"Dave G." wrote in message
news
All,

I just moved into a house in near Death Valley and the owner has roses
planted and I'm wondering what I can do to help them and some general
care tips. The soil is sandy and I believe the zone qualifies as 10 or 11
Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Dave

The problem with sandy soil is that water
and nutrients run through it quickly. (I
have almost the opposite problem with
heavy clay.) You will probably need to
water and feed more often than I do. I
alternate cheap easily available food like
Miracle Gro or Peters with organic food.
I'm pretty casual about feeding but my
roses get fresh compost at least once a
year along with mulch.

Like Joe said, watering is the key. But you
can also look into adding stuff into the
soil to help retain moisture. Perhaps
compost would help, but I'm not that
familiar with your soil conditions or what
soil amendments are available to you. Are
there any local nurseries you can ask?

Mulch is extremely important in your
conditions. My clay soil retains water but it's
hot and windy and sunny here, so I always
add a lot of mulch. There are different
kinds of mulches (you can research them);
I tend to use shredded wood mulch which
is available around here. I don't know what
would be available in your area.

Since the heat will tend to stress your roses,
be sure to water well, preferably the day before
feeding. That's always the case, but especially
in a hot and dry area like Death Valley.

BTW if you notice a rose has lots of dry
leaves, it's probably already too late for it.
Been there done that...

The American Rose Society has a number of
good articles on roses:
www.ars.org
Look for the underlined Articles near the bottom
of the first page.

If the roses still have tags, let us know which
varieties you have.

Gail
near San Antonio TX Zone 8 USA