A good mulch makes all the difference. When I started putting on mulch, I saved water, kept the weeds down and the rose roots cool in summer. This was the best rose advice I ever got.

Sounds like you have a good start on your new house and garden. Would you care to share the general region you live in? Sometimes that can affect the kind of advice we might give. The state would be helpful info., for instance.

You are right--roses like to be watered but not over-watered. You might check periodically to see how wet the soil is at different times in your watering cycle. Ideally, the soil would be moist but not soggy. The soil should still have some crumbling possibilities. Carefully dig down 6 inches in the soil and see how it is there. Then you will have some basis for deciding if it is too wet or too dry.

How often you feed the roses depends on what you feed them. Some people use the coninuous feeders which can last anywhere from 2-3 months up to 6 months (read the label--it will tell you.) Osmocote is a popular example. Some rose gardeners give the roses a good organic feeding in the spring and that is pretty much it. And other gardeners do just about everything in between those two possibilities. Eveyone will give you their favorite method and then you will just have to try some of them out and see which ones work best in your growing conditions.

Myself, I give the roses an early spring feeding and a second feeding after the roses finish their first big spring blooming flush. That may be all I get around to, but I usually tell myself that I'd like to give a third feeding after the roses finish their summer blooming flush--and sometimes I even remember to do that. Roses often have a good blooming time as autumn takes over, so a lot of gardeners like to make sure the rose go into that autumn cycle with at least a small feeding if nothing else.

Hope that helps. Good luck with your roses.

Kate

Lizzy, where do you live? If your soil is sandy and drains well, you can't rot the roots. If anything, if your drainage is that good and you have any real heat, the drip and once a week soaking may not be enough water. Sandy soil doesn't retain moisture well. Combine that with triple digit heat, full, hot sun and any kind of wind and aridity and you can easily dry them out to the point they die. Knowing where you live and any unusual climate/weather conditions you have will make all the difference in how appropriate and good the advice you receive is. Kim

Sounds like you have a good start on your new house and garden. Would you care to share the general region you live in? Sometimes that can affect the kind of advice we might give. The state would be helpful info., for instance.

You are right--roses like to be watered but not over-watered. You might check periodically to see how wet the soil is at different times in your watering cycle. Ideally, the soil would be moist but not soggy. The soil should still have some crumbling possibilities. Carefully dig down 6 inches in the soil and see how it is there. Then you will have some basis for deciding if it is too wet or too dry.

How often you feed the roses depends on what you feed them. Some people use the coninuous feeders which can last anywhere from 2-3 months up to 6 months (read the label--it will tell you.) Osmocote is a popular example. Some rose gardeners give the roses a good organic feeding in the spring and that is pretty much it. And other gardeners do just about everything in between those two possibilities. Eveyone will give you their favorite method and then you will just have to try some of them out and see which ones work best in your growing conditions.

Myself, I give the roses an early spring feeding and a second feeding after the roses finish their first big spring blooming flush. That may be all I get around to, but I usually tell myself that I'd like to give a third feeding after the roses finish their summer blooming flush--and sometimes I even remember to do that. Roses often have a good blooming time as autumn takes over, so a lot of gardeners like to make sure the rose go into that autumn cycle with at least a small feeding if nothing else.

Hope that helps. Good luck with your roses.

Kate

gardenweb (believe it or not) has a find-your-zone-by-zip-code page. It is somewhat helpful to know your growing zone.

Here is a link that might be useful: find your zone

Thanks guys for the response.
I forget to post where I live. I'm in So Ca zone 9 and the summer gets pretty hot here for a couple of weeks in August. Max it's been is 110.

Not to be intrusive -- but Southern California encompasses a wide diversity of soil and water types -- among other differences.

When we planted our first roses -- about 25 years ago -- we were careful to plant only roses that came highly recommended, and WOW! It took us less than a year to begin to learn that many roses which were dynamite in the warmer parts of Los Angeles, and the San Gabriel Valley (where I grew up) were disasters here. Our soil, water, relative humidity and amount of ocean influence made a huge difference. I think, at this point, we only have one or two of the roses we started with.

