Roses love food, water and mulch

What a year it’s been so far. In most areas, gardeners had to work in a pruning schedule between weather spurts. Even with late pruning many gardeners are or are about to have their first flush of blooms. Climate change is influencing the weather and effecting the usual pruning schedule. The erratic temperatures also have a bearing on the growth of the plants. Periods of heat encouraged vegetative growth and bud formation with possibly shorter stems even though cool rains kept the soil cool.

If gardeners want the fullest blooms possible, supply plenty of water to the plants, don’t flood them t...