Rose Drought Emergency!

[Jared77]

It's a pretty fool proof method. Buckets are usually drained in 24-36 hrs. I always check the buckets whenever Im in the yard as they can get clogged. Simple fix is a toothpick to clean the hole and have water flowing again. Those were new buckets from Home Depot too so I know they were safe. I also labelled them so I knew they had a hole and didn't use them for something else accidentally.

This way I don't forget to turn the hose off or forget to move it. Plus I am not stuck watering and moving hoses all day. Fill the buckets & get on with other things. Too much to do here to be doing it any other way. It's a consistent low flow that works and would recommend it to anybody who is juggling hoses around.

 

[GardenGeisha]

Well, my roses are still alive. 'Mr. Lincoln' and 'Wild Blue Yonder' are by far the worst, and I read that blue, purple, and red roses tend to burn the most easily. Luckily, it has been 4 times wetter than normal here this past month in Utah, with somewhat cool temperatures, which I think they have liked. Now that September is nearly here, do you think I could safely prune the dead sunburnt stuff of my rose canes, or should I hard prune them to stimulate new growth? Our first hard frost is probably 8 weeks off. Should I wait until after the first hard frost to hard prune them, so as NOT t stimulate new growth, or do I want to stimulate new growth due to losing so much growth to the bad sunburn. Should I fertilize now? And, if so, with what? I recently put Epsom Salt on one rose, and many of its new leaves turned a very pale yellow. I'm not sure whether it was due to the Epsom Salt or too much water? The leaves did not fall off, but I have read that waterlogged soil can result in pale yellow leaves on the new foliage growth of roses. It does, amazingly, have a few little buds on it. I'm just not sure how to proceed, with winter coming on. Also, we could have super hot days in September. That is not unheard of here, or even in October. None are in the forecast, but who knows? Thanks for your help.

 

[catjac1975]

I am always a fan of pruning. I have found that fall pruning for me should not be too severe.

 

[GardenGeisha]

Now, or after the first hard frost, catjac?

 

[catjac1975]

Your zone is different. I have been trimming at frost, but not heavily. Then trimming again first budding of leaves. It seems to protect them from huge frost kill. Bit I would trim off all dead wood at any time.

 

[GardenGeisha]

As you recall, several of my roses were badly sunburned last summer, and I am hoping they will make it through the winter, weakened as they are. We have had an abnormally warm December here-- some days in the 60s, instead of the usual 30 degree days. So I was afraid to winter mulch them, until now, when it has become colder, fearing heaving and such. I always winter mulch my roses with Christmas tree branches, but this year I did not get to Lowe's for the cut off tree branches, since it was so warm and hectic with Christmas chores. Now very cold weather is predicted ahead-- maybe down to 6 F this coming week. We had one or two freakishly cold nights back in November-- down to 12 F. We do finally have a bit of snow on the ground here now with more coming Sunday. It has been a very dry fall/winter so far. Should I just let the snow we now have serve as winter mulch on the roses until it has melted, or should I go ahead and put down other mulch atop the snow? And what sort of mulch should I use, since I don't have tree branches? Soil? wood chips? Hay (I don't know where I'd get any loose hay). Do you think the city would have a supply of chopped Christmas tree parts from residents' discarded Christmas trees? I wonder what department I would need to call to try to get some from the city/county, or would they be too finely ground up to make a good winter mulch for roses? The intact fir branches were good for air flow around the roses and easy to remove in the spring. All winter mulching suggestions for roses will be appreciated. I should have collected the Christmas tree branches and just stacked them to the side, while it was warm weather, but I didn't think of that. I guess I had hoped it would stay abnormally warm all winter. No such luck. What is your best strategy for winter mulching roses at this late date?

 

[GardenGeisha]

I'm in Zone 5 or 6 or 7, Salt Lake City, Utah.

 

[GardenGeisha]

Hello? No responses at all?

 

[catjac1975]

When people put their trees out after christmas you could scavenge them and cut them up. I use leaves on everything however. I have gotten about 6 giant truckloads of chopped leaves from a landscaper. It always amazes me that people want al of that free potential compost removed from their property. Lucky for me. I have spread about a third on my beds. It will take me all winter to use them all. So far it has been pretty warm here too. I too have used the branches from my christmas tree in the past. I like leaves better. You can hill them on the crowns of your bushes and then just brush them back in the spring.