How to care for your roses in summer

Summer can bring heat, hot dry winds and high humidity, which all affect the health and appearance of roses. And if your roses have developed leggy or sparse growth and spindly stems it’s a sign that they need a summer prune.

Summer pruning roses refreshes and reinvigorates the plants; they will respond in a matter of weeks, putting on new growth, ready for another flush of flowers. In fact, you can time rose re-blooming if you have a special event coming up, as they’ll flower again around 6 – 7 weeks after pruning.

Rose pruning isn't tricky, just trim off around 30% of the overall growth, also removing any dead or thin stems. A good sharp pair of secateurs is best, but you can use hedge clippers. Don’t forget to protect your hands, arms (and face!) from rose thorns with sturdy gloves, long sleeves and glasses.

After pruning, collect up all the fallen leaves and stems (this helps to reduce the risk of disease), apply some Yates Thrive Roses Flowers Liquid Plant Food and water in well. It’s a complete and balanced liquid fertiliser that has been boosted with extra flower promoting potassium.

Next, spread a layer of mulch, like lucerne or pea straw, around the root zone. This helps keep the soil moist by protecting the upper layer of soil from the baking sun. Reapply Yates Thrive each week to encourage healthy new foliage growth and lots of flowers.

New foliage and flower buds can attract awful insect pests like aphids. Regular sprays of Yates Rose Gun will help control aphids and caterpillars, as well as diseases like black spot, rust and powdery mildew.

If you’d like to add a beautiful rose to your garden over summer, potted roses will still be available for planting. If you’re planting into a container, use a pot with good drainage holes and fill with a quality potting mix like Yates Premium Potting Mix.

If your new rose is being planted out into the garden, enrich the soil in the planting hole with some Yates Thrive Natural Blood & Bone, which will encourage the rose to develop a strong healthy root system and gently feed the rose as it establishes.