I recently moved into a house in Phoenix, AZ. The house has several rose bushes in the back yard that I need to take care of.
My question is what is the best way to water these damn things?
The first web site I checked said two thorough waterings twice a week should do it. That is, a lot of water dropped into the soil twice a week.
So what does that mean? How long should I let the hose run? Do I have to extend the time due to the fact that Phoenix is pretty damn hot during the summer? I hear it’s best to run it in the morning, but that’s not always feasible.
Really, I can’t let the rosebushes die, nor do I want to. Their not really mine since I rent the house, but I also don’t want this to turn into much of a hassle. What is the quick, easy solution. (Yes, I want the quick easy solution.)
I live in Phoenix, and I have two rosebushes. I don’t know anything about gardening, but here’s my $0.02:
If you have them in a spot where they get morning sun and afternoon shade, that’s perfect. I don’t water mine at all, just spray 'em with soapy water when they get aphids, and cut 'em back once every year or two. They are 4-6 feet high and bloom nearly all the time. I really don’t do squat, don’t feed them or anything (and I probably should feed them). Apparently they don’t need that much water, because they seem to be doing fine on rainfall. I honestly haven’t specially watered them in 8 years.
That said, if your rosebushes do get afternoon sun, they may need more water than mine do. If you are new to Phx, I will give you a tip: if you spray water on plants or lawns (as from a hose) between 11am & 3pm or so, the leaves will burn. If you water at noon, the water dries up before it soaks in. Your best bets for watering are nighttime and early am. Or, you can “drip water”–let the hose leak a bit at the base of the plant. That soaks in well, but I don’t know if roses need that much water. I have drip watered a dry tree, though.
Welcome to town! 102 degrees today and rising fast! -Theobroma
Gah is it 102 out? I hope not…this is going to be my first full summer down here. Moved out with a roomie who said it was a great place (she visited here in December of 01, we moved here Aug of last year) My co-workers are giving me horror stories about the heat and monsoons and crap. Great. I miss California already.
Speaking on topic though, we had roses in Cal, we never watered them. Roses in general are pretty hardy. So hardy in fact that when we ripped them out of the ground (per my mother’s request) they grew right back in a few weeks.
Pardon the hijack as I’m not a rose maven but wanted to add you to the Phoenix doper list for get togethers. I sent an email to everyone but Theobroma, you don’t seem to have a valid address. Drop me a line to padeye@padeye.net and we’ll be sure to add you to the next get together list.
Well, I’ve lived here for a while, just not in a house with rose bushes.
Unfortunately, the bushes are in a place where they get sun all day. At least I know they’re not going to die, but they’re pretty dry. They don’t really bloom and the top is browning. I guess I’ll water them in the mornings.
What you can do for a slow watering (the best kind) is get a five-gallon bucket (like a used mud bucket) and punch a few small holes in the bottom. Set it next to the rosebush, fill it with water, and leave it. The water will trickle out over the course of a couple of hours.
(Note: I am not only not from Phoenix, I’ve never been to Phoenix – this is just generic “slow watering” advice.)
I don’t know too much about rose bushes, but my gramma had some out here for 10 years or so… and they seemed to thrive okay with alot of watering and a bit of cover in the winter. (Yeah gramma, it’s 65 out… COVER EVERYTHING BEFORE IT FREEZES!)
They weren’t always in direct sunlight though. Man, I’d brown at the tops in direct sunlight as well.