But I think in all parts of Southern California, deep mulching is desirable.
Monthly feeding is probably NOT necessary, unless you are aiming for the Exhibition table.
And only in a relatively wet winter will you be likely to get by with watering once weekly. Twice a week, I think, is probably going to be needed. And occasionally, when the dry Santa Ana Winds begin to scream -- an extra watering, or a hose-washing, would be a really good idea.

In Southern California, water is far more valuable than fertilizers.

Jeri, Coastal Ventura County
Southern California

The area I'm in is Murrietta, Ca. It's north of San Diego. We have the drip system hooked up to all of the bushes and they get watered this way 2x a day on a cycle that runs about 3 minutes per. Then I was was told to give them a good deep watering with the hose once a week, which is what we've been doing. The soil is as dublinbay described, not soggy, but damp.

What kind of mulch would you recommend?

I see many SoCal rose gardeners here. I live in San Pedro and I live very close to the ocean. We have been battling rust/powedery mildew ever since we moved here - 20 years ago. I know this is probably "just the way it is" here, but can anyone provide the names or hybrid roses they can recommend for this type of SoCal climate? Thanks so much. Happy gardening! MaryO (miteymo)

LizzyW, I hope you and your husband enjoy your first house! You will find that many of the posters here are great resources.

I use garden mulch from one of the local garden center's such as Lowe's or Home Depot. Some have fertilizers in them and some don't. We use a different one each time we mulch. I try to look for one that has worm castings and other organic additives.

2 times each year (late February and late July) we add 2 cups of Alfalfa pellets around each plant or you can use alfalfa meal from your local nursery. If you buy pellets make sure to get the one without without any sweetener (i.e. molasses). You can purchase pellets from your local feed store.

On top of the pellets we add a 2-3" layer of mulch then we add decorative bark as a final layer.

If we use alfalfa meal we add it to the mulch and mix together before application.

My experience is, the alfalfa increases rose cane size and plant vigor. The mulch reduces disease (fungus and insects), holds in moisture (protecting shallow roots from drying out) and as it breaks down, improves the quality your native soil. The bark prevents weeds, reduces water evaporation, adds a finished look to your beds and usually prevents the mulch from washing away.

If you use a good quality granular rose fertilizer every 6-8 weeks according to the product directions from January after pruning through early October your roses should perform beautifully.

If you are inclined to take the time there are other organic, water soluble fertilizers you can use between granular feedings such as fish emulsion, liquid seaweed, liquid iron and zinc (I use Grow More brand) and Super Thrive.

Good luck and good gardening,

Lee

Hi Mary,

Coastal gardening can be a challenge and a joy at the same time. I live in Palos Verdes and have also grown roses in Torrance and Manhattan Beach. My list of mildew and rust resistant roses is:

Hybrid Teas:
Mellow Yellow
New Zealand
Gemini
Ingrid Bergman
Just Joey
Olympiad
Voodoo

Floribundas:
Honey Perfume
Trumpeter
Mardi Gras (not the Hybrid tea)
Playboy
Gruss an Aachen
Sexy Rexy
Sheila's Perfume
Sunsprite
Our Lady Of Guadalupe

Grandifloras:
Fame
About Face
Tournament of Roses

Shrub Roses:
Belinda's Dream
Bonica
Carefree Beauty
Gourmet Popcorn

Hope this helps. You might try a separate new post for your question. You also might plan a visit to the South Coast Botanical Gardens in Palos Verdes in April or May and see what you like that they are growing. If you search this Garden Web for discussions of rust and mildew prevention you will find easy methods of minimizing mildew and rust. Some common tips are:

1. Watering only in the morning gives your roses a chance to dry in the sun during the day.

2. Mulching reduces fungus (mildew and rust) and insects.

3. Hose spraying your roses with a water wand each week to wash off insects and fungus spores.

4. Removing any roses or plants that regularly suffer from mildew and / or rust no matter what you do.

5. Try organic sprays for prevention. There are recipes out there on the internet.

The Otto and Sons Nursery website does a good job of providing rose lists that explain the characteristics, coastal tolerance and disease / heat resistance of the roses they sell.

