antinoro
Newly Registered
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon May 07, 2012 12:34 pm
Location: San Rafael, CA

Purchased new home with LOTS of roses - I know nothing...

I moved into a new home last month and the previous owner (a landscape designer) has about 15 different roses in the backyard (about 20 bushes in total). The are beautiful and in full bloom. I have a gardener who is coming out next week to help me out (I'm from the city where my only gardening experience has been putting flowers into a vase!). But my concner until next week is:
1. It is hot this week (low 80's): how often/much should I water them (the irrigation system is in place, but not working, so for this week I need to manually water)
2. Some of the roses are dead now and the petals are falling off. I assume I should get the fallen petals off the soil (or not?) and what about the dead part that remains? Do I just leave it, cut them?
3. Some of the bushes are literally bursting with flowers. I'd love to cut some to enjoy inside. Is there a right time to cut? Way to cut?
4. One bush in particular is growing quickly and one of the "arms" is stretching way out from the rest. Do I try and retrain is back where I want it? Do I cut it? It's from one of the bushes and not one of the climbing types that are planted along the fence. It's starting to grow into another rose bush.

THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR ANY HELP. I am terrified I am going to destroy them and I am in love with how beautiful they are.
Thanks

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rainbowgardener
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 25279
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

Relax, it would be hard for anything you do to kill them!

The fallen petals are fine on the soil, eventually they just break down and become part of the soil again.

But you do want to cut the spent flowers off, if you want it to keep blooming; it's called deadheading the plant. Cut them back to a leaf node.

If you want to cut some for the vase, for longest vase life it's best to do it in the morning, the day after you water (or it rains), so the bud is well hydrated. Cut buds just before they open. When you cut it, put it immediately in a bucket of water and keep it in water until it goes in the vase.

You can cut off the stem sticking out.



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