How to care for rose plant in the rainy season?

Monsoon is known as life giving season for any type of plants, be it rose or any other plant. This season help stimulate growth in the plants and also it helps restore plant's health and their greenery. Even though monsoon has numerous benefits, it also gives rise to threats for varied plants, among which is the rose.

Few tips as to how to take care of rose plants in the rainy season

Fungal Attack

During the rainy season, roses are susceptible to fungal attacks, which lead to stem and root rotting. In order to prevent this, do not let the plant stay wet feet for long. You must ensure you apply fungicide from time to time, it is the best way to take care of the fungal issues.

Weeding

If you have grown roses in the garden bed, then you must make sure to weed the area, thoroughly before the onset of the monsoon. The wild grasses and the weeds not only compete for nutrients, but they also serve as host for pests and fungus.

Mow weeds as well as wild grasses from the garden bed on a regular basis because the rain would foster weed growth, too.

Keep the pest and insects at bay

Spray the rose plant with neem oil solution, soap solution or insecticides. Spray it once every 14 days during the monsoon to take care of the pests on the plants.

Trimming and Pruning

If there are any dead, broken or diseased branches, snip them off at a 45-degree angle by using the sanitized shear in order to avoid any potential diseases as well as infections. This oblique cut would ensure that the water will not remain stagnant on the cut portion.

Also, you should immediately apply fungicide right after cutting on that part, as the wounds are more prone to fungus infections.

Drainage

You must also ensure to avoid waterlogging, use a garden bed. You can also create a soakaway trench in the garden. Also, you should make sure that the soil is not compact or heavy, it must be porous and well-draining.

For containers, you must also ensure that, drainage holes are not clogged up and the soil medium is well-draining.

Water right

You would hardly require to water your rose plant during the rainy season, as the plant naturally has access to sufficient amount of water and unlike other plants, the roses prefer both dry and hot environment.

One has to make sure that, only when the topsoil is completely dried. In addition, water plant only during the morning hours, instead of evening, so that excess water has ample time to dry during the day.

Soil Amendment

Once the monsoon is over, you should amend the garden soil with cow dung manure or compost. Make sure to sun dry the manure thoroughly before mixing it into the soil, as the chances of fungal diseases are quite high if you use the manure without drying it.

Repotting

As the rainy season ends, you can add extra compost and repot the rose plants for better growth, in case of the containers, replenish the pot with fertile and fresh potting mix.

For the garden roses, dig out the soil a few inches deep near the root ball. Fill back with composted steer manure. Water it lightly, so that the nutrients soak up well in the soil.

Dead heading

Snip off and remove all the spent flowers from the rose plant periodically, you must ensure to sanitize the scissors before trimming in order to prevent any fungal problems. By removing the deadhead roses, the plant's energy would be distributed to prompt new bud formation and the overall growth would be accelerated.