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PRINTRose Gardening Tips
8 Key Tips for Rose Gardening
1. Roses need 4 to 6 hours a day of direct sunlight.
2. The soil should be well drained, never muddy.
3. The ideal soil is lightly acidic, between 5.8 and 6.2 pH.
4. Mulch adds nutrients to the soil, keeps down weeds, and holds in moisture. Pine straw is the ideal mulch for roses and other acidic plants.
5. Fertilizer should be first applied in early spring and every 6 weeks from that point on until summer’s end.
6. When planting a new rosebush, prune it more than normal to help the shoots get off to a strong start.
7. Prune roses in the coolest months that freezing weather does not occur.
8. When watering roses, always water the soil, not the leaves. Never water after sunset to discourage black spot disease from forming.
-Tips excerpted from Pearls of Garden Wisdom by Deborah Tukua and Vicki West. These and hundreds more gardening tips, garden gifts and cooking from the garden recipes are found in this book, available here at the FATV shop.
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Farmers' Almanac Long Range Weather
February 8th - February 11th
- Northeast U.S.
Wet snow mixed with rain Mid-Atlantic north through New England; slushy accumulations of 4+" possible.
- Midwest/Great Lakes U.S.
Accumulating snows Kentucky, Ohio, then clearing. Fair elsewhere.
- Southeast U.S.
Wet snow Tennessee, western North Carolina; wintry mix northern Mississippi, Alabama. Elsewhere, rain, then clearing.
- North Central U.S.
Drier, much colder.
- South Central U.S.
Snow parts of Arkansas, then clearing, cold. Clear, much colder elsewhere.
- Northwest U.S.
Drier, but colder.
- Southwest U.S.
Drier, but noticeably colder.
• View entire Long Range Weather Forecast »
• Farmers' Almanac 2011-12 Winter Outlook »
• View the Almanac Daily Planner »
If you notice a hole in the upper left-hand corner of your Farmers' Almanac, don't return it to the store! That hole isn't a defect; it's a part of history. Starting with the first edition of the Farmers' Almanac in 1818, readers used to nail holes into the corners to hang it up in their homes, barns, and outhouses (to provide both reading material and toilet paper). In 1910, the Almanac's publishers began pre-drilling holes in the corners to make it even easier for readers to keep all of that invaluable information (and paper) handy.