Caring for roses
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Dear friends,
Roses are one of my favourite flowering plants. My mom used to plant scores of them in the front garden of our home in New Jersey and I was in charge of watering them, fertilising them, pruning them and otherwise taking care of them. So I have grown to like roses very much. Anyway recently, I have received a bunch of beautiful miniature roses and they are gorgeous. So vibrant, beautiful and bright…I offered them up immediately on my altar to the Buddhas.
I wish to have more of these beauties in Kechara Forest Retreat (KFR) but in order to do this well, we will need to learn about how to care for these plants and ensure their optimum health.
I have asked the KFR community to gather some information about this which I am happily sharing here with everyone.
Tsem Rinpoche
To read about my childhood experiences with Medicine Buddha, please check out https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/?p=185610
I was taught by His Eminence Denma Locho Rinpoche what to do when you receive gifts or offerings from someone, which you can read about here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/?p=102121
Climate conditions
Roses are a rather picky species and require exacting growing conditions in order for them to thrive.
Good conditions include six to eight hours of direct sunlight each day but in tropical and equatorial climates, they will need protection from the most intense afternoon sun. Therefore, partial shade during these periods will offer optimum growing conditions. In temperate zones, planting them facing the afternoon sun will add extra warmth to boost flower production and reduce winter damage.
The average lifespan for a standard size rose bush is 35 years and roses are able to grow and even thrive in containers for up to 10 years. In general, rose plants last 15 to 20 years if it is a good variety and looked after.
However, miniature roses, which are highly dwarfed and not bred to be garden plants may have a very short lifespan, and are more challenging to grow.
Soil requirements
Roses require slightly acidic soil conditions with a pH of between 5.5 and 7. A pH of 6.5 is just about right for most home gardens.
After doing a soil test to find out its current pH, soil which is too acidic can be counteracted by applying finely ground limestone (or coffee grounds – see below), while alkaline soil is treated with ground sulphur to reduce its pH level.
The ideal soil for roses is rich (high organic content) and loose, moisture-retentive but with good drainage. Here, a generous layer of organic mulch will help conserve moisture, keep the roots cool in hot weather, reduce weeds, and encourage healthy root growth.
In areas with wet and heavy soil, or in the tropics where there are long and wet monsoon seasons, it would be best to plant them in raised beds. Roses do not like “wet feet”.
Roses do not need particularly good soil, but they do not like clay soils. A mixture of top soil with sand seems to work for growers in the tropics.
Large flower pots are ideal too and have the advantage of being mobile. However, once the plant appears to stop flourishing or if water takes longer than normal to drain, it is time to transplant the rose from its container into a larger container or directly into the ground.
Planting
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Bare-root roses should be soaked in a bucket of water for eight to 12 hours before planting to ensure full hydration.
Stalks or canes should each have about three to five buds and any cane thinner than a pencil should be removed. When planting container-grown roses, loosen the roots before planting.
When planting in the ground, the hole should be large enough so that lots of rich soil can be filled in to ensure an optimum start for the bush. For most types of roses, the planting hole should be at least about 15 to 18 inches wide.
After planting, mound up some loose soil around the canes to protect the rose while it acclimatises to its new location.
Roses should be planted about two-thirds of its expected height or at least 3 feet apart as they prefer lots of air circulation.
Watering, feeding, pruning and pests
Water
Roses require more water than most other landscape plantings, especially during its first year when it is getting its roots established.
A good way to ensure this is to deploy drip irrigation. This directs water to the roots and also keep its leaves dry, hence minimising disease. Watering every other day is usually adequate.
In the tropics, during the rainy season, watering is not required but watch out for wet soil conditions which may kill the plant because of root rot and other diseases. Roses require soil with good drainage.
Feeding
Roses are heavy feeders hence will need a steady supply of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. The required ratio is approximately 5-8-5.
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One of the best ways to feed roses is to apply used coffee grounds of any kind as they are organic, have high nitrogen content and at the same time, acidic enough. Earthworms also will love the coffee grounds and earthworms are essential to a healthy garden.
It turns out that the pH of coffee grounds is a slightly acidic, measuring 6.2, which is right in the middle of the pH range that roses love. Coffee grounds are also a slow-release fertilizer with 2.28% nitrogen, .06% phosphorus and .6% potassium.
You can apply used coffee grounds directly, mixing it into the soil around the rose plant at a rate of about one small cup per month for each soccer ball-sized bush.
Do not use coffee grounds which have not been brewed as it contains too much caffeine which will stunt plant growth. It may also be too acidic and contain other substances such as sugar, milk and oils, which in higher quantities will be detrimental to the soil and hence plant.
