How to Grow an Outdoor Rose Garden?
Rose gardens are an all-time favourite of most people and are one of the most popular types of outdoor garden designs. The ideal season to start a rose garden is early spring. If you love the flower and have sufficient time and expertise to tend to the plants, your garden will surely attract admirers. However, leaving them unattended for long will make the garden appear unkempt. It is essential to prune the rose bushes during late-fall to ensure that they survive the harsh winter season.
There are different types of rose gardens that you can opt for - formal rose garden, informal rose garden and cottage garden. In a formal rose garden, parallel beds are prepared and rose plants of different colors are planted on each bed. Unlike the formal garden, an informal rose garden does not follow a rigid design. Inside the beds can be slightly curved and different varieties of rose plants can b planted into each bed. In a cottage garden, you can combine rose plants with other varieties of plants, including edible plants, like sunflowers.
The following article will give you an idea about how to start a rose garden:
1. Plan on the layout of the garden. Make a drawing of the number, length and placement of the flower beds and the number of plants that you will like to plant in each bed. Choose the late spring and early summer season for this.
2. Dig a hole that reaches the root ball and 2-3 inches up into the stem of the rose plant. Then, add another 2-3 inches.
3. Keep sufficient food that is necessary for the healthy growth of the plant inside the hole after mixing it well into some loose soil. After releasing the roots from the root ball, fill the hole with food that is mixed with soil. Ensure that the main stem is filled with rose food at least 2inches from the root ball.
4. Initially the plants need to be watered generously but at a later stage, moist soil is sufficient for its growth. As a result, they do not need to be watered regularly as fertilization is more essential for them.
5. Apply rose fertilizer during early spring and mulch the soil with natural mulch, like wood chips. This will ensure that the plant produces healthy blooms, rids the plant off weeds and keeps the roots protected. It also prevents the roots from becoming dry during the summer season by keeping it moist.
6. Almost all types of climate are suitable for the growth of roses; through the more will be the climate, better will it be for the growth of the rose plants.
7. Take care to cut the dried-up stems of the plant every fall season.
8. Remember to leave sufficient space between each rose plant, so that there is enough place for the plants to grow, breathe and bloom.
9. Cut the canes of the rose plants to half their length during mid-March to mid-April to get rid of the diseased and dry wood. Flowers can bloom only on the upper portions or the canes during the first couple of years after which the cane becomes dormant. Therefore, pruning is essential to ensure that the plant does not become dormant a few years after it is planted.
The above tips will help you to plan an outdoor rose garden. You can do it on your own or opt for an outdoor garden design company.
Steve Hawk is the owner of gardening company. He has been in this field for several years. In this article, he has focused on how to plan an outdoor rose garden.