Robust Roses

You can grow roses without spraying if you choose your varieties carefully and look after them well.

However, you must be prepared to see a little disease on your plants because no rose is can be guaranteed to be 100 percent disease-free.

Besides sound pruning, and feeding and watering practices, site selection is important if you want to avoid spraying, because roses like plenty of sunlight and air movement.

You need to be aware too, of regional variations in disease resistance. What may do well in one area may be disease-prone in another, so check out gardens near yours for varieties that thrive all the time.

Rose breeders are helping because today they are placing much importance on breeding and selecting new roses with excellent disease resistance. Many new releases now compare favourably in this respect and in the future some older ones, bred when plant health was seen as secondary to bloom quality, may fall from favour.

Further tips for growing roses without spraying:
• Keep roses well mulched with organic material.
• Make sure roses are well nourished with potassium-rich food.
• Water roses thoroughly and deeply every five days during hot, dry periods, using a method that keeps water splash off the foliage.
• Consider using one or two organic clean-up sprays during winter so your plants start the growing season with a clean slate.
• Encourage aphid-eating birds and insect

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