SUMMER ROSE SURVIVAL GUIDE: ROSE CARE FOR HOT CLIMATES

Roses look absolutely beautiful right now, but if you live in a hot climate, you know that they'll struggle once summer hits. In today's video, I'll share my best tips to help your roses survive the summer so they'll be ready to bloom again in the fall. I'm Angela from Growing In The Garden. My garden is in Mesa, Arizona. I want to help you succeed even if you're gardening in tough conditions. If you live in a hot summer climate, it all starts with choosing the right rose. Certain varieties like Iceberg and the Sunbelt series are naturally going to do better here in the low desert. Let me show you the varieties I have growing in my garden right now. Madame Anisette, Emily Bronte, Queen of Sweden, Sunbelt Savannah, Parfuma Bliss, Moonlight in Paris, Mother of Pearl, Sunbelt South Africa, Coco Loco is just about to bloom. This is Mr. Lincoln, Memorial Day, Eden Climber, Climbing Iceberg, and this is James Galloway. I planted this in 2020, so it's been growing the longest and is the most established. Most of the other roses in my yard were planted last year or this spring, so they're still getting established in my yard. When you garden in a hot climate, when you plant, makes a huge difference. If you plant too late, the plants won't have time to get established and they'll struggle more during the summer. If you're growing container grown roses, you can plant from November through March. For bare root roses, plant in December or January. Planting in cooler weather helps roots grow deep and strong. That's what will help them survive the summer and bloom again in the fall. In the fall, I plant an alyssum plant next to each rose, and over the winter, you can see how it grows and fills in. And this alyssum attracts all the beneficial insects that come and help me with the aphids that can be a problem on roses. As temperatures heat up, the alyssum does not like the heat. It's going to die back, so that means it's time to take out the alyssum and add mulch. A thick layer of mulch is crucial to help your roses survive the summer. Two to three inches of mulch will help to cool the soil, regulate the temperature, and keep that moisture in the soil. I like to use a combination of compost and wood chips. First, I'll put down a nice thick layer of compost. That will help feed the plants during the hotter months. And then, I'll pile a nice thick layer of wood chips on top of that. That will further protect the soil and keep it from drying out. Keep the mulch an inch or two away from those stems to help prevent pests or rot. If you don't mulch, don't expect your roses to survive. Let's talk about watering. Roses require a lot of water, but how you water them makes a difference on whether or not they will survive the summer. Instead of watering a little bit every day, water deeply less often. That tells the roots, go deep. Deep roots are what will help the roses withstand that summer heat. Frequent shallow watering encourages the roots to stay near the soil surface. That is where the temperatures will fluctuate more, it will dry out more often, and it's more stressful for the plants. So, water deeply less often to build resilience from the roots up. What about during a heat wave? When those temperatures climb for days on end, check your soil. Roses need water or they will die. You might have to water more frequently during a heat wave. When we prune, we're telling the rose to grow. That's why we do our big pruning in early spring and a light one in the fall when we're ready for those roses to take off. During the summer, the last thing we want is for that rose to try and grow more. It's already stressed. We just want to keep it alive. Normally, we keep our roses dead-headed. We prune above five leaves to encourage another bloom. But in the summer, if we encourage those new blooms, they're going to burn up and sap energy from the plant. But leaving spent blooms on the plant isn't ideal either. That can encourage the plant to form rose hips, which also takes energy. So, instead, I snip off the bloom right below the bud, which gets rid of that bloom without encouraging new growth. In preparation for summer, keep your roses fed. Healthy plants are the best defense against stressors like heat. But once temperatures climb above 100 degrees, roses may not even be able to use all of the nutrients in the soil. So, instead of feeding the roses, I focus on feeding the soil. That compost I add with the mulch is going to help feed the soil. I also have in-bed vermicomposting bins in my garden beds, and that will help keep the soil microbially active. I keep feeding those bins throughout the summer. Even if it's getting too hot for the worms, those food scraps are still breaking down and making compost and keeping that soil alive and helping to feed your plants. There are different opinions on this, and some people say it's best to keep feeding your roses during the summer. So, if you do, water well before and after, and light applications of organic fertilizer are best. And finally, don't expect your roses to look their best during the summer. The leaves are going to look a little bit crispy. Leave them alone. They're helping to protect the plant. If we lived in a cold, snowy climate, we wouldn't expect our roses to look good. Summer is our off-season. The roses are focusing on survival, not being beautiful. Let your roses rest. As temperatures cool in the fall, you'll see them come back to life, and that's when you can give them all the TLC and encourage that fall flush of blooms. Roses are an excellent choice for growing here in the low desert. We just need to do our best to help them survive the summer, and then we can enjoy these beautiful plants year after year. Thank you so much for watching. I'd love to hear how your roses are doing and your favorite varieties for hot climates. I'm sure I can find room for one more rose. Should I just keep going, or just should I try and finish that? Best tips? Best tips? I'll start again.