Roses should look stunning now they are actively growing their beautiful blooms, but they can easily lose their flowers in summer if they are not protected properly. In hot weather, roses can become are incredibly thirsty plants that will dehydrate extremely quickly.
If there is not enough water in their soil then roses will begin wilting, slow down flower production and even drop their buds completely so you are left with a bare unsightly plant. However, Kitty Belendez, a master rosarian from the Santa Carita Valley Rose Society, has shared the best way to keep roses safe to they keep blooming is to simply mulch them.
Kitty said: “Mulch can help to conserve up to 50 percent of the water in your rose beds, and also can reduce the temperature of the soil from 10 to 20 degrees. This becomes very beneficial, if not crucial, during the hot summer months.”
Mulching is a really simple gardening technique of adding material to the top of soil to protect plants and feed them.
It slows down evaporation in soil so it stays moist after watering your roses, which is important during heatwaves or when the temperature is reaching 30C in summer.
The mulch will slowly drip water into the soil so roses stay hydrated and you do not have to keep hovering around them with a watering can to keep them alive.
It also regulates the temperature around plants to cool the roots, which helps reduce the stress on roses, so they can focus on flower production rather than just simply surviving.
Keeping roses cool with mulching is really easy, as all you need is a few minutes and a safe material that can hold a lot of water.
You can use any mulch like straw, bark, grass clippings or even newspaper, but compost tends to be the most effective and cheapest option.
Kitty said: “Compost is one of the most beneficial types of mulch. You might consider starting a small compost pile in your backyard, where you could collect various materials such as leaves, grass clippings, newspaper, coffee grinds, and let them age before using them as a mulch.”
Just make sure not to add any oil, grease, meat or seeds to your compost as they can damage your roses, but compost holding lots of different vegetables and fruit will feed roses the nutrients they need.
Once you have your mulch type, simply spread a thin layer around the base of your roses. Do not apply too much mulch as you can risk it clumping together and compacting the soil.
Then, give your roses a really good watering to help break the mulch down, and your roses should not only stay healthy but produce even bigger blooms as they are getting the nutrients they need to thrive.