How Does Our Garden Grow – October 2022

By Rebecca Weersing

Plans can be made and the unexpected can happen. The Rose Haven Committee planned to fertilize Rose Haven around Saturday, September 10^th.  Water is important when fertilizing – traditional wisdom is to water the garden well, fertilize then water again in order to move the fertilizer from the surface into the surrounding soil. Nature is full of surprises and provided rain on both Friday and Saturday. Kathy and Byron fertilized the Lower Garden on Friday and Nancy, Roger, Florence and I fertilized the Upper Garden on Saturday. We are hoping for a very nice autumn bloom!

Deadheading is our next task. We began removing the dead and dying blooms around Saturday, September 24^th. We will continue deadheading into November in order to encourage our roses to provide us with a flush of fall blooms. The week of Thanksgiving we will cease deadheading, allowing our bushes to form rose hips and prepare for winter.

Starting in September we began our fall cleanup planning. Nardo and I walked the entire garden, identifying roses that need to be removed. Removal of a bush is needed for a variety of reasons. A bush has died due to old age leaving an unsightly stump. A bush has been growing poorly and regardless of care will not be able to thrive. A bush has become the sole survivor of a previous rose bed and is a hazard in the current location. Or a bush has received too much attention from gophers.

Now is the time to consider adopting a garden bed to care for during the coming year. Being active in the growth cycle of a particular bed allows one to gain intimate knowledge of particular roses, ensure that the basic needs of the roses are met. Fall is the time for planning for the coming year. Why not look forward to a new year by adopting a garden bed? I am adopting the Rose Hall of Fame Garden and am looking for a HoF Garden Buddy. Let me know if you are interested in HoF or any of our other garden beds. Email me at rosehavencommittee@gmail.com.  If you would like to see a map of  garden areas to choose from, visit our website and click on “Rose Garden Map” at the top of the page to the right of “Founded in 1991”.