Gardening Calendar

  • If you mounded mulch around your plants for winter protection, remove it when the danger of freeze is past and buds begin to swell. Remove a few inches at a time and keep some handy in case a late frost threatens.
  • Check for winter damage and cut off damaged stems just where fresh green stems appear. If this is all of the way down to the ground, no matter! Your Easy Elegance® Rose will come back good as new once the growing season begins.
  • Prune stems back by up to 1/3 to encourage new growth or to shape, if desired.
  • Roses are heavy feeders and need good nutrition to look their best. A combination of inorganic and organic fertilizer is ideal. Apply an inorganic fertilizer that is high in phosphorus once flower buds start to appear. This will provide quick acting nutrients to get the plants going in spring. An organic fertilizer such as aged manure or compost will provide long lasting nutrients and will help build good soil.
  • Once soil warms up, layer 1-3″ of mulch like pine bark on top of the soil to conserve water and keep weeds down. Leave 2″ of air space around the crown. Piling up mulch right next to the base is not good for growth.
  • Plant Easy Elegance® Roses in decorative containers to enjoy on your deck or patio through fall. Make sure to keep them in areas where they will get 6 hours of good, bright sunlight.
  • Refresh your landscape with new Easy Elegance® Rose varieties to add to your collection.

  • Water with a soaker hose in the morning. In most cases, 1” of water per week is ideal but if you have sandy soil or it is extremely dry, 2” per week may be best.
  • Easy Elegance® Roses do not require a great deal of pruning throughout the year, however if you just want to get out there and enjoy, feel free to deadhead old blooms once they’ve faded to encourage re-bloom.
  • Enjoy beautiful re-blooming roses all summer long!
  • Cut blooms for arrangements at pool parties and BBQs. Combine them with other plants from your garden for a beautiful centerpiece.

  • In August, reduce watering as the shrub naturally starts to slow down.
  • Continue to deadhead spent blooms through August, but do NOT prune the stems in fall or deadhead after September.
  • Do not apply inorganic fertilizer in fall, as it will keep the plant actively growing late into the season, which means it will have soft growth susceptible to winter damage.
  • After a couple of hard freezes and night temperatures stay below freezing, mound loose mulch such as wood chips, compost or leaves around the base of the canes up to a height of 12”. This moderates temperatures swings and is especially important on new plantings. If you have snow cover all winter, snow is an excellent insulator, too. Easy Elegance® Roses are hardy landscape plants, and once they are established in the garden they will last for years to come.

  • Plan your garden for the coming spring with new varieties to bring new life to the landscape
  • Enjoy the beautifully formed rose hips that persist from fall on many Easy Elegance® Rose varieties.
  • Check out our blog for more gardening tips and tricks and design ideas