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Tips for August Remember, these tips and tricks are current for zone 5 and need to be adjusted one week earlier for each 100 miles south of the southern tip of Lake Michigan that you live, and one week later for each 100 miles north. Many rosarians (anyone who grows roses is a rosarian) like to set back and enjoy the fruits of their labor in August. I'm tempted to do that too but now is the time to start planning for fall. Yes, fall. You can give your roses one more feeding but not after August 15th. Foliar feeds can be continued into September. The point is to avoid new succulent growth that will not have time to harden off before it freezes. If you have kept up your fungicide spraying schedule and have kept the bushes pruned and cleaned up properly you should have little or no blackspot. It's important to continue to spray regularly all the way until the first hard frost. Keep the spent blooms deadheaded and the beds well watered and you should start to see taller growth and wider rosebushes as they get ready for a spectacular September bloom. My end of August, first of September bloom is my best of the season. As the temperatures settle down and the nights get cooler, the buds have time to develop into bigger and more beautiful flowers. This along with all the food made available to the rosebushes due to the lush green growth can only result in a wondrous and colorful display. Now is the time to start any projects you might want for the winter. I'm rebuilding my polyhouse again, hauling in lots of horse manure and keeping my eyes open for clearance sales on items I might need next spring. You should not apply fertilizer after August 15th in Zone 5. Otherwise the new canes will not have a chance to harden off before the first hard frost does them in. After September first don't prune anymore. When you prune you signal the bush to keep sending out new flowers and growth. Leaving the dead flowers tells the bush to start setting seeds and start hardening off for the winter. Don't forget to keep up your weekly spray program until frost. Powdery mildew can be vicious with the cool nights and warm days and you need those bushes strong to survive the upcoming winter. Dead and weak spring rose bushes are started now if you don't prepare. Don't let up now, the best is yet to come. __________________________________________________ These recommendations can be prolonged for a week for each 100 miles the farther south from Zone 5 you go. We all know Mom Nature doesn't do things the same way every year so it's all kind of a calculated gamble anyway. I'll try to update on the first of the month after this with suggestions for the next 30 days. Good rose growing and I hope your fall bloom is spectacular.
-Rosenut
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