This is a very simple tip, but it has helped me with my spring rose pruning over the years. Watch the forsythia.  When the forsythia bloom in your area, it is the proper time to cut back your roses for the spring.

Michelle G. Murphy

I have found a great way to eliminate getting stuck by thorns on your rose bushes while trying to clean debris and leaves from them.  We have a lot of trouble with leaves and corn husks from adjacent fields blowing in and sticking to our rosebushes.  I have found that if you use a pair of barbecue tongs to reach in and pull them out you do not have to worry about getting stuck by thorns. It is also great to clean up leaves dropped because of blackspot.

Laura Cottrell

When I prune my roses in the spring, I take the cut off oldest, nastiest, prickliest canes (younger ones work too) and create a "fence" around each little perennial that the bunnies love.  If I use younger canes (not too limber, though) and they stay shaded, they sometimes root as a bonus.  Once the plants grow tall enough to be above the canes (they probably stick out of the ground about 8 inches), the bunnies no longer are interested in them, but I leave them all summer as they are really not noticeable.  This seems to sort of "train" the bunnies away from the plants, also.  Nothing works with carnations, but this has worked with everything else.  Just space them 2 to 3 inches apart.

Laura Baier

In the autumn, before the first frost, cut off 5 or 6 pieces of the new wood from your rose bushes. Place them in the soil, water them and put a big glass jar over them, making sure that the jar is firmly placed in the ground so it will last the winter in that place.  That's it - it's just that simple.  You will have at least one new rose bush out of the batch of 5 or 6! This garden tip has been passed through my family for years.  My mother was the one who gave it to me.  She just recently passed away.  She loved gardening so much and she most certainly gave me the "gardening gene".  So this is in honor of my mother, Anne Donohue, and all the other mothers who share their love of gardening with their children.

Elaine Murphy

When I plant my annuals purchased from the garden center I always sprinkle Epsom Salt around the newly planted flowers. The soiless mixture they are grown in seems to lack the magnesium the new plants need.  I never have the yellowing leaves so usual with gerianums etc.  I apply the epsom salt again mid-summer to the bedding plants and to my roses.

Margaret Gihlstorf

I have been plagued with aphids on my honeysuckles and roses for years. The honey suckle was so bad the buds never opened. I read that foil near the soil line sometimes helps because it is believed the aphids are “confused” by the reflective surface. Last season I tried hanging those free CD's that come in the mail trying to get you to try the latest internet provider. About three per mid sized plant, very shiny side up did the trick all season.

Melissa Miller

New roses failed to leaf out or show any signs of life.  A neighbor, now deceased, advised me to pile mulch as high as I could around the small bushes and leave them alone.  After a couple of weeks, I peeked under the mulch and saw that vigorous, new growth had started.  Expensive roses were saved by a simple hint.  I offer this tip in memory of Mr. Jack.

Evelyn M Plass

Reference:  Black spot problem on roses.  As a novice rose grower, may I offer the following tip that works just fine for me in the northern Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia.  I plant a bulb of garlic at each plant. That, along with a weekly spraying of fungicide, has solved my problem with black spot on a dozen floribunbas, and several climbers and shrub roses.

Ray

Season after season of using the same fungicide on your roses may cause some resistance to the pesticide.  It is best to alternate the fungicide you use to make it difficult for the fungus to become resistant and harm those beautiful rose plants. Try a program of alternating your fungicide every other application.

John Sorenson