HelpfulGardener.com

Hi everyone, I moved into a new house a couple weeks ago, and there are 4 rose bushes out front. One seems to have wilted/dead roses on it, one is blooming, and two are just smaller bushes with no buds or anything. One of the 4 has a tag that says "hybrid tea rose, summer sunshine" but the other 3 do not have tags. They are planted among big rocks, and I don't know what the soil or ground is like underneath.
Can you help me identify these rose bushes? I'm a total novice with a brown thumb, so forgive me silly questions - but how do I tell if the smaller two are even alive? How often do I water them, and for how long? (I have a hose to water them only). Is there anything else (like fertilization) that is necessary to keep them alive and blooming? Do they bloom in the winter too? The coldest it'll get around here is in the 40s most likely.
I'm in San Jose, California and it's fairly hot here. They're in pretty direct sunlight for a good part of the day, until late afternoon when the sun goes behind the house.
Thank you for your help.

In my also hot neck of the woods, roses stop blooming when it is cold or when it is hot and uncomfortable. So in the summer, flower production goes down and, when Fall temps arrive, they have one last flush before staying green until Spring. There may be one or two unscheduled blooms during that time but very few if any. Due to mild winters, the shrubs typically keep their foliage. Also, black spot tends to accelerate thru my growing season and by the end of Summer, some rose bushes may have green stems with few leaves. They will leaf out more in the Fall or again in Spring.

Some roses only bloom once a year, in Spring, while others blooms several times at their own pace so learn how these do by taking minimal care and observing a lot. I would not fertilize any shrubs this late in the growing season although zero nitrogen or very low nitrogen fertilizers may be ok. I am referring to the NPK Ratios displayed in most fertilizers. Start fertilizing in the Spring. I give them 1/2 to 1 cup of cottonseed meal per plant.

Wilting may be telling you that they need water so either ask the previous owner how often and how much they were watered... or use the finger method daily for 2-3 weeks: insert a finger early in the mornings to a depth of 4" (not counting the mulch) and give them about 1 gallon of water per plant if the soil feels dry or almost dry. Write down a note on a wall calendar every time that you water. After 3 weeks, look at the notes in the wall calendar and estimate on average how often you were watering: say, every 3/4/etc days. Then set a sprinkler or drip irrigation (or water by hand) to deliver 1 gallon of water on that frequency (every 3/4/5/etc days). If temperatures change by 10-15 degrees and stay there, consider using the finger method again to see if you need to tweak things.

I usually keep them well mulched with 2-4" of mulch at all times. I do not use rocks as mulch as they get warm and release heat during the night. But some people like the look so it is up to you.

To gain some knowledge of roses, go to this link and read some of the articles: https://www.rose.org/rose-care-articles/

Perhaps start with these ones:
https://www.rose.org/rose-care-articles/ ... rose-food/
https://www.rose.org/rose-care-articles/ ... uidelines/

Well they do look like hybrid tea roses. They aren't that bad. The flower colors bleach in hot sun. The rock mulch will help to keep down weeds.

For now, learn how to dead head and prune roses.
Get a good pair or sharp pruners., short lopper, and thick long sleeved gloves. It may not stop everything but if you do it barehanded you have to be very careful.

Make sure tools are clean. Spray blade with alcohol and wipe it with a rag between cuts. Use purple cleaner in a spray bottle and spray the pruner or loppers between rose bushes. Spray with purple cleaner, rinse with water and wipe blade. Do not rinse over the rose bushes, do it in a sink. Purple cleaner is not for plants. It does remove sap and cleaning tools between plants prevents spread of diseases.
After the blooms have faded, cut back the stem above a 5 leaf outward facing node. (where the leaf attaches to the stem is a node). I like to cut back stems that are very thin all the way back till they are at least 1/4 inch thick.

Cut any crossing or inwardly growing branches back to the main branch. You want to prune a rose into a vase shape with the branches growing outward and a "V" middle. cut broken branches back to healthy tissue.
https://www.heirloomroses.com/info/care/how-to/pruning/
Feed roses with rose food after each bloom cycle. If Hybrid tea roses are cut back after bloom and fed they can rebloom in 6 weeks.

At the end of the season depending on where you live, roses will need to be cut back to the strongest canes.
Add compost at least once or twice a year but keep it away from the stem.

Roses are beautiful but they do require a bit of maintenance. It is not hard to do once you get the hang of it.
Roses are susceptible to a number of diseases and pests so it is important to identify the problems early and deal with it. Apparently deer are very fond of roses too.

https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/ ... oblems.pdf

If you don't have children or pets. Bayer rose care 3 in 1 is a good product to use when your weather is wet and humid or if you have a lot of issues with disease and pests. You should disbud for the 6-8 weeks this product is active to protect the bees.

If you select the best roses for your conditions and take care of them they will be around for many years.