe JPIXI can help since she's in France - she may have had a similar difficulty.

[noreen]

It must be packaged differently in Germany

I bought it via ebay. guess if I ordered it in a real online store it would have come with directions. *shrugs*

I googled on how to mix the oil. On one side they recommended "Rimulgan". Dunno what that is. Or it's said to use powder of soapnut (sapindus trifoliatus).

Maybe the emulsifier is already mixed into your neem oil? Should be named on the bootle if it is.

Guess I'll just have to try it without anything added. If I remember correctly, emulsifier is simply used to blend oil and water permanently. Without it, the two liquids would just seperate again. But regular shaking should rectify that.

we'll see.

[JPIXI]

Hiya Guys!

Sorry to have replied late as I was in the countryside, visiting rose farms and trying to post some questions to the experienced farmers of my experiments. And to see some unpublish new species of roses, so exciting.

Noreen, yes I do live in France, and I guess we are more or less in the same situation and able to exchange some ideas.

Noreen, personally, I do not like to use neem oil unless the infection is really very serious. I have noticed no matter how mild I have adjusted the neem oil, it seems that my roses are burnt. Probably due to the UV level in Europe.

I have a special formula for May to late July to drive pests away and to resist to blackspot and mildew. It is a mixture of wild plants (fern) and a natural product from grape. It can be used as a preventive to diseases periodically too. The whole idea is to make use scent of the fern's gender (only male fern) to discourage female pests to stick and lay their eggs onto our roses. Female pest tends to have more destructive effects than male as male does not like to stay put in one particular area too long unlike the female.

I will try to get the ferns and ingredients in french translated and let you try out as soon. Give me sometime.

Cheers,
Pixi

[noreen]

Hi JPIXI,

wow, a trip to some rose farms *envious* wish I could do that. Did you find out anything interesting?

I have noticed no matter how mild I have adjusted the neem oil, it seems that my roses are burnt.

I didn't notice anything in that direction yet. But then I just applied it on monday. I'll keep an sharp eye on it nevertheless. Thanks for the warning.

Thanks for the recipe. The others will also profit from it You already posted a recipe somewhere. I'll have to look it up again, though. Something with ginger juice, if I remember correctly.

thanks for sharing your experience with me

[JPIXI]

Hi Noreen,

I am preparing the spray recipe with photos of the plant for better identification.

The new recipe will be under Organic Rose Care after this weekend.

Enjoy your gardening.

Pixi