Rose Repeat Bloom

                                              Lakeside Rose Garden in full bloom.

I've been rose gardening for over 20 years and I have to admit I'm drawn to repeat bloomers and it's not unusual for us here in the Midwest to have roses blooming in December.

My roses (shown below) greatly benefit from Epsom Salts. In the spring, I work one half cup of  Epsom Salts in a ring around the base of my plants to encourage blooming and healthy development. This also appears to help the foliage too.  The spring rains usually water in the salts for me. If you've read my article on 'Rose Winter Protection' you will see my use of  Epsom Salts in the Pinata Rose image.

By  breaking or clipping off finished blooms, roses often produce a second and sometime third set of rose blooms.This shrub rose will produce 3 sets and often still has a few blooms in December. And they are a little hardier than the hybrid teas and  floribundas. 

It's pretty easy to tell when a tea rose is done as it drops its leaves. I break off the spent blooms individually on these.

Florbinda roses on the other hand have have several flowers on one stem. Often 1/2 way down the stem you will see 7 leaves clustered together and new growth comes from here. Make a diagonal cut about an 1/8"-1/4″ above the seven leaves, slanting to  the outside so new growth develops there. 

Thinking spring today,

Lori