With much of the UK experiencing soaring temperatures and a run of heatwaves, many gardens are struggling, and roses are particularly vulnerable. As the hot weather continues into August and most of the UK is now covered by a hosepipe ban, caring for your garden has become even more challenging. However, there are simple steps you can follow to help your roses survive and even thrive.
Expert advice from Peter Beales Roses
RHS Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medalists, Peter Beales Roses, have issued advice to help gardeners keep their roses blooming or at least alive. In a Facebook post, they said it was now “time to give your roses some extra care and attention” so that they continue to bloom or produce hips through until the end of summer and into autumn.
They highlighted the “most important” step: “After the recent heatwaves, the most important thing you can do for your roses in August is to make sure they are getting enough water; however, this can be more challenging if you live in an area that is currently experiencing a hosepipe ban. If this is the case for you and you aren’t able to water your whole garden with a watering can, our Rosarians recommend focusing on watering roses in pots and those that get the most sun, as they will be under more stress and so will dry out at a much faster rate.”
Deadheading and feeding tips
They also recommended deadheading roses once the flowers have gone over to keep them looking neat and tidy. This allows the rose to put its energy into new growth and producing another flush of blooms sooner, if it is a repeat-flowering rose. For once-flowering roses, leaving the flower heads on will result in colourful rose hips.
August is also the perfect time to give roses a feed with a slow-release fertiliser, once the flowers have gone over. They explained: “This will give them the best chance of producing an abundance of blooms on the second flush and will help support the plant after the recent heatwave. Because the weather has been so hot, you will need to water your granular feed into the soil to make sure it is absorbed.”
For roses that are flowering again or have flower buds, a liquid feed can keep the plants healthy and producing more flowers. For further information on how to care for roses, visit Peter Beales Roses website.
