4 tips for growing glorious roses

Roses look luxurious and it's no wonder people want to grow them, but anyone who has knows that maintaining them is hard work. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do it, but you should learn some tricks to make things easier on you. To grow awe-inspiring roses, try these simple methods.

Tree roses, also called standard roses, are really just regular rosebushes grafted onto long rootstock trunks. To protect the graft over the winter, try this:

1. Cut the sleeve off an old sweater or sweatshirt.
2. Prune back the bush's top growth in late fall so you'll be able to slip the sleeve over the branches and around the graft scar.
3. Stuff the sleeve with dry leaves, peat moss or straw for insulation.
4. Tie a plastic bag over it for protection from snow and ice. When you remove the sleeve come spring, your tree rose will grow more vigorously.

In late May or early June, place sheets of aluminum foil on the ground beneath your rosebushes and anchor the foil with stones. Sunlight reflecting off the foil will quicken blooming, whether your roses are hybrid teas, floribundas or climbers.

Most gardeners know that banana peels make a good fertilizer for tomatoes and peppers. They may not realize that roses love them too. Chop banana peels (three max) into small pieces and dig them into the soil beneath a rosebush. The peels provide 3.25 percent phosphorus and more than 10 times that amount of potassium, spurring sturdier stems and prettier blooms.

When trimming tree branches or shrubbery with a garden saw, run the blade through a bar of antibacterial soap. The soap will not only give the blade more glide, but will also help reduce a branch's wound-threatening bacterium population.

You're garden will be coming up roses with these helpful hints to help your blooms blossom.