10 Minutes in the Garden

Maintaining your Roses What you need: 1 x Hot beverage 1 x Secateurs 1 x plastic bag to hold the clippings Roses for many people sound like hard work, but they don't need to be.  Ten minutes in the garden with a sharp pair of secateurs dead heading will provide you with a wealth of blooms and a healthy lush bush.  Cut back old flowering stems as if taking for the vase.  Place in the plastic bag for later disposal.  Leaving rose clippings on the ground can cause spread of disease. Roses smell their best after a couple of hours of being warmed by the sun. Why not pick for the house and enjoy the fragrance through the day.

Spraying your Roses What you need: 1 x 4ltr Sprayer 4 x teaspoons bi-carb soda 4 x Litres tempid water 20mls x Pest Oil or Eco Oil This all round organic spray is great for treating both black spot and powdery mildew on roses. It works by changing the pH of the leaf surface, killing the current fungal disease and preventing new spores from hatching.  Apply 3 times in the first 10 days and then approximately every 10-14 days.  Avoid spraying when the conditions will be above 30C, with most effective application in the morning.  This allows the leaf surface to dry through the day. If you don't use all of the spray make sure it is kept in a cool dark place and can be stored for upto 4-5 days.  Mix well before reuse.