Watering Your Roses for Perfect Rose Garden Care

The care of roses is obviously not complete without water.  Water is an essential part of all living beings, and that includes your rose plants.  Without water, your roses will not grow into healthy plants that produce thick and strong stems to support beautiful and long-lasting flowers, even if the soil is at its most ideal state and sunlight is most abundant.  This is because it is through water that the nutrients derived from a rich soil can travel up the plant’s vascular system and into the leaves and flowers. 

There are a number of rose watering considerations, and all these must be strictly followed.  Sure, roses love water, but it does not mean that you should drown your roses in them everyday.  Too much water can cause a lot of setbacks, including diseases, yellowing, falling leaves, and death.  In this article, we discuss with you three important things to remember when watering your roses, to ensure good rose garden care.  

Quantity and Quality

The general rule of thumb is to provide approximately two inches of water every week.  But how exactly can you measure two inches of water per week?  It is, indeed, not an easy thing to decipher, especially if you are just beginning with rose garden care.  What is more, there are other factors that determine just how much water your roses are getting.  The weather is a good example.  It is easier to determine the amount of water a rose plant needs in places where the weather is dry and there is no wind.  In an article originally published in the Rose Ecstasy magazine of the Santa Clarita Valley Rose Society, the author details when to water your roses at the different temperatures. 

Here is a summary:
 90+ degrees: everyday
 80 degrees: every two days
 70 degrees: every three days
 60 degrees: every four days
 50 degrees: every five days

Common sense and the summary above both show that the hotter the regions, the more you should water your roses.  But this is only true in places that are not windy.  Otherwise, the wind will quickly dry out your roses and you may need to water your roses everyday in less hot temperatures. 

The type of soil is another factor to consider because clay soils have better water retention properties than sandy soils.  Therefore, if your soil is mostly clay, you should remember to water less than if you have sandy soil, which lets the water drain more quickly.  Mulching your plants will also retain moisture much properly, aside from insulating your roses from extremely hot conditions during the summer. 

Deep-watering

Most gardeners prefer to water their roses less frequently but more deeply.  This ensures that the roots receive adequate amounts of water, making them healthier, stronger, and more resistant when the summer dryness comes around.  A drip irrigation system is most appropriate for deep watering, plus it prevents the leaves and stems from getting wet and developing fungal infection. 

Testing

Wilting and yellow leaves are a sign that you are not doing the proper ways of rose garden care.  But you do not want your roses to reach this stage before you realize that you are not giving them enough water.  It is therefore important that you test the soil around your plants to see if they are being adequately moisturized every week.  To perform this test, take a soil probe that you can buy from the nearest gardener’s supply store and dig it into the soil around your roses five days after the weekly watering (that is, if you only water once a week).  If the end of the probe shows soil that has completely dried up, then you probably need to water more or add some mulch.

There you have it—the four things you have to consider when watering your roses.  We hope we were able to help clear up your thoughts about this topic so you can finally go and start with the planting and caring.  Happy gardening!