How do you get your rose bushes to grow well?

i have 3 rose bushes, and they all are sad looking plants. i have used bone meal, coffee grinds, and egg shells to help them grow...but only the coffee grinds seem to help. also, i think i have a bug attacking them, what is it and how do get rid of them?

How do you get your rose bushes to grow well?
Lots of sunshine and composted horse poop.
Reply:Have you tried cutting them back? Usually this encourages new growth. As for the bugs try spraying them with soapy water.
Reply:I pretty much ignore my rose bushes. I make sure they get watered when they need it, and periodically add about 4-6 inches of grass clippings beneath the bushes as mulch. My MIL swears by Alaskan fish fertilizer, but when mine look a little peaked, I generally use some liquid Miracle Grow. Coffee grounds are great to sprinkle beneath the rose bushes and help to get rid of ants.





As far as the bugs...mine seem to be pest resistant, but part of it is because I release about 1000 ladybugs in the spring to deal with the aphids. The other thing I do which helps, is never to sprinkle the rose bushes (wet leaves attract bugs looking for water plus can leave burn marks) but use a soaker hose instead. The deep watering is much better for the roses and will encourage deep root growth. Try watering your roses in the morning ~ so they won't attract night time bugs.





There could be anything eating your roses...without putting down a pesticide, you might try some well known organic methods for dealing with the little critters. Bowls of beer work for slug and snails, wet toilet paper tubes will attract earwigs and sowbugs. A few bird feeders placed near your roses will bring in birds who might be attracted to the bugs as well. Gently hosing off the buds will knock off aphids and thrips ~ be sure to cradle the bud so that it doesn't break.
Reply:Coffee grinds are acidic so it may be that your soil is too alkaline. The bone meal is adding more calcium though not enough to hurt normally.





If you want to really see a difference for sure do this. dig a (spade deep) trench around each rose at least 12 inches from the trunk.. put in not bone meal but blood 'n bone or meat meal. Also put in some sulphate of potash. Potash is the nutrient that's missing from blood n' bone and the sulphur will add acidity and resistance to disease. Fill the trenches back in. If there's too much soil that's good, don't compact it in. Roots like aerated soil and above the ground the raised soil has created a bowl so water goes and stays right where you want it. Finally dust some epsom salts over the top of the ground and water in.





Not much I can say about the bug without knowing which it is. If it's aphids then spray with soapy water and repeat in two days and then in another two. Every aphid is born with an embryo already inside it. They don't need males, though there are some male aphid, aphids are 'the sisterhood'. That's why colonies breed up so fast. Most bigger bugs i wouldn't worry about, it's just a seasonal thing and they don't last long.
Reply:I never fertilize mine and they are doing fine. as for bugs - a good spray with a garden hose can get rid of Aphids.
Reply:for rose bushes always put banana peels they love a soil rich in potassium for bug infestion use joy liquid mixed with warm soapy water this will get rid of bugs wash your plant with a sponge and the branches this will get rid of them
Reply:Probably black spot. A fungus or mold. there is a spray for it....but you have to do it quick before all the leaves are gone. You can get it at Wal mart....just tell them what you want to spray they will know.l
Reply:when you put the egg shells down do you crush them first?


You do need to and then scratch them into the soil.


I also put about a cup's worth epsom salts dissolved in water ( the stuff you get at the pharmacy to put in your bath to soak your tired bones and muscles in ( good after a day of gardening!!)





when you eat bananas it is also great to chop up the peel and give it to the roses.





what kind of bug is it? Are they small little things which would probably be aphids and you can get rid of them with a good blast from the hose. Also encourage ladybugs who will snack on them.





If it seems that the leaves are being cut with a hole punch - ie round holes are appearing it is probably a leaf-cutter wasp which won't do any major harm although it does look bad.





lastly you should prune the bushes to air them out and give them space.





this is quite a good site





http://www.rose-works.com/rose-gardening...