Don’t neglect your roses this month – as we gear up for the start of the growing season, knowing what to do with roses in March could encourage healthier, fuller blooms over the year ahead.
Learning how to grow roses is one of the most rewarding things I've done in the garden, but my plants produce their best flowers when I look after them all year round – especially as they're about to exit winter dormancy.
These are the March rose care tasks to add to your list for showstopping blooms this year.
What you'll need
My favourite budget pair of secateurs! These are perfect for green rose stems.
This organic rose food is ideal for early spring feeding as new growth appears.
These ratchet pruners take some of the effort out of pruning woody stems.
1. Prune them
If there was ever an ideal time to learn how to prune roses, March is it. The plants will slowly start to leave dormancy this month, and a maintenance prune can do them the world of good. It’s also a chance to get rid of any winter damage that your plants have sustained over the past few months.
‘March is the moment to give your roses a firm hand before the sap really starts rising,’ says Mark Dwelly, head gardener at Audley Villages. ‘Focus on thinning out the centre of the bush to allow for plenty of air circulation, cutting back any dead or crossing stems to an outward-facing bud.’
Whittling out overcrowded growth will keep fungal diseases at bay (it’s worth removing fallen leaves from the base of the plant while you’re at it) and promote healthy growth over the season ahead. Use bypass secateurs for green stems, like the Wolf-Garten Bypass Secateurs, £22.99 from Amazon, and anvil secateurs like the GARDENA Anvil Secateurs, £16.99 from Amazon, to cut away dead, woody growth.
Leave rambling roses alone, though – those are best pruned after they’ve finished flowering.
2. Give them an early spring feed
So, what do we do with roses after we’ve pruned them in March?
It’s actually the perfect time to fertilise roses, and feeding them now could make a huge difference to the flowers that form over the coming months.
‘After tidying the stems, a bit of feed helps roses bounce back and thrive,’ explains Liam Cleary, gardening expert from Old Railway Line Garden Centre. ‘Roses are beginning to draw on nutrients to support new growth, so a balanced rose fertiliser or organic feed like composted manure helps replenish what’s been used up over winter.’
Rose fertilisers like Westland Rose High Performance Plant Food, £5.50 from Amazon, will help build your plants' immunity against pests and diseases, too.
‘Early feeding encourages healthier shoots and buds, giving the plants a strong start for the season ahead,’ adds Liam.
3. Finish with mulch
Mulching is a simple process that carries so many benefits – weed suppression, soil improvement and moisture retention, to name a few – and it’s one of the most important things you can do for your roses in March.
‘Mulch can be added once the soil warms up, ideally after pruning and feeding,’ advises Liam. ‘Keep it slightly away from the base of the plant to prevent rot.’
RocketGro Peat-Free Organic Magic Mulