A Rose Experiment: Saving my Rose Bush

The following is a post I wrote on my original blog at the beginning of 2013. At the end I have updated the results since then.

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I have a very small understated rose bush, well more of a rose stalk, that has produced one beautiful pink flower a year. I want more (more more more how do you like it how do you like it).

Here’s how my rose bush looks today, on a cold damp January day:

Mangy and miserable.

Step 1: Leaves are removed
If I had been paying attention to the plant, I’d have noticed the blackspot on the leaves. It might be too little too late, but from what I’ve read online, the leaves should have been removed back in November, before the onset of winter. However, as this winter has been remarkably mild and the real frost is only on its way, I’m hoping that todays leaf removal will help the plant.

Step 2: White vinegar and coffee grounds

Now to prepare a feed from what is available in the kitchen. A quick look on a few gardening sites and it seems that roses like acidic conditions so I whip up a simple dilute of white vinegar and water. Another frequently suggested feed is coffee grounds so I sprinkle a handful of the grounds around the base of the plant, and soak in with my vinegar dilute.

I’ll update the post in spring when hopefully I’ll have new healthy foliage.

…fast forward to March 16 and my rose bush which was reduced to a single stem has started to grow new foliage. Compost was laid around the base about a month ago and today I gave it a feed of coffee granules and vinegar dilute:

Second update: 

That year, my rose bush never flowered. As far as I can recollect, a bud didn't even develop. Disaster I thought. It wasn't great to begin with but at least the pathetic plant produced one beautiful rose for me. I considered pulling it up because it just looked like a stick in the middle of the garden.

But I didn't. I left it there and this summer, the year following the removal of leaves, I was treated to a sight I had not seen previously:

A single beautiful rose, at the base of the plant as usual, but what's this? Two...no three more buds at the top of the plant! My heart soars.

It's still not a prize rose bush but any improvement is a victory.  There was an aphid attack before the flowers opened but a quick combination of squishing and spraying with a mixture of water, garlic powder and ginger powder cleared that up.

I don't know what the white marks on the leaves are, maybe they were caused by the aphids. If you know, leave a comment!