Happy Gardening,

Lee

Here is a link that might be useful: Otto and Sons Nursery in Filmore, Ca.

Perhaps I missed it, but I haven't seen anyone recommend a soil test. I suggest you get one before you throw fertilizer or other amendments at your roses.
I also have sand and I recommend you work in organics. They help hold moisture.

Thank you everyone for your help. It's much appreciated! This was an investment and I want too learn as much as I can. @ Lee, I'll try your suggestions, thanks!!!:)

Liz

all are right with their explanations....you just simply try to maintain them, after following the plantation techniques,as taking care is the big thing to be handled

Lee,
Thanks so much! And thanks to all that replied. This is wonderful information. I have been to the Botanical Gardens, but will make it a point to go in May. And I will definitely look into Otto and Sons Nursery.

Really appreciate the help. MaryO (miteymo)

There are two roses societies near you and I'd recommend you check out both of them. They are very different in focus. The Temecula Valley Rose Society (10 minutes south from you) is more a "general gardening" type club and the Mountain View Rose Society in Moreno Valley (30 minutes north from you) is more the traditional rose society that focuses exclusively on roses. Give them both a look-see, and I'm sure you will not only learn lots about your rosess, but probably make some great new friends in the process (and that's what it's all about, isn't it?)

Both of them have evening meetings coming up this month that sound interesting, and I see Mountain View is also having a Saturday seminar on March 10. It's a "consulting rosarian" class, but don't worry about that part, just go, learn, meet the people, eat the food and skip the "open book test," which is silly anyway.

Kathy

Mary -- We've gardened in a coastal area for 25 years. Over that time, we've planted and removed more roses than I care to think about -- if they're not disease-free here without spray, they don't stay.

Few Hybrid Teas remain in our garden.

We find we do best with a selection of Tea Roses, China Roses (mostly the red Chinas), and many of the Noisette Roses. Those don't rust or mildew for us. A handful of Hybrid Perpetuals (tho they're "thirstier" than the aforementioned), and a very small number of Austin roses.

These are some of our "stalwarts":
Grandmother's Hat (it is first, and foremost)
Mons. Tillier
Rosette Delizy
Niles Cochet
Louis Philippe
Archduke Charles
Cramoisi Superieur
Reve d'Or (grown as a climber)
Secret Garden Musk Climber
(Cl.) Sombreuil
Golden Celebration (Austin)
Buff Beauty
Bishop Darlington
Sally Holmes
Flower Girl (Modern Shrub Rose)
International Herald Tribune (Floribunda)
Gardens Of The World (HT, may be difficult to find)

Other roses that form the basis of our garden are "Found" roses, which are not always available in commerce.

Jeri Jennings
Coastal Ventura County, Southern California
Heritage Roses Group

Wow! Thanks Jeri! This is perfect! And thanks Kathy for the links to the rose clubs. Wonderful. You folks ROCK! MaryO (miteymo).

I live a lot farther north and more inland, but sounds like our ground conditions are similar. My roses would fry with once a week watering on my sandy (but religiously mulched) soil, no matter how deeply I watered. I can't seem to get by without every other day watering in the peak of summer.

Especially with new roses. For my roses that are less than a few months old when summer hits, I have to water them every day.

Your roses will tell you...

Who was that in Florida who built raised beds above the sandy soil and grew the roses that way to keep the roots moist. I thought it was a good idea. As I recall he had posts and beams above the beds so he could put up shade cloth in summer.

The whole thing was recycled from the previous owners vegetable garden area.