High Plains Roses Care Instructions (a great rose grower here in Colorado)
Water 1 inch per week. Need excellent drainage.
Babs is on a 2 GPH dripper because she gets hit by the lawn sprinklers, Celeste and George are on 4 GPH drippers.
**2022 schedule was every other day (4 days a week) for 15 minutes, then lowered to 12 minutes in July)
Fertilize with a water-soluble fertilizer twice a month through the growing season. Stop fertilizing 6 weeks before the first frost as the roses need to harden off for the winter. (No fertilizer after August 15th, since first frost is usually the first of October.)
Wintering
When nighttime temperatures drop below 30 degrees, pile soil, compost, and mulch 6 – 12″ high around the base of the bush. If winter is dry, water once a month.
Late in the season, leave the flowers on the rose to encourage hip formation and aid the plant in hardening off for winter.
Pruning
To encourage open growth, make all cuts about a quarter inch above a leaf bud that points out from the center of the bush. As the rose matures, thin out 1/3 of the oldest canes at ground level (or in the case of these grafted roses, 12″ from the ground). Also remove branches that cross or grow inward.
“Deadhead” by pinching off the bloom just above the leaflet. Some people cut the stem just above the first outward-facing leaf with 5 or more leaflets.
The Girls
Out front, the three roses were purchased May 15th, 2021 from Happy Life Nursery.
They are all GRAFTED roses, so they should only be cut back to 12″ from the ground. (Above the graft!)
George
Celeste
Babs
2022 Notes: There is a chance that George and Celeste have a rose virus that is transmittable via un-sterile clippers. It is not lethal, per se, but it will lower their bloom yield over time. When trimming, START WITH BABS! That way you don’t transmit the virus to her by accident.