APRIL is a great month for the last flush of roses before they lose all their leaves and blooms to become dormant for winter.
It’s also the last month to purchase our potted roses, and that’s why we are now offering our potted plants with 50% discount, if purchased at the nursery in Kalangadoo by April 29.
We’ll be open to public up to April 29, from Monday to Thursday 9am to 3pm and on Friday from 9am to 1pm.
After this we will start our long and busy digging season preparing and delivering bare root roses, and we’ll be back with potted roses around mid-spring.
Now is a wonderful time to transplant a potted rose.
The days are cooler and the blooms are brighter in Autumn.
Dig a hole in your ground 30cm x 30cm x 30cm.
Fill your hole with water and let it drain away.
If the water drains within five minutes then your soil is too sandy.
15min – 30min is perfect loam consistency.
Remove your rose from the pot (you can cut any roots coming from the bottom of the pot if need be).
Place straight in the hole (do not tease roots system).
Backfill half way with soil and water to remove any air pockets.
Backfill the rest of the hole and water again.
Sprinkle with a little bit of fertiliser and you can add Seasol to your watering.
Normally the April rains will settle the plant in but Mount Gambier has not seen any rain as yet, so you need to put the sprinkler on the rose until the thunderstorms roll in.
If you would like to feature your rose in a pot, here are some tips:
Floribunda roses look good in a pot as they have a shorter and bushier growth habit.
The bigger the pot, the better.
A suggested size is a minimum of 40cm x 40cm x 40cm.
Use a good quality potting mix.
A recommendation is a slightly acidic blend which is suited for Roses and Azaleas
Plant with the graft above the soil by 2cm.
Water your pot regularly.
This could mean everyday in summer and every second day in Spring and Autumn.
Never let the potting mix dry out.
Dry potting mix will repel the water which results in the water running down the sides and not actually soaking the root zone.
Potting Mix will have added fertiliser that will need topping up after 6 months.
Add a small handful of granule fertiliser and water in.
After 3 – 4 years you will need to replace the potting mix and you can change to a bigger pot if you like.
Plan this for winter time when the rose is dormant.
Prune the branches of the rose as normal then take the rose out of the pot and remove as much as the old soil as you can.
Trimming for the root system is allowed.
The top and bottom need to be approximately the same size.
The roses will be sure to return with renewed vigour in Spring.
