Summer is starting to wind down and the weather is getting noticeably colder, but there is a simple way to help roses prepare for autumn and even grow bigger flowerheads. Roses can be struggling at the end of August as the intense heat the last few months can compact the soil, which means there is less nutrients and water reaching the roots.
However, gardening experts at The House of Terra have shared that helping roses perk up and keep producing flowers is easy, as all you need are the leftovers from your morning cup of coffee. They said: “Coffee grounds take place to be a favored food of your local worm population. This will benefit the roses as worms properly aerate portable soil which enhances the soil structure and water drainage.”
Coffee is a great source of food for earthworms, and spreading it on your flowerbeds will encourage these worms to bury more into the soil and improve the drainage.
The dry weather in summer causes soil to harden, but earthworms will break up the soil again to help more resources reach roses so they remain watered and fed.
Earthworms will also leave behind worm casing which help add more nutrients to the soil, but coffee grounds by themself are a good source of nitrogen for plants.
Nitrogen is the nutrient responsible for foliage growth, and having big leaves on plants allows it to soak up more energy while strong stems will help roses support even bigger flowers.
What is also fantastic about coffee grounds is that they encourage beneficial insects like worms but will keep away more destructive ones like slugs as they cannot stand its sharp acidic scent.
How to use coffee grounds to help support roses
To begin, take your wet leftover coffee grounds and place them in a tray. Leave the tray near a window to bake in the sun to dry out the grounds.
Coffee can really help plants but it is an acidic substance, so it is important to use leftover coffee grounds as it is far less potent. You also need to dry out coffee so they do not become mouldy in the garden.
Then, all you need to do is sprinkle half a pound of coffee grounds around each rose in your garden. There is no need to dig the coffee into the soil as that can harm the roots, so instead make sure to give roses around two gallons of water after adding the coffee grounds as this will help them spread into the ground.
You only need to feed your roses coffee grounds once, but it can help them grow a lot stronger and bigger so they are properly prepared for the colder months ahead.