CARE OF ROSES CHANGING WITH CLIMATE!
By: KAREN GERLACH | HOUSTON ROSE SOCIETY houstonrose.org
Weather extremes have been challenging for gardeners. This is how we cope with these challenges in our landscape.
Post Freeze Care
- Avoid pruning until the risk of a late freeze has passed.
- Remove it if it is “mushy”.
- Valentine’s Day is the traditional start of rose pruning in the Gulf Coast. Pruning removes old diseased growth and stimulates new spring growth! Pruning practices for climbing roses differ a bit.
Plant selection
- Be open to new, plant selection/varieties.
- Consider heat/bolt resistant vegetable varieties.
- Successive planting can help mitigate crop loss due to a freeze.
- Review The American Rose Society “American Rose Society’s Handbook for Selecting Plants”.
- Ask your Consulting Rosarians at the Rose Meetings!
- Review the Texas A&M Agrilife extension Texas Superstar and Earthkind sites.
- Planting a variety of flowering perennials to ensure something is always in bloom for our pollinators. Consider herbs such as rue, fennel, and dill as food sources for some caterpillars.
Planting Practices
- Build up your soil’s organic composition to increase the soil’s water holding capacity. Consider composting and organic matter like shredded leaves, fallen branches and logs to enrich your soil.
- Consider no-till techniques to reduce CO2 emissions. It also protects the delicate, beneficial microbial ecosystem in the soil.
- Water less frequently but deeply for deeper root systems to withstand heat extremes.
- Walk through your garden to spot insect activity before it becomes a bigger issue. Increased temperatures may increase the number of insect life cycles!
- Plant trees to beautify, cool, and convert carbon dioxide.
Water conservation
- Rainwater harvesting is a great way to keep your plants and wallet happy. A great guide is https://rainwaterharvesting.tamu.edu/
Plan for extreme events
- Avoid last minute panic shopping. Purchase your supplies early. We purchase frost cloth in August and shade cloth in December! They are easily stored in metal, lidded garbage pails to prevent nesting critters.
