In spring, my roses started forming buds but then dried up; what is the cause of this?
This past spring, I noticed that the blooms of many varieties didn’t open normally as a result of cold nights in August. Blooms developed a lot more petals, packed tightly on top of each other, and with exposure to moisture, they began to rot from the inside. Cut them off and your next crop of flowers should be normal.

My rose is growing profusely but isn’t producing any flowers; it stands in the shade next to a wall. Any advice?
The flowering stems are in too much shade to develop flowering buds. If you allow the stems to hang or spread outwards away from the wall, they might get enough sun to flower.

Some of my roses have grown very tall and I can’t reach the blooms to cut them. Can I cut the bushes down – and when is the right time to do this?
We recommend cutting back very tall roses or thinning out dense bushes in January, halfway through the season. Do not reduce the height of the rose too drastically, all at once. Cutting away more than half the leaves upsets the root system and might cause a sap flow disturbance, which again could be the cause of sunburn and stem canker. This is a real risk if experiencing a very hot January. Rather cut back in two stages about a week apart to cause the least sap flow disturbance. We use a method called undercutting, which is when one cuts into a stem below the starting point of the upper stem. Don’t cut into a bare stem; always make sure there are leaves below the cut.

If a bush is too dense, space can be made for new growth by reducing a fork to a single stem and removing weak or criss-crossing growth. Be careful not to open up the centre of the bush too much. Stems that previously weren’t fully exposed to the sun’s rays could burn, which can cause stem canker.

Don’t cut back or fertilise roses that have lost their leaves. Pinch out the tips of new growth to encourage the bush to sprout. Once the new shoots have sprouted and developed at least five leaves, they can be cut back. Cut back gradually to reduce stress on the bush.

Text and images: Home magazine