In this final part of our series on care and cultivation of roses, here is a calendar of tasks to be done each month of the year to guide you towards growing wonderful roses and help avoid unnecessary complications brought about by trying to figure out how monthly tasks, as appearing in foreign publications, relate to our climate.

January: This is the perfect time to purchase new rose plants if you happen to reside in the plains or coastal regions of the country. You can happily plant out all kinds of ‘bare root’ roses right now and, hopefully, you will have prepared the planting sites in advance. Remember to prune back any broken branches immediately after planting and also to remove, with a sharp pair of secateurs, any flower buds which appear during the next three months as allowing them to develop when the plant itself is trying to get established is detrimental to plant health.

Leaving the buds on weakens the new plant and can, in extreme cases, actually kill it. New rose plants will not require any additional feeding until autumn, provided the ground was correctly prepared before they were put in. Budding of established roses to increase your stock may be carried out this month. Watch out for suckers coming up from desi rootstock of grafted roses and remove them immediately.

February: Lightly prune established roses, check them for suckers and dead head faded blooms making sure to dispose of all plant debris in a sensible manner: Healthy debris goes on the compost heap, diseased debris in the rubbish bin. After pruning, it is a good idea to give all of your roses a top dressing of well rotted organic manure; goat or horse manure if you can get it, cow or buffalo manure if not. Mixing the manure with homemade compost, homemade bone meal, blood meal and a decent amount of wood ash provides a well balanced ‘meal’.

Keep the top dressing at least four inches away from the main stem of the plants so that they are not inadvertently damaged.

Continue planting newly purchased ‘bare rooted’ roses, propagating by budding established plants.

March: Continue dead heading your roses; keep your eyes open for suckers, insect pests and diseases. The sooner you spot a problem and deal with it the healthier your plants will be in the long term. As the weather begins to warm up, it is a good idea to mulch around your roses as this slowly feeds the soil and helps preserve soil moisture so that watering is kept to a minimum.

April: If you haven’t mulched already then do so now. Other tasks are the same as for March.

May: Step up bug and disease patrol and take immediate action to deal with any problems. With temperatures on the high side mulching is more important than ever. If you mulched earlier the layer may need topping up. Continue dead heading faded blooms if your roses are still flowering.

June: Check over mulch filling in any shallow patches with new material. Watch out for bugs and diseases.

July: With high humidity and, hopefully, monsoon rain this is a good time to increase your favourite roses by striking cuttings. You can also take the opportunity to fill in any gaps in the rose garden by putting in pot grown plants but do remember to prepare the ground in advance. Black spot and mildew can be problematic during the rains so check for them regularly and deal with them promptly before they spread.

August: As for July.

September: With the rains having ceased it is time to top up the mulch once more in order to keep watering to a minimum.

October: Time to prepare ground for the winter planting of ‘bare root’ roses. Lightly prune established roses — the second pruning of the year — also taking the opportunity to cut out any damaged, dead or diseased wood. After pruning you may treat your roses to a top dressing as done in February.

November: Purchase ‘bare root’ roses for planting in prepared ground and re-read instructions given for January. Start your budding programme this month.

December: Continue purchasing and planting ‘bare root’ roses in prepared ground and dead head faded blooms. Budding may also be continued.

• Watering requirements vary tremendously depending on soil and climatic conditions so they are not detailed here.

Generally speaking, a thorough soaking of the soil around the plants at twice weekly intervals is sufficient in even the driest of months. Do not spray water on the plants themselves as this can result in mildew and other problems.

• The flowering period for individual rose types can vary but, with care, it is possible to have at least some roses in flower throughout the year.

Please continue sending your gardening queries to zahrahnasir@hotmail.com. Remember to include your location. Answers to selected questions will appear shortly in a future issue of the magazine. The writer will not respond directly by e-mail. E-mails with attachments will not be opened. The writer’s garden is not open to public.