It’s no surprise that the rose is Australia’s most popular ornamental flowering plant. There are not many gardens that wouldn’t contain at least one of these flowering beauties. The lure of the sweet fragrance on warm spring days is so strong, that it’s easy to find one more spot for the latest release rose.

Gardeners expect a lot from roses and as a consequence they need a little extra care at this time of the year to keep them at peak performance and ensure brilliant spring colour.

Rose Tip:

Retain water shoots on roses, don’t remove them. These long tall stems appear from the base of the plant, sport strong healthy foliage and grow taller than the existing plant. These strong shoots form the basis of next season’s framework and make next year’s pruning easy.

Rose care after pruning:

• Before foliage emerges (after pruning) apply a cover spray with white oil. This will clean up any mites or scale insects before spring growth.
• Apply PowerFeed with Troforte Flowers Fruit & Citrus around root system and water in well. To save water, apply before rain. Potassium is the nutrient which thickens cell walls, strengthens stems and intensifies flower colour and perfume.
• As foliage appears spray Seasol  (30mL per 9 litres of water) every 2-4 weeks over the whole plant. This will also build up the plants natural defence against black spot and powdery mildew.