We gardeners and non-gardeners, too, are seriously entranced by these glorious flowers called roses and, as with all else we adore, are in the habit of mystifying them, disguising the relative ease of their cultivation with myths and fantasies handed down from one generation of growers to the next.

Thus, the vast majority of rose lore hinges on the near impossibility of cultivating the perfect rose bush laden with spectacular bloom unless, of course, the grower has undergone a lengthy course in every conceivable aspect of their intensely complicated cultivation. In reality, all it takes is a basic understanding of plants and their common sense needs.

Roses, according to fossilised evidence, have been around in the northern hemisphere for about 35 million years and have been cultivated, initially in China, for at least 5,000 years. Native to Asia, North West Africa, Europe and North America, roses, be they of the climbing, rambling, shrub, bush or miniature variety, perform surprisingly well in a wide range of climates, as long as they get even a short period of annual rest: this being a winter rest in areas experiencing ‘real’ winters and a summer rest in locations in which summer heat is intense.

They flourish in Alaska, they flourish in Mexico, they love life in the Himalayas and thrive in coastal Kenya, where they are heavily irrigated, too. Plus, roses are perfectly at home right here in Pakistan where, in one locality or another, they are in bloom all year round.

There’s much more than good looks to these blooming beauties

Keeping it simple, roses enjoy having their roots in well-fed — organic manure mixed with organic compost being their preferred food — well-drained soil, in a position receiving at least six hours of direct sunlight per day and, being rather thirsty plants, they need irrigating (but not flooding) at least every other day when the weather is hot and dry.

Well-fed, correctly irrigated roses, clothe themselves with luxuriant foliage and, in their flowering season — this varies from variety to variety — the unforgettable blooms ,for which we grow them and, being in tip-top health, they are highly resistant to pests and diseases. Hungry or thirsty rose plants, on the other hand, exhibit sparse growth, discoloured or misshapen leaves and rarely, if ever, manage to produce anything resembling an attractive bloom. These unhealthy rose plants are very prone to infection, disease and pest attack, and rarely live for any length of time.

If a rose plant is visibly unhappy, there is no point in grabbing the nearest bag of fertiliser or spraying it with something or the other in the blind hope of it undergoing a miraculous recovery overnight. The exact cause of its unhappiness needs to be identified and a suitable remedy figured out before remedial action is instigated, which is where that surprisingly uncommon trait known as common sense comes in.

If the soil doesn’t look healthy, it usually isn’t — sort it out.

If the soil is obviously dry — water it, preferably in an evening.

If the bushes look like they have been planted too close together — they have, and will need spacing out when in their dormant period.

If rose bushes are suffering from mildew or other fungal diseases, the odds are that air circulation is poor — resolve this, when they are resting, by increasing space between plants and/or by hard pruning or, if spacing isn’t an issue, check that soil drainage is good, as waterlogged soil encourages fungal problems.

If rose stems are thin and straggly, they need pruning back, hard, when blooming is over for the season and, still on the subject of pruning and still keeping it simple, do not be afraid of pruning roses. Pruning is done after flowering is over and basically, for bush, shrub and miniature roses, consists of cleanly cutting off, with sharp secateurs, all thin growth back to within about two inches of the main stem and the main stem itself back to six to eight inches above the ground. Climbing and rambling roses are not pruned as hard; just prune out any dead/diseased branches, cut back straggly ones as with bush roses but, generally speaking, do not remove more than one third of the main stem. There is, of course, a far more scientific and complicated method of pruning, one involving counting ‘buds’ and ‘eyes’ and ‘angles’ but, as already mentioned, we are sticking to simple here.

If pot grown roses, often in full bloom when initially purchased, degenerate over the following year or two, don’t blame the plants or the nurseries they were bought from. Plants in pots quickly use up whatever nutrients are available in the limited amount of soil/compost at their disposal so must have regular feeding — with yearly repotting in fresh soil/compost — in order to maintain their health and produce the sought after, longed for, dreamed of blooms.

Roses are not at all difficult to grow — even in Karachi — all it takes is a reasonable amount of care, coupled with a healthy dose of common sense!

Please continue sending your gardening queries to zahrahnasir@hotmail.com. Remember to include your location. The writer does not respond directly by email. Emails with attachments will not be opened.

Published in Dawn, EOS, March 15th, 2020