It’s no secret that a rose garden is a little more demanding than most flowers. And to be honest, we understand. This symbol of love and beauty, even with all its thorns, is one that can truly take your breath away with its fragrant frills of petals and enchanting colours. Our team has designed a number of solutions to help you master the art of growing roses. Read on for the best additions to your gardening tool belt.
Provisions and pests
To start with, roses require very specific environmental conditions. They need direct sunlight (a minimum of four hours a day) and well-draining soil mixed with a good blend of organic matter. Plus, they love a good feeding schedule and a slightly acidic soil pH of about 6.5.
As for the threats to roses, there are quite a few. Despite the thorn protection system, roses are particularly susceptible to garden pests, both insects and diseases.
Common pests to look out for:
- Aphids
- Caterpillars
- Chafer beetles
- Mealybugs
- Red spider mites
- Rust
- Scale insects
- Slugs and snails
- And more
If you are not sure what is bothering your blooms, explore Efekto’s problem solver to identify the pests.
Prepare for a burst of beautiful blossoms
To achieve the best beds for your roses, we have a few solutions designed to feed, fend off pests and help your roses flourish.
Enhance established gardens
When it comes to whether or not you can breathe new life into old bushes – the answer is yes, it can be done! Use Wonder Rose & Flower, a specially developed fertiliser designed to achieve gorgeous foliage, quality bud formation, and pest and disease resistance for your best rose season yet.
Boost your blooms
For the bright and beautiful blooms of your dreams, use Wonder Colourburst Rose Food on your outdoor roses. This plant food is formulated to produce healthier, fuller blooms and ensures a more vibrant view than ever before. Our experts recommend applying this food every two weeks for the best results.
Support from the inside out
Reinforce plant health and strengthen roses with the newest addition to our range, Wonder Organics Super Bloom. This is a careful combination of slow-release fertilisers, essential micro-nutrients and organic bio-stimulants that contain a blend of zinc and sulphur. Additionally, the granules are colour-coated so you can see where you are applying the granules for even distribution.
Seal the deal after pruning
Pruning is a non-negotiable to ensure improved growth, quality blooms, and tidy rose bushes. When you prune, be sure to use clean clippers as infected blades can transfer disease.
One way to cleanse your tools is to use an ethanol alcohol or diluted bleach mixture (use one part liquid bleach with nine parts water).
How to clean your tools:
- Remove excess soil and plant remnants from your tools.
- Dip or wipe your tools in your chosen mixture.
- Then remove and let the solution drain off.
- Disinfect your tools after every clipping to prevent any diseases from spreading on the same plant and between plants.
Another measure to ensure clean cuts is to seal fresh wounds against fungus after a pruning session. Use Efekto Steriseal on roses – as well as grapevines, shrubs and fruit trees.
Bring Your Garden to Life
Creating and maintaining rose gardens do take a bit of time, effort and persistence. But, Wonder has an exciting announcement that might speed all of that up.
This is for all those with garden projects that are more dreams than done, kind of financed, and waiting for a whole lot of TLC – this is your chance to win a garden makeover of your dreams!
With the Wonder Bring Your Garden to Life Competition you could be one of three lucky winners of a garden makeover worth R100 000 each!
Here’s how to enter:
- Buy any Wonder product with a promo sticker or neck tag
- WhatsApp a photo of your till slip to 087 240 5313
- Follow the prompts
For more info, visit our information page: https://wonder.co.za/competitions/
Forget garden woes, start growing your rose
All the best with growing roses! And be sure to enter the Wonder Bring Your Garden to Life Competition for a chance to win a new garden featuring your favourite set of blooms. For more information on roses, explore our blog post archive full of expertise.
