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March News

Welcome to the Petaluma Rose Company Newsletter.

New Roses from the Petaluma Rose Company
 

	Hot Cocoa Finally it's here! Hot Cocoa produces printed buds of deep rust that open to a smoky chocolate haze that in just the right light can also exhibit a purplish hue. When open, blooms are large, ruffled, and double. Naturally vigorous and disease resistant this super addition keeps true to its color even when the temperature turns warm. Fragrance is moderate old rose and growth habit is medium/tall and rounded. Petal count is 25-30. Parentage includes Playboy, Altissimo and Livin' Easy. [ more info ]
	Elle The latest look for gardens! Discover the 2005 AARS winner and experience the strong fragrance and class high centered blooms of this new Hybrid Tea.   [ more info ]
	Barbara Streisand The Barbra Streisand rose is in the group of hybrid tea roses, which are the favorite of rose gardeners who love to cut long stemmed, large flowers. They have many petals, are usually fairly tall and upright, some have great fragrance, and they work well in formal gardens or in informal plantings. [ more info ]
	Just Joey This rose is the most popular rose we grow. Colored from light caramel to honey apricot, these huge blooms are deeply perfumed with a rich fruity fragrance. Large, glossy leaves adorn a vigorous, upright plant of medium height. [ more info ]
	Johann Strauss Bronze-green, disease-resistant foliage compliments the old-fashioned pink blossoms of this floribunda from the Romantica Series of roses. A very nice rose. [ more info ]
	Livin' Easy This AARS winner grows exceptionally well and is continuously covered with eye catching apricot-orange blooms. Disease-resistant foliage makes this rose award winning. [ more info ]

Thank you for using the Petaluma Rose Company's Website

We only ship bareroot plants, from December through February. If you want your rose at any other time we're sorry, but you'll have to wait for the next year's bareroot season. We are a small company, and although we hope to someday have the capability of shipping potted roses across the country, it hasn't happened yet. We are not using the web invoices on-line anymore as we don't track that way. And just a reminder...there's no sales tax for out-of-state shoppers. If you're ever in the neighborhood of Petaluma, please stop by and smell the roses. We'd love to see you! Would you like to be on our email newsletter Rick Weeks Toll Free Phone: 1-877-738-2586 Toll Free Fax: 1-877-738-2587 Efax @ 1-801-697-7817

YEAR-ROUND ROSE CARE CALENDAR

January
For many California gardeners, this is the time for winter pruning. Roses need to be stripped of their foliage and pruned back. We remove old, dead wood to create a basic shape. After pruning, a dormant spray (copper and oil) should be applied to all bushes and the ground around them which helps rid the plants of last year's problems. The next chore is cleaning and composting your rosebeds. January is the time to buy bareroot roses and to move established roses, if needed. Keep your bareroots moist at all times.

February
Activities are similar to January, but now is the time to make sure all newly planted roses are starting to sprout. If roses have not sprouted more than 1/2 inch of new growth, a second application of dormant spray should be applied. However, if plants have an inch or more of growth, dormant spray should not be applied at full strength. Full strength will cause burning and stunted growth. Sprinkle two handfuls of alfalfa (without supplements) around base of plant.

March
This is the time when most people don't think about their roses, but they should! Diseases start to appear on the newly developing foliage. This is a good time to clean out all center growth to allow good air movement, followed by a fungicidal spray. This is also the month to start fertilizing your roses. Use a high nitrogen fertilizer to promote good leaf growth. An example is a 16-3-2. Slow-release fertilizers can be applied at this time. We suggest Scott's Osmocote with minors.

April
It's time to begin fertilizing with a well-balanced fertilizer. For example, a 16-16-16, 12-12-12, or 20-20-20. Also, this is the time to check carefully for disease and insects. This is a good time to apply magnesium and calcium to your bushes. Many good brands of fertilizers have these elements, however if not, Epsom salts can be used, at 1/4 cup per bush, applied directly around the drip line. Calcium at 1/2 cup should also be applied once a year in whatever form is available. Essential elements are very important to the plants' growth.

May
Again, using a complete fertilizer, whether liquid or dry, is your choice. A complete fertilizer is one where all the ratios are the same. You should establish some sort of schedule, whether it is once a month, or twice a month. For example, on some of our maintenance accounts, on the first, we use 1 oz. per established bush. on the 15th we return and apply l more ounce on the bush, and water in deeply. By using this method, we can keep promoting new growth.