Another way to add coffee grounds into your feed is to make a coffee ground compost. Coffee grounds do not go bad hence if you can get hold of coffee grounds from anywhere (including those packed into paper filter bags), you may use it to make compost.
Make a compost pile by layering 1/3 leaves, 1/3 fresh grass clippings and 1/3 coffee grounds. Depending on climatic conditions, it will be ready to use in about two to four weeks.
To store used coffee grounds before use as fertiliser, put them in an air-tight plastic or metal container, store them in a refrigerator or even freeze them to avoid mould growth. Other types of feeds that can be used to fertilise your roses include rotted manure, worm castings or seaweed extracts.
Organic amendments favoured by rose growers include greensand (or green sand; a type of sandstone), black rock phosphate and alfalfa meal. Epsom salts along with the fertiliser will encourage new growth from the bottom of the bush.
Some farmers use a specialised rose fertiliser that is high in potassium, which is placed under the mulch and watered well.
Pruning
Dead, weak and sickly stems can lead to disease problems. Pruning these away will increase air circulation to the centre of the plant and minimise fungal problems. Pruning also stimulates new growth.
Spent flowers should be removed to encourage reblooming. Use a scissor-action pruner for the cleanest cuts.
In the tropics, a light prune throughout the year will give a nice, bushy, plant that will produce more flowers.
Pests
The best way to keep down the problem of pests is to begin with disease-resistant varieties.
In addition, keep plants healthy by ensuring that they are well-fertilised and watered, have good air circulation, with dry foliage and are absent of diseased foliage or spent flowers which should be removed. Religiously keep beds clean as debris can harbour disease and insects.
Removing old flower blossoms will encourage the plant to make more flowers instead of using the energy to make seeds.
For problems with Japanese beetle grubs, use beneficial nematodes or Milky Spore (Bacillus popilliae). Black spots are common with roses but they do not really seem to harm the plants. Other plant diseases should be identified and treated accordingly.
Sources:
- https://www.almanac.com/plant/roses
- https://www.thespruce.com/growing-miniature-roses-1403035
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It’s very beneficial and educational to know about planting beautiful roses. Hope to see some beautiful roses when i go KFR next time ? .Thank you very much Rinpoche and blog team for sharing this wonderful tip about roses. ????
Roses are lovely for the garden and it’s great to know that coffee grounds are good for helping the flowers to bloom and maintain the plants’ health. Starbucks do give away their coffee grounds and so there is an excuse to visit Starbucks now. Lol! One point to note is that we need to check how the coffee had been roasted as some roast it with butter which is not recommended for using as fertilizer for the rose plant. Thank you for this informative article on roses and may those who enjoy roses in their garden benefit from these tips. Maybe they can share their gardening tips here with us too.
Interesting there are so many important tips and knowledge to plant rose. Something I learn today from this article. From the ground to the pot, water and sun. All elements play a vital role to grow a health rose plant. I remember when I was young my grandma planted rose too but due to the weather and space it didn’t last long. Above info would be very useful for those who like planting. Thank you Rinpoche for sharing.
Its good to have some knowledge of taking of the picky species. Rose is considered a symbol of balance. The beauty of this flower expresses promise, hope, and new beginnings. It is contrasted by thorns symbolizing defence , loss, and thoughtlessness. I did not know much of roses and caring, planting of it till I read this informative article. Wow…..its takes a lot of patience in planting, watering, and so forth. Great….coffee grounds of any kind which are organic, have high nitrogen content and at the same time, acidic enough for healthy roses garden.
I have seen my friends collecting coffee grounds , did not know its so useful as fertiliser.
Thank you Rinpoche for this knowledgeable article.
As someone who gardens regularly and grows Roses too, they should be shaped like a vase for air circulation in the centre to prevent fungal diseases. Roses should only be pruned down by no more than 1/3 to 1/2, as the canes themselves store the energy for blooms for next season. 15-30-15 fertilizer works well for them but if you want healthier plants I’d suggest mixing a few table spoons of Epsom Salts into the water when you fertilize. Stir it in the water till they dissolve and then continue fertilizing the rose. This will give you a more healthier rose bush with more blooms, healthier leaf color, and more fragrance.
Thank you for the tips Bradley.
1. I will not be using Starbucks coffee for obvious reasons but can we just boil the coffee, then dump the coffee liquid and put the used coffee grounds on the ground around the roses?
• Yes, Rinpoche, we can boil the coffee powder, dump the liquid and use the coffee ground on the ground around roses. At the moment, for Starbucks coffee grounds, who travel back to KFR and able to collect from Starbuck before the Gombak toll can help in getting the used coffee grounds. How much we need per month/week, after Choong-Liang and Sheem have tried out with plants in our garden and along Kechara Drive, and plants that work well with coffee ground, then we are able to estimate the amount needed. With the used coffee grounds from Starbucks and some Abby is going to get from Bentong café, we may not necessary to boil coffee especially to get the used coffee grounds.
