Irrigating roses in your desert garden doesn't have to be difficult or time consuming. It does, however, require a little attention to detail and a little extra care.
All roses need moderate moisture throughout their root zones. In a desert garden however, you need to establish a proper balance. Too much water or too little water can result in shallow root systems and weak plants. Instead of guessing, leave a basin for watering around your rose plant until it becomes established.
Also remember to mulch around your roses. Mulch is one of the most important factors in a desert garden. For more information on mulch, see Miracles of Mulch.
Once the plant is established (say a year in a desert garden), the strongest and most active roots will be below the tips of the branches. Water around the perimeter of the plant rather than at the base of the stem. This will also keep water from the stem and help prevent water-based diseases from infecting your plants.
When watering, make sure the soil is wet throughout the root zone (which should extend around two feet from the surface. Don't add water again until the surface becomes dry. To check the soil moisture, pull the mulch back from beneath your rose (check directly below the tips of the branches).
What constitutes dryness in the soil? In a desert garden, you shouldn't water until the soil moisture is at a point when the leaves begin to wilt slightly. An inch of water in sandy soil should irrigate the soil down to 12 inches. If you have loamy soil, then it will irrigate only down to six to 10 inches. In clay soil, an inch of water will irrigate only four to five inches.
Here's an easy formula for irrigating an area. To water a space 10 feet X 10 feet, down to two feet deep, use 125 gallons of water for sandy soils, 190 gallons for loan soils and 330 gallons for clay soils.
How frequently do you irrigate your roses? Well, sandy soils, being highly permeable, do not retain moisture very long, and should be watered every four to 10 days, during the rose's growing season.
Loan soils retain water much longer than sandy soils, so irrigating every eight to 10 days will be the norm.
Clay has high water-retention ability and may need to be watered every two weeks to once a month.
Since gardens in the West and Southwest may be subject to high temperatures and high, drying winds, you may have to water every week or even twice a week for sandy soils. It's important that you learn to recognize water stress by the foliage color.
Rose leaves become pale and limp when the plant needs water. Mornings are good times to check the leaves, because afternoon heat may cause the same symptoms, which may disappear after the sun goes down and in the morning.
Many people recommend tilling around roses. However, in a desert garden, tilling will cause serious moisture loss. Instead, I would use mulch and old-fashioned weed pulling to keep plants free of weeds.
Next article: Common soil problems with roses in desert gardens, and how to combat them.
See also:
- Plant Roses in A Desert Garden
- Desert Garden Soil Problems
- Fertilize Desert Garden Roses
- Rose Pests and Diseases