June
Activities are very similar to May, with one exception. Now that the weather is hotter, be alert for spider mites, those little creatures on the undersides of the leaves. The best way to rid the mites is to hose down the plants or use horticultural oils to smother the little darlings. Be sure to spray the undersides of the leaves. Use a 14 day cycle to ensure prevention. Other insects can be easily controlled by pyrethrums.

July and August
These are the toughest months for your little darlings! With extreme heat and moist weather brings on a number of problems. It's a good time to clean your bushes to make sure they are free of disease and prepare for the fall bloom. This is also the time to add compost to the beds to help rejuvenate the soil. Make sure you continue to water deeply as these months can be extremely hot and bushes can burn with inadequate watering. Continue fertilizing on the 1st and 15th of the month with a well balanced fertilizer and removing of old flowers can help reduce the insect population. This is the time that thrips (they are always plural, there is never just one!) attack your roses and make your white flowers turn brown. These small insects enter your flower buds and destroy the cells. The only way to slow this down is to spray an insecticide on flower buds beginning to open.

September and October
September is a better month for roses, with cooler temperatures giving well established bushes a breather from the hot summer sun which produces better color and longer stems for picking. Continue fertilizing(3-20-20)or (0-10-10) on the 1st and the 15th and also watch for disease, because mildew and rust will return in the fall.

November and December
These are the months where chores are fewer, but one needs to be vigilant as downy mildew starts to appear because of the cooler, wet weather. A spray with copper for downy mildew should be applied during both months. Take a rest from fertilizing, but most hybrid teas should be dead headed. A pleasant chore is ordering your bare root plants for the New Year!

Rose Care Advice

THE FOLLOWING PRODUCTS ARE USEFUL IN THE CARE OF YOUR ROSES:
Aliette (for downy mildew), Copper (winter spray against fungal problems), Horticultural Oil (insect and fungal problems), Neem Oil (organic fungicide), Turkey Compost (soil amendment), Miracle Grow for Roses (multi-purpose fertilizer)

YEAR-ROUND ROSE CARE AT A GLANCE
WINTER: PRUNE; SPRAY COPPER & HORTICULTURAL OIL APPLY ALFALFA(2 hand fulls per plant) & CALCIUM, MULCH
LATE WINTER: APPLY OSMOCOTE with Minors SLO-RELEASE(the easy fertilizer)
SPRING: ADD EPSON SALTS 1/4 cup per plant
SUMMER: USE MIRACLE GROW FOR ROSES

WATCH OUT FOR ROSE PROBLEMS!

Powdery Mildew looks like a white dusting on rose leaves. It is controlled by Orthenex. The organic method is 1T baking soda, 1T vinegar, 1 T vegetable oil to a gallon of water other good sprays neem oil, horticultural oils or utra fine oil (spray on cool days).

Downy Mildew symptoms are irregular, often angular purplish-red to dark brown spots on foliage. Furry growth may develop on under surfaces during humid weather. Spray with copper, copper sulfate or Aliette.

Black spot consists of black/brown spots on the foliage that can defoliate the plant. Black spot spores over-winter until humid, wet spring/summer conditions are favorable. In the winter after pruning, when roses are bare, gather up and dispose of all the foliage from the ground. Spray copper or Neem in the spring and lime sulfur in the winter. Baking soda works -- somewhat.

Rust appears on leaves and other green parts of the plant as powdery pustules of orange aeciospores usually confined to the lower leaf surfaces. In early spring, spores may go unnoticed. Check underside of leaves to monitor this problem. Remove infected leaves during growing season or spray with ultra fine oil or Neem.

Always read the label for recommended dosages and warnings before you use any product.

How to Plant Your Bareroot Rose

Always keep the Bareroot moist When you receive your bareroot rose, soak it in a bucket of warm water immediately. Leave the rose in the water until you are ready to plant, and you should plant as soon as possible. After planting the rose, make sure to mound some mulch up over the canes, about 10" thick. This protects the plant from drying out. Leave the mound for a week to 10 days. Bareroots need to be kept moist until sprouting occurs, which can take three to four weeks. Keep checking the moisture level because weather conditions can cause dryness (sun, wind).

Easy Steps for Planting All Roses:

1. Dig a large hole, 24" wide by 24" deep. Include one-third compost to two-thirds soil. You can also add one cup bonemeal, one cup bloodmeal,and one Tablespoon slow-release fertilizer at this time.
   
2. When transplanting potted roses, be sure to wait until they are finished blooming to lessen the trauma to the plant.
   
3. With potted roses, try not to disturb the rootball when transferring the plant into the hole.
   
4. Make sure the bud union is about an inch above ground level.
   
5. Give the plant a good, deep soaking after you plant it.