Spring Rose Care

Roses are among the best flowering plants in the world – for outstanding colour, perfume and cut flowers they’re hard to beat. However, roses do have special needs. If they don’t receive the right care and attention they won’t flower well, they can look ugly and they’re really not worth growing.

Fertilise and mulch

Pruning in winter is essential to remove dead wood, shape the bushes and encourage new young growth. It’s also very important to fertilise your roses twice a year, once in early spring and then again in mid summer. Any of the rose foods are suitable or you could use citrus food, which is much the same as rose food.

Leading rose growers like Swane’s in Sydney and Ross Roses in South Australia recommend mulching your roses with something like lucerne or pea straw to get the very best results. Lucerne is available in bales, or in small cubes which expand when they’re put on the garden.

Further information

Lucerne and pea straw mulches are available at nurseries and produce stores. Lucerne hay costs about $8.95 per bale, cubed lucerne mulch is around $9.95 for 10kg, and pea straw is about $6.95 per bale. Expect to pay around $6.30 for a 2.5kg bag of Yates Gro Plus Rose Food, and $5.95 for a 2.5kg bag of Yates Gro Plus Citrus Food. Our segment was filmed at Swane’s Nursery, Dural, NSW. Phone: (02) 9651 2146.