Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 4: Planting Midnight Blue roses
• Method 2 of 4: Basic Rose Care
• Method 3 of 4: Pruning roses
• Method 4 of 4: Protecting roses from pests and diseases
• Tips

Midnight Blue roses are hybrid shrubs with dark velvety purple flowers and a spicy carnation scent that lasts all season. In temperate cold climates, these roses will bloom almost all year round. They grow up to 60 - 90 cm, which allows them to easily fit into almost any landscape. To properly care for Midnight Blue roses, you need to know how to plant them, how to handle them, and how to help them grow through pruning and pest control. Skip to step 1 for more information.

Steps

Method 1 of 4: Planting Midnight Blue roses

1. 1 Choose roses that look healthy. Strong and healthy plants will be more resistant to disease of any kind, so disease control begins at the time of planting. Choose healthy looking roses and plant in a location well adapted to their needs. The choice of this location is determined by the following steps.
   • Look for plants that have strong leaves and stems.
   • Show no signs of disease or pests. Pay attention to if there are any bit off particles or chewed edges on the leaves, which may indicate the presence of pests.
2. 2 Choose a sunny spot with soil that is water-permeable. Despite their name, Midnight Blue roses actually prefer sun over shade. They grow best in soil that is easily permeable and does not retain water.
   • Avoid planting roses in an area with puddles or constant moisture.
3. 3 Add manure to the soil before planting roses. Roses love soil that's enriched with manure, so when you plan to plant a rose bush, add rotten manure to the soil. You can purchase this manure at your local Garden Supplies store.
   • Try adding about a bucket full of manure per square meter of soil.
4. 4 Dig a large hole and plant a rose bush there. Dig a hole to the depth of your shovel and about twice the width of the roots of your bush. Add regular or special fertilizer. In particular, granular fertilizers work well. Planting roses:
   • Place the rose in the hole and fill it with soil.
   • Water the rose and the soil around it to remove air pockets, this will help the soil to settle.
5. 5 Add 5-10 cm of mulch for weed control. Organic mulch should be spread around the rosebush to help retain moisture in the soil and keep weeds from growing. To apply mulch:
   • Use shredded bark mulch that has been properly processed to remove insects and disease-causing bacteria. The pre-packaged mulch sold at garden stores is safe. The packaging should indicate what processing it has undergone, composted or sterilized.
   • The mulch should be at a depth of 5 to 10 cm and a few centimeters from the stem.

Method 2 of 4: Basic Rose Care

1. 1 When the soil around the plant becomes dry, it needs to be watered. To water a rose, wait until the soil is dry to the touch or dry to a depth of 5 cm, then water well. This will stimulate the rose bush to grow, developing deep roots that will help the plant survive dry periods in the future.
   • In hot and dry climates, when the temperature rises above 26 - 32 ° C, the rose should be watered with 27 - 36 liters of water per week. You may need to water it every two to three days.
   • In more temperate climates, you may need only one watering per week. 13-18 liters should be sufficient.
   • If the rose is planted in quick-drying, sandy or clay soil, you will need to water it more often and add another 10 liters of water per week.
2. 2 Add mulch and fertilizer to the soil annually to help the rose grow. Try to do this every spring. This can be done in the middle of summer to stimulate the growth rate.
3. 3 Caring for Midnight Blue in a container. If you plant a rose in a container, you will need to fertilize it more often. Feed it with general liquid fertilizer for two weeks during the spring and summer. In the fall, you can switch to liquid potassium fertilization (fertilizer for tomatoes works best).
   • If the rose grows too large for the container, it needs to be transplanted into a larger one.
   • Container-grown roses may need more regular watering than garden-planted roses.
4. 4 Tear off old flower heads to help flowers grow longer. The only disadvantage of Midnight Blue roses is that their flowers do not bloom for long. To encourage more flowers to grow, regularly tear off flower heads that have already faded.
   • Removing flowers from a bush will help increase the number of flowers, rather than channeling its energy into the production of seed heads.
5. 5 Get rid of the weeds that grow around the roses. Try pulling the weeds by hand as this is the gentlest and safest way to remove weeds without harming the roses. You can also spread mulch around the roses to help stop weeds from growing.
   • Try to avoid loosening the soil to remove weeds, as you can damage the root system of roses close to the soil surface with a hoe.
   • Chemical herbicides can also harm roses.
6. 6 Fertilize your roses every spring, when the first young leaves begin to appear, and in early summer. Fertilizing will help the plant grow strong and healthy. There are many fertilizers available specifically for roses. Some of them are Ortho, Miracle-Gro and Grow More. You can also use slow-release fertilizers "14-14-14". Whatever fertilizer you use, remember:
   • Water the roses before fertilizing them. Do not add fertilizer to dry soil.
   • Make sure the fertilizer is suitable for the rose bushes.
   • Spread fertilizer around the rose at a distance of 15 - 35 cm from the stems. Do not place fertilizer close to the stems.

