Fungal diseases are the real thorns in the rose garden
Botrytis blight, black spot, rust and more thive in humidity; here's how to minimize their effect
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In the rose garden, a study in vivid contrasts: the blind shoot vs. the basal break
One is cause for joy, the other, disappointment; here's how to handle both scenarios
Bug off my rose blooms: How to approach spring pest control
Tips for dealing with the 5 main culprits in San Diego County gardens
What is the best ‘diet’ plan for our roses?
Follow the science when making decisions on how and when to fertilize
Planting a rose garden? Here’s how to do it right.
Selection, design and fundamentals of care are vital to establishing a successful landscape
Successful ways to find your pruning groove in the rose garden
Why do we prune? Here's a look at why it's so important
New roses debut: How many of these beauties will you plant in 2025?
Weeks Roses, Star Roses and David Austin Roses among the growers releasing future favorites
Checkmate the 'disease triangle' in your rose garden
Plant choice, setting and monitoring each offer opportunities to encourage a diverse, healthy display
The 'rose nose' prize: innumerable shades of fragrance
Expert outlines 5 general categories of heady scents that aficionados seek out
Rosarians' vacation checklist: How to protect your plants at peak pest time
Physical presence in the garden is one of the most important tools in the gardener’s toolbox. But when we are on a vacation, this tool in our garden is obviously...
'The queen and her garden courtiers': Companion plants enhance the setting for your roses
Choosing compatible plants in varied sizes, shapes, colors and textures ramps up visual interest and sets stage for hardier growth overall.
Essential to the quest for rose-growing success: soil
Caring for soil through amendments, organic mulch will ensure that roses have the richly fertile base they need to thrive.
Beware crimes of negligence and omission in the rose garden
It must have been the atmosphere in the Hall of Justice. On my recent jury duty, the words "crimes, misdemeanors, negligence and omissions" swirled around my head. And since roses...
Blunders and bloops keep us humble in the rose garden
Let’s be frank. Rose gardens keep us on our toes. Sometimes it is the pests that do it, but sometimes it is our own actions. There are days that if...
Quiz yourself on rose diseases and learn how to fend off 8 fungal foes
when you would walk into the classroom and your teacher would announce a pop quiz? Sometimes this felt like punishment, but the quizzes were often a great learning tool....
To handle rose pests, enter the ‘green garden gate’
In March, our rose garden greets us with new foliage and the promise of beautiful blooms. We are realists, though, so the new growth reminds us that this year’s cycle...
For big rose blooms, depend on fertilizer’s big three
When it comes to our rose gardens, many rosarians can relate to the motto “Go big or go home!” After all, we grow roses for their blooms, and we expect...
Time to recite the A-B-C’s of pruning
“A B C, it's as easy as 1 2 3, as simple as Do Re Mi, A B C, 1 2 3.” Of course they weren't referring to pruning roses,...
‘Must-have’ new roses in 2024
Bare root season is just around the corner. Here is a peek at next year’s new roses. My list of “must-have” roses just got longer, because some of these roses...
Rose location one of the biggest factors for blooming success
In the heart of every rose gardener is the conviction that next year’s rose garden holds the promise of being the very best ever. To this end, as the present...
Lessons that tree roses have taught me
Gardening is an activity that really helps us to relieve stress, but it is not free of challenges. I am embarrassed to confess that I have had two unfortunate mishaps...
Tradition of fall pruning for roses in early September may need a timing reset
The Old Testament tells us in the book of Ecclesiastes that “to everything there is a season.” This wise saying really resonates with gardeners. We like our seasonal "to-do" calendar...
Tradition of fall pruning for roses on Labor Day weekend may need a timing reset
The Old Testament tells us in the book of Ecclesiastes that “to everything there is a season.” This wise saying really resonates with gardeners. We like our seasonal "to-do" calendar...
Rose pests that are out of sight but not out of mind: leaf miners and chilli thrips
In a perfect world, a rose garden would have no pests. This is wishful thinking and is never going to happen. So, the second-best option in a rose garden is...
In the quiet rose garden, there’s a bounty of lions, pirates and assassins at work
“If there’s a world here in a hundred years, it's going to be saved by tens of millions of little things.” — Pete SeegerNatural predators in the garden are our...
Practice rose garden Zen – and let go of the need for ‘perfect’
Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace. — May...
Excess rain has brought flood of rose garden questions
In San Diego, it is taboo to grumble about getting too much rain. You certainly won’t hear gardeners complaining. We love the gift of free irrigation, and our roses love...
Excess rain has brought flood of rose garden questions
In San Diego, it is taboo to grumble about getting too much rain. You certainly won’t hear gardeners complaining. We love the gift of free irrigation, and our roses love...
How do you ward off plant disease in the rose garden? Just do the math
Math was not my favorite subject in school, so I have always been a little wary of mathematical concepts. But growing roses introduced me to the disease triangle, which is...
For a truly healthy rose garden, personalize before you fertilize
The fertilizer industry inundates us with long lists of countless "must-use" products for roses. The accompanying directions call for dizzyingly frequent applications that cost a lot and take a major...