• Many gardeners shared that rose bushes are boosted by the high nitrogen content in coffee grounds and by adding coffee grounds to the garden soil, it helps loosen the texture and give the rose bush more room to grow. Another way is we can mix the coffee grounds with water and pour it on the rose bush around once or twice a month.
• From the online sharing of gardeners, do not layer it thicker than 1/2 inch or the remains could fuse together and create a solid crust which prevents water from getting through. And use a small fork or a rake to spread the coffee evenly in the garden soil and mix it in with the top layer of your flowerbed.
2. What brand(s) of coffee do we use? Can we get locally easily?
• For local coffee shops, they are using powder while artisan café are using grinded coffee. Local coffee shops are using many different brands of coffee powder, no specific brand to use. However, local coffee shops are using coffee beans which fried/toasted with oil, sugar and sesame, then grinded into powder.
• For artisan café, which are using many varieties of coffee beans from different countries, not so much of which brands they are using.
• Yes we can get coffee ground locally from some artisan café.
@Abby have asked some café in Bentong and THIS Café is willing to provide us with the coffee ground. THIS café is using artisan grinded coffee beans, not those local coffee powder toasted with oil, sugar and sesame using by local coffee shop.
• Some opined that the residual of oil and sugar from local coffee powder would be quite minimal after boiling, and when apply it to soil would not do much harm to the plants. However, if we are able to, it’s recommended to use coffee ground from grinded coffee beans not local coffee powder.
3. Can we put coffee grounds on all plants, shrubs and trees in my garden?
From the online sharing of some gardeners, plants do well with coffee grounds are:
– Roses
– Rhododendron
– Celery
– Carrots
– Strawberries
– Leeks
– Radishes
One thing for sure is, not recommended to use coffee ground on seedlings, because adding coffee grounds to soil as they may most likely to inhibit germination and growth.
Another note, some researchers found out that fresh coffee grounds are acidic, but used coffee grounds are actually neutral. Hence, if we apply used coffee grounds to soil, they will have a near neutral pH of 6.5 and will not affect the acid levels of the soil.
After checking fresh coffee powder and used coffee grounds with the pH meter Choong-Liang bought, and it showed the same result, which pH for used coffee grounds are actually near to neutral (6.2), whereas fresh coffee powder is 5.5, as suggested by researchers.
4. I want to do as you and Choong suggested, please help me on this as I don’t want to hurt my plants.
To avoid hurting the plants, we might able to do the below:
• For adding coffee grounds directly, it would be good to start with a small amount to test how individual plants react. Start by adding thin layer of grounds once a week and then observe how the plants change or grow. Tweak the amount, or frequency you add them, to suit the plants.
• To use ground coffee as compost. We just throw the coffee grounds straight onto the compost pile or throw them (straight from the pot) into compost bin. The great news is coffee filters are biodegradable as well, so we won’t have to worry about scraping them clean to throw them away. To make sure we get the mixture in our compost heap perfect, add 1/3 of leaves, 1/3 of fresh grass and 1/3 used grounds. We also need to make sure the compost heap is mixed regularly as the different materials need to sit alongside each other as they rot because they feed off each other.
Notes:
• The benefit of applying coffee grounds to the soil are:
1. It adds organic material to the soil, which improves drainage, water retention and aeration in the soil. It will also help microorganisms beneficial to plant growth thrive as well as attract earthworms.
2. Coffee Grounds as a Natural Pesticide: It’s able to keep ants, slugs and snails away from plants.
• Coffee Grounds and Dogs
Coffee grounds may not have much effect on pests, but they can be harmful to pets in large enough doses. It’s hard to say what would be a large enough dose to cause poisoning because the amount of caffeine in used coffee grounds varies. But if you have a dog that insists on sampling anything that smells halfway agreeable, it would be wise to avoid laying coffee grounds directly onto the garden. Bury them in your compost heap instead.
Useful links:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=20&ved=2ahUKEwiw5bmI-cTgAhUCGaYKHZWeCRoQFjATegQIDBAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fhomeguides.sfgate.com%2Fplants-shrubs-like-coffee-grounds-45743.html&usg=AOvVaw2qEN-lT6OSm1F1qy1klP0H
https://www.growveg.com/guides/a-common-sense-guide-to-using-coffee-grounds-in-the-garden/
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/composting/ingredients/coffee-grounds-gardening.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/composting/ingredients/coffee-grounds-gardening.htm