Flowers Of Happiness

By Dave Leach

 For me, rose gardening in the fall is a little bitter-sweet!

My blooms are smaller, leaves are showing signs of wear and tear and yet the rose gardening I do now will be crucial to the success of next years growth. Lets call it rose gardening insurance.

The last rose show is over, the days start getting shorter and the children are back in school but as rose growers we still have work to do. The four most important tasks of fall.

Pick and Clean

Stop fertilizing and start your clean up. From the beginning of September on, there is no need to fertilize your rose beds and pots because you do not want to encourage new shoots to develop as winter approaches. This is also the period of the highest incidence of mildew problems such as blackspot so it is time to pull away all leaves that show signs of disease and to rake the beds below to remove all traces of the blackspot or mildew spores. Yes, they overwinter so get rid of them with your garbage. Deadhead, keep the beds scrupulously clean and pick away at the damaged leaves.

Re-consider your Spray program

Continue spraying if you want clean leaves and blooms into early fall but put away your spray equipment as your rose bushes begin to go into dormancy. Leaves are beginning to curl and drop, rose hips grow darker in color and no new shoots are developing. These are the signs that your rose bush is slowly moving into the dormant stage and the the “do not disturb ’till spring” signs are about to go up.

If you want to spray with dormancy spray, usually oil and sulfur, wait until December or January when your bushes are fully asleep, otherwise store your spray in a dry, safe place and take a close look at how successful you were this season and whether you could cut down or at least be more aware of the environment. Did your plan work?

Pruning Re-Visited

You should have pruned your old growth roses or any that only bloom but once a year. Your climbers should be pruned to shape now and tied in to train them to grow in the right direction and shape for next season.

All other rose bushes are simply cut back to about waist high to stop the wind from causing them to whip around and break off, or worse still, loosen the crown of the bush.

Miniatures can be cleaned of wayward shoots or broken stems and given a short haircut.

Leave the serious pruning until spring, just be prepared for the winter storms.

Plant or re-plant for the next year.

Now is the time to plant your bare root roses in preparation for spring growth. It is also a very good time to move roses and to re-plant them.

Always plant with good, new soil with compost or manure added, but do not add nitrogen based fertilizers at this time of year. A cup of bone meal would help with root growth.

Bare root roses should be soaked in warm water for eight hours before planting to re-constitute them immediately following delivery to your home.

Don’t forget to mound up all your rose bushes with soil to protect the crown from winter winds and the possibility of drying out. This protective mound will be slowly removed as the air temperatures warm up in the spring.

As you go into winter and your rose bushes go dormant remember that any rose gardening actions taken now will have a great effect on what happens in the spring.

Even in the Pacific North-West I have had the occasional rose bloom at Christmas and if you do it should be in a clean rose bed on a bush pruned and mounded up for winter protection.

Consider the four important tasks and your rose garden will thank you for it– next year!

David Leach is the author of Rose-Works.com where you can find out all about rose growing, photographing roses, crafts with roses and using petals, hips and rose-water. FREE monthly newsletter and FREE e-book for subscribers. Find out how this website came to be so popular by visiting About Us

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What Everyone Is Saying About Container Vegetable Gardening Is Dead Wrong And Why
By Izrul Fizal

 There are many pains to regular vegetable gardening, including the weeds that pop up in regular gardens, and the insects that are prone to bothering you in these gardens as well. There is a great way to get bigger and better vegetables, as well as have better control over your crop. Doing container vegetable gardening allows you to have more control and get rid of some of the pests.

What Is It

Container vegetable gardening is gardening that is done in containers. You will fill them with soil and then plant your vegetables in them. This way, you can keep the container near to your house, and keep better control over it. You can also help to make sure that the vegetables turn out just right with container vegetable gardening.

How To Do It

When you are going to embark on container vegetable gardening, you first need to choose your containers and your vegetables very carefully. Look at the packets for seeds or the information that comes with the other plants, and see what type of soil depth the plants need to grow correctly. Then, you will be sure to be able to have the right depth for your buckets or containers. Choose containers that are big enough for each plant - not as they are when they are very small, but as they will be.

Fill the containers to use for container vegetable gardening with soil that is made for vegetables, and then plant the seeds or the plants in the same way that you would plant them in the ground. Be sure to use stakes if the plants need them. Also, be sure that there is a way for water to run out of the bottom of the container, as this is more like the way water will drain from soil.

Next, put the planted container vegetable gardening containers in a place where you will be able to access them each day. Be sure to play attention to the vegetables and see which of them need full sun and which of them need partial shade. Also, be sure to water them as often as you need to, according to the directions that came with the seeds or the plants. It is very important that you follow the exact same guidelines that you would follow if you were planting these in your yard or in your regular garden.

Remember, doing container vegetable gardening might mean that you still get some weeds. You will also have to worry about insects that come near to your garden. So, always be vigilant when you are doing container vegetable gardening.

Get your Organic Gardening 6 Days Course for free and cool tips on vegetable garden planting that you can implement right now.

Check out http://organicgardeningcenter.blogspot.com for more information and details.

What The Experts Recommend For Planting Zone Map
By Izrul Fizal

 A planting zone map is something that is very important to have as you embark on the wonderful world of garden planting. Remember that although you are planting many different things separately, your garden should be something that functions well together and helps every type of fruit and vegetable that you have survive. Therefore, you want to have a planting zone map that will help you make sure all of your plants are in the right place, and your garden is spectacular.

Sun/Shade

The first thing to consider when you are looking at a planting zone map is the way that the sun and shade works with your garden. Remember that some plants need sun and some plants need shade, and therefore you must be certain to provide your fruits and vegetables with the right amounts of both. Take into consideration the place where you will be having your garden, and design your planting zone map to ensure that there are shady areas as well as areas that get sun all day long.

Then, after you have your seeds, take a look at what requires sun and what requires shade, and plan to plant them in the right areas. Remember that having a garden near a tree or fence can allow for some of it to be shady during the day. If you don’t have a garden that has shade, you might need to make some artificial shade so that the plants that need it can have it.

Watering

Your planting zone map should also take into account the parts of the garden that are dryer and wetter. Some vegetables and fruits as well as flowers need to have wetter areas and some need areas that will dry out sooner. Take into consideration your water source, and whether the grown is flat or not.

If the ground is not flat, plan to have plants in the lower sections that need more water, and those in the upper sections that do not. This will help you get the right type of planting zone map for your garden.

Lastly, be sure that your planting zone map takes into consideration plants that will take over areas. Some types of flowers and vegetables will take over areas where they are not planted. Be sure that you know this before you plant them, and that you provide for this. You do not want nay of your hard work to go to waste because your planting zone map did not include these areas.

Get your Organic Gardening 6 Days Course for free and cool tips on vegetable garden planting that you can implement right now.

Check out http://organicgardeningcenter.blogspot.com for more information and details.

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