A SIMPLE rose care calendar to ensure a beautiful year
Most of us like to keep our rose care SIMPLE.S is for Spray-free, (or mostly spray-free).I, M, P are for Integrated Management of Pests.L is for Less Is More when...
With new hybrid rose releases, here are the beauties to look for in 2023
With rose-planting season commencing this month, it is time to reflect and deliberate on our must-have roses. Here for your consideration are the new rose releases for 2023.Hybrid teas"Heavenly Scented"...
Roses get their ‘aaahhh’ treatment
The words "reinvigorate, rejuvenate and refresh" sum up the blissful response we experience during and after a spa treatment or vacation. The words grab our attention even further when they...
New hybrid rose releases get set to make their January winter debut
Last week, we celebrated Thanksgiving. We reflected and gave thanks for our many blessings and the abundance in our lives. This month, our thoughts turn to shopping opportunities and the...
Plant trials, trustworthy selectors are key to picking a resilient rose
When it comes to dud purchases, buying a crummy rose ranks right at the top. A disappointing rose brings very little value to the garden, yet it does deliver a...
Add to garden success with container roses
Describing a person as a potted plant is not a compliment. It usually means they are a bit boring, someone who does not count for anything or someone who can...
In search of the elusive ouch-free rose
Some roses (like some people) are very prickly, and you must tread lightly when dealing with them. Don’t get me wrong: These roses can still hook you (pun intended!) and...
Bit of sleuthing can deduce ‘whodunit’ in our rose gardens
Those of us who have watched or read our fair share of murder mysteries know that the answer to "whodunit" lies in the skills of sleuthing, deducing and hypothesizing. Tracking...
In the rose garden, minimize water use and maximize every drop
It is a given that water is essential for healthy, blooming roses. It also is a given that California is facing a drought. Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a...
In the rose garden, minimize water use, maximize every drop
It is a given that water is essential for healthy, blooming roses. It is also a given that California is facing a drought crisis. Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued...
Roses grow big and beautiful with Fortuniana rootstock
I first heard about Fortuniana rootstock a few years ago at a rose society meeting. The presenter, master rosarian Dona Martin, told us that rose plants grafted on Fortuniana rootstock...
Path to healthy roses strewn with the good, bad, ugly and pointless
Inward growth is a wonderful thing in people.In roses, it’s a mixed bag: You will discover the good, the bad, the pointless and the ugly when you look at the...
How to help your roses fend off the problem beetles ahead
Pest damage on our beautiful rose blooms rankles deeply, but it motivates us to take the appropriate actions to put the culprits to rest.Two types of pest beetles are annual...
Problem beetles ahead: Here’s how to help your roses
Pest damage on our beautiful rose blooms rankles deeply, but it motivates us to take the appropriate actions to put the culprits to rest.There are two pest beetles that are...
To help your roses be their best, personalize how you fertilize
Of all the mysteries the rose grower faces, one of the most perplexing can be what and how much to ‘feed’ our roses. What guidelines are available to gardeners to...
Unlocking the language of roses
Rose gardening articles often include botanical and rose jargon. Words such as "buds" and "blooms" are easy to understand. But what about "blindshoots," "sports," "hips" and "suckers"? What do...
There’s a rose to suit every garden. Here’s how to find yours
We make choices daily, and many of them need to be made on the spur of the moment. But when it comes to selecting the roses we grow in our...
Perfecting the bloom: It’s rose-pruning season in San Diego
Seize the momentum of fresh energy at the start of this new year and resolve, pledge and vow to prune and care for your roses. Unlike some resolutions, this one...
Yearly release of new hybridized roses like a special holiday gift
Do you counting the days to Christmas or Hanukkah when you were a child? First came the excitement — the hoping and waiting for a longed-for gift — and...
How new roses get those memorable names
Juliet believed that “[a] rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” But does it? At the world-famous Chelsea Flower Show in London a few years ago, I saw...
Nurture your roses with the same positive qualities you show to loved ones
Roses are not sentient beings, but the Beatles’ 1967 famous and absolutely true lyrics, “All you need is love,” applies to people as well as to plants. Our love can...
Rules about growing roses really do make sense
A directive followed by the explanation “because I said so” just doesn’t work. It didn’t work well for my mom when she used it on me, and it has never...
Stumped by cane disease? Be ruthless, for your roses’ sake
Chewed-up rose blooms and diseased rose leaves are disheartening, but the remedy is easy. We deadhead the blooms and cut out the leaves and know that fresh new blooms and...
Chilli thrip, the rose’s invisible foe, is a formidable threat
Hot days and dry Santa Ana winds have been the kickoff for chilli thrips season for the past five years in many California rose gardens. The following are the inconvenient...
Chilli thrips, the rose’s invisible foe, are a formidable threat
Hot days and dry Santa Ana winds have been the kickoff for chilli thrips season for the past five years in many California rose gardens. The following are the inconvenient...
