Your roses just finished their biggest bloom cycle of the year. However, if you consistently dead-head and fertilize your roses, you will continue to enjoy many more blooms through out the summer. (They won’t be as large, the summer heat causes them to recycle faster so the blooms will be smaller.) Roses are now entering their most important growth spurt of the year. Fertilization is the driver of this growth, especially nitrogen. If you applied an organic fertilizer earlier this spring, it only lasts about 6 weeks. Time to apply another several cups. If you used a slow release (e.g, Osmocote, Sta-Green, Scott’s), depending on how many months it is active, you may need to re-apply. Water soluble fertilizers, such as Miracle-Gro, Peter’s Petunia, Neptune’s Harvest Rose & Flower fertilizer or Mill’s Easy Feed will boost your roses growth. Ideally, fertilizing weekly, or at least bi-weekly, at half-strength, of your favorite fertilizer will provide your roses with that extra nutritional treat that will improve their vigor.
No hard pruning this time of year. Just pop or cut off the blooms. Spray fungicides every 10-14 days if you have problems with black spot. August will be the next month you will do a harder pruning.
