My rose bushes acting strangely?
Question:I have several rose plants in my front yard. normally, all the care they need is to be kept watered, and they will continue to bloom through the summer. this year I did something different. just before they bloomed, I plucked off all of last year's dead flowers. They bloomed up real good,. but now that those blooms have died off, there are no new buds on any of them, just the green bushes remain. Should I have left last year's dead flowers on? Why would removing them cause a one time blooming this year? or is it something completely un-related to removing last year's dead flowers?
Answers:
no, as a matter of fact, you need to continue to dead head. Get some sharp pruners and clip the stem of each dead rose down to the next set of five leaves. Keep in mind that the direction the five leaves are pointing is the direction a new branch with rose buds will grow. You can shape your bush by carefully selecting which five leaves are pointing which way. Anyhow, do this for each stem and you will promote new growth of both foliage and roses. Also, take along a bucket of water with bleach so you can sanitize your pruners in between rose bushes.
You are doing the right thing by removing dead flower - Its
sounds to me like you may just need a fertilizer.
Here is a lot of info.
http://www.rosefile.com/rosepages/rcare.
try cutting the spent flowers of as soon as they fade, that is called deadheading, and actually the roses will reward you.I am unsure as to what type of rose you have,but the general rule is to go 2 to 3 leaflets down and cut at an outward facing bud at a 45 degree angle away from the bud. See if this helps, then again if you are in a drought area like us, water might help.
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