Garden Help

[fuzzyred]

So, my dad recently helped me dig a new patch in my garden, and I planted a rose bush in there. It was a Valentine's gift from my mom and spent a couple months in the house. Part of it is green and healthy, but a lot of the stems are brown and dead looking. I don't know what to do to save it. Do I leave the dead parts there? Or do I trim them down the ground in hopes of making the healthy parts stronger? I don't do much gardening, and I'm sure sure how to keep roses healthy, so any advice is greatly appreciated.

Comments

[wyld_dandelyon]

Actually, you could just dig autumn leaves into the ground directly too. I read about a woman who needed better gardening soil in her garden at the top of a hill, and she just brought fallen leaves up and composted them there, saying that leaves are a lot lighter per bag than dirt!

[fuzzyred]

That is really good to know! And soon to be relevant, since the seasons are about to start turning again.

(Sorry for the terribly delayed response, my spoons evaporated on me for a little while.)

[wyld_dandelyon]

No problem re timing of reply! Good luck with it all.

The city encourages people here to sweep leaves into the street for collection, but they have no problem with me mulching roses with huge piles of leaves, and I often gather from the street piles in the autumn.

[fuzzyred]

That's a great way to do things.

We have to put ours into yard waste bags here (big brown paper bags essentially) so using the neighbours leaves isn't quite as feasible. Although I don't think anyone would have a problem with me raking their yard and taking the leaves for myself, if I asked.

If I do use leaves as mulch, do I leave them above ground over winter and bury them in spring, or do I bury them right away?

[wyld_dandelyon]

I make a big pile around each rose plant, as high as I can get it to stay put (or as high as I have time for raking and gathering, anyway). The pile compresses over the winter, of course, but it helps protect the roots from the cold. Then in the spring I rake the leaves (or most of them, anyway) and put them into the compost, along with weeds which I've pulled and broken or cut.

If you have to spend money on those bags, you might find that some neighbors would be happy to have some of the bags emptied and returned for re-filling? Depends on the neighbors, of course. And most people are happy to have somebody else rake their lawns.

You don't want to be digging things into the ground too close to a rose plant, especially in the fall--you don't want to damage their root systems. But they're very happy to have already-composted leaves tossed on top of their roots.

[fuzzyred]

Thanks for the tips about rose bushes and leaves and composting! I singularly failed to do that this year, but it is definitely something I'm going to keep in mind for next fall. :)