Caring For Your Roses In August
After the intense heatwave most of the UK has faced in July, August is the time to give your roses some extra care and attention, so that they continue to bloom or produce hips through until the end of summer and into autumn. Keep reading to find out how our Rosarians are caring for their roses throughout the warm weather, even if there is a hosepipe ban in place.
Make Sure Your Roses Are Getting Enough Water Where Possible
After the recent heatwaves, the most important thing you can do for your roses in August is to make sure they are getting enough water; however, this can be more challenging if you live in an area that is currently experiencing a hosepipe ban.
If this is the case for you and you aren’t able to water your whole garden with a watering can, our Rosarians recommend focusing on watering roses in pots and those that get the most sun, as they will be under more stress and so will dry out at a much faster rate.
The best way to know if your rose is getting enough water is to test the soil with your finger.
For more advice on how to water your rose click here
Deadhead Your Flowers
Deadheading your roses once the flowers have gone over is the best way to keep your roses looking neat and tidy. This also allows the rose to put its energy into new growth and producing another flush of blooms sooner, if it is a repeat-flowering rose. If it is a once-flowering rose, you can choose to leave the flower heads on, so that they will produce colourful rose hips.
To learn more about deadheading your roses, click here
Feed Your Roses
If you haven’t already, August is the perfect time to give your roses a feed with a slow-release fertiliser, once the flowers have gone over. This will give them the best chance of producing an abundance of blooms on the second flush and will help support the plant after the recent heatwave. Because the weather has been so hot, you will need to water your granular feed into the soil to make sure it is absorbed.
If your roses are flowering again or have flower buds, you can give them a liquid feed to keep the plants healthy and producing more flowers.
Our Rosarian’s top picks for rose feed are Top Rose for a granular feed and Uncle Tom’s Rose Tonic for a liquid feed.
Click here to find out more about feeding your roses
Tidy up your stems
If you have made it to August and feel that your rose is getting a bit bigger than you would like, you can give your rose a light prune to tidy it up and remove any damaged or diseased stems and leaves. This is also a good time to remove any blind stems that haven’t produced any flower buds this summer.
The exception to this is if you have a rambling rose, as the new stems of a rambler will produce flowers next year, so only remove stems that you definitely don’t need. If these stems are in the way, but you need them, you can tie them back.
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