There’s a rose to suit every garden. Here’s how to find yours
We make choices daily, and many of them need to be made on the spur of the moment. But when it comes to selecting the roses we grow in our...
Just how fertile is your rose-growing knowledge?
There is a lot of information out there on how to grow roses. Unfortunately, some of the information is contradictory. How do we separate good rose culture from rose lore...
10 things your roses are trying to tell you
Roses have so much to share with us about what helps them thrive, if only we pay attention. Here is what my roses told me:1. I am not hard to...
Strange blooms, changing colors keep rose gardens full of surprises
“Roses in bloom” are sweet words that are typically music to a rosarian’s soul. But sometimes a bloom might strike a discordant, puzzling or even a very strange note.Here are...
This is the food your roses have really been craving
The nutrients that plants need to grow are available to them in a healthy soil, but from time to time, these nutrients need to be replenished. What, how much and...
5 pruning and planting tips in the January rose garden
The dawning of a new year prompts many of us to make dramatic pledges and resolutions. If you are growing roses, make the pledge to grow your roses well.Here are...
Prepare for a bedazzling lineup of new roses for 2021
Throughout the year, our minds whirl with thoughts of roses we desire — and know we deserve. Ready yourself for more temptations: Bare-root season is just around the corner, and...
How many roses are too many? A somewhat sensible approach
Good gardeners grow a diverse palette of plants to minimize disease and encourage beneficials. So several years ago when I had 75 roses growing in my garden, I promised myself...
Reach new heights in your rose garden with ramblers and climbers
The most charming and welcoming gardens have climbing roses that arch over and define entry gates; spill over arbors, pillars and pergolas; cover walls, fences and trellises; or cascade down...
Labor Day weekend pruning of roses sets the stage for autumn blooms
Roses bloom in cycles. We are fortunate in San Diego: We have a very long growing season, and many of our roses give us four and even five bloom cycles....
Caterpillars are eyecatching, but their eating habits aren’t so darling
When my daughters were young, one of our favorite books to read together was Eric Carle’s “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.” We fondly read and reread how hungry that caterpillar was,...
Step up your watering of roses in summer
There is a famous song that tells us, “Summertime and the livin’ is easy,” but for roses, summer can be a challenge.Adequate water will make all the difference to their...
For radiant roses, stay vigilant against fungi, pests
There are two crucial tasks that should be done throughout the year in the rose garden: monitoring for the first sign of disease and pests, and garden sanitation. Every time...
Seek out the garden for physical, emotional wellness
April showers brought May flowers and our roses are in peak bloom this month. Their beauty is much needed in today’s upside-down world. COVID-19 has left our regulated lives and...
Good for the rose garden: Integrated Pest Management
Most of us like to take quick, telling quizzes that reveal insights about ourselves. Want to see if you are a really good gardener?Do you:1. Pick your plant varieties by...
For new rose growth, feed soil, then add fertilizer
New growth on your roses in March is a reminder that it is time to purchase fertilizer. That sounds easy enough until you face the bewildering number of choices on...
Caring for roots creates healthy rose foliage
“The care and attention a rose gets underground is even more important than the care a rose is given above ground.” -- Sam Jones, Master RosarianEverything we rosarians do in...
A primer for pruning roses
What does “directing traffic” have to do with rose pruning? This is the phrase master rosarian Sue Streeper uses when she teaches her pruning workshop in Balboa Park. When we...
New rose varieties for 2020
Bare-root roses will be at garden centers in January and they will include the new 2020 roses. We all know how hard it is to resist buying roses that no...
Cure for replant disease is complicated
Has this ever happened to you? You dig out a rose in your garden to make way for a gorgeous variety you saw on a garden tour. You plant, water...
Stay jab-free to ward off infection when handling roses
“He who wants a rose must respect the thorn.” Persian proverbGardening is a healthful, rewarding and often very relaxing pastime. Most of us wouldn’t think to describe it as dangerous,...
Polyantha roses are prolific bloomers and rugged survivors
Glance through a rose catalog or walk through a nursery, and you will see many hybrid teas, floribundas and shrub roses. The polyantha roses should be just as popular. They...
Mindful moment ahead as we transition to fall rose care
We are told by spiritual and religious traditions that we should practice mindfulness and live fully in the present moment. Gardeners are blessed because we can garden and focus purposefully...
Water needs for roses rise with summer temperatures
The summer months draw our attention to our roses’ need for more water. Water is indispensable for photosynthesis and vital to the transport of all the fertilizers and amendments that...
Watch rose canes closely to stay a step ahead of diseases
Beautiful blooms and their fragrances draw us into the rose garden. And while we are there, we know we should pay attention to the foliage. It tells us a lot...
For roses, pruning and pest control remain priorities through May
You probably started the year with the intent to take good care of your roses. So you pruned your roses and amended and mulched your soil. Your roses in April...
Tiny pest poses big rose garden problem
When I was a child, I was scared of the jabberwocky and other similar monsters. I outgrew those fears, but I am presently filled with even greater anxiety about chilli...