Method 3 of 4: Pruning roses

1. 1 Prune your rose bushes towards spring when the leaf buds begin to swell. Use a strong, sharp blade to ensure a clean cut. A garden pruner is perfect. Remember to trim at a 45 degree angle, 4 to 6 mm above the bud. Small and discolored triangular buds are located on the stem. They are where new leaves should grow.
   • Avoid pruning new roses for the first two years after you plant them. Roses should only be pruned when they are mature and have mature stems.
2. 2 Remove any damaged or diseased appendages. Cut them off until you see a healthy white center in the trunk. Your goal is to stimulate air flow and good circulation so that the stems do not grow close to each other and do not get tangled. However, keep in mind that Midnight Blue rose bushes don't need to be trimmed as much as more rose bushes. They should be trimmed slightly to improve their appearance and reduce the height and width by 15 cm or so (if desired).
   • On older plants, you can trim off any old stems that do not grow new ones.
3. 3 Consider pruning options if you live in an area with mild winters. In light winter climates, when the rose bush retains its leaves and blooms for most of the year, all flowers and stems should be cut in January.
   • When you do this, the bush should rest a bit for new flowers and foliage to appear in the spring.
4. 4 Remove any shoots. They suck the juices from the roots of the plant. They grow out of the ground and often have leaves that are different from the rest of the foliage: they can be paler or different in shape. You can remove them:
   • By pulling them out from the root, which is the source of their growth.
   • Trace where they grow from and carefully pull them out. If you just rip them off at ground level, they will grow back.

Method 4 of 4: Protecting roses from pests and diseases

1. 1 A special spray helps with black spot. Black spot is a fungal disease that causes loss of leaves and stuns the growth of the plant. If left untreated, this disease can kill the plant. The disease is often caused by precipitation, especially in the springtime. To protect roses from black spot:
   • Spray the plant with a special spray every two to three weeks. This spray can help kill fungal spores.
   • Remove any leaves or plant parts that are infected with the disease. This will help control the spread of the fungus.
2. 2 Check roses regularly for pests. Examine the plant for aphids and other problems such as tightly rolled leaves (this could indicate a sawfly). Look for:
   • Aphid. They are tiny, soft-bodied insects, usually green in color, but can be of any color.
   • Worms and mealy beetles. They are small, flat, oval or rounded insects, usually white or yellow-brown in color and usually immobile.
   • Spider mite. It is barely visible to the naked eye. It causes tiny dots on the leaves or weaves a cobweb between leaves or branches.
   • Aphids, worms, and mealy beetles often secrete a clear, sticky substance that sticks to the leaves and attracts ants.
3. 3 Get rid of any pests on the roses. Moderate infestation is controlled by spraying water from a garden hose (several times a week in the morning). However, if the pest is a serious problem:
   • Spray roses early in the morning or evening with insecticidal soap, being careful to coat the tops and bases of the leaves and the stems. This type of soap is usually sold ready-to-use in a spray bottle.
   • Spray the entire shrub and stems until the liquid begins to drip from the leaves and run down the stems.
   • Leave the soap on the roses for about an hour, then rinse off with plain water. This will only kill the insects, but there is no reason to leave them on the bush. Failure to rinse the soap off in time can lead to discoloration of the leaves.

Tips

• You can prune your rosebush in the usual way, or you can give it a tree-like shape by pruning the way you want.
• Rose "Midnight Blue" bred to combat mold, rust and black spot.