Susan Solomon wrote:

Thank you, Bob and Shiva!

You're welcome, Susan. I forgot to say that I, like Bob, use bark mulch for
my roses, laying on several inches a year. It keeps them moist and cool at
the roots AND keeps the weeds down, and makes beautiful black loam. (I use
pine straw on bare roots because it can be piled up around their canes to
keep them moist, and is lighter and so less likely to break off new shoots
when it is removed.)



"Shiva" wrote in message
news:aHlwYXRpYQ==.e6a98812293a6a141d398de4629a5097 @1049390043.cotse.net...
Bob Bauer wrote:


Don't get weed killer anywhere near your roses! That is insane. It
can kill them.

In fact you don't need any insecticides, herbicides or fungicides for
mulching your roses. PERIOD.

I'm with Bob, here, Susan. I have had crabgrass pre-emergent for a
couple
of years, but have not put it down around my roses where the cg grows,
because I just don't quite trust this stuff with those vital little
white
root hairs. I pull it up, apply more mulch, and have used newspapers as
Bob directs below. Even in sheets, if you are watering your roses
enough,
they break down surprisingly fast, so that you can poke holes in them
even
before they are totally broken down, to let the water through.




The newspaper idea will work, but with a few changes:

1) Don't shred the paper, but put it down in moderately thick sheets,
layering all over the ground where you don't want anything to pop
through.

2) Next, cover the newspaper thoroughly with bark mulch. If the
newspaper is fully covered with mulch, it will remain moist from your
regular rose waterings, and slowly break down, even in your dry
climate. If it is exposed to the air, it won't break down.

3) Water and fertilize normally

Another great way to mulch roses is to use a thick layer of garden
compost covered with any type of mulch. (Pine needles, bark, nut
hulls, whatever.)

Bob Bauer
Zone 6 in Salt Lake City
http://www.rose-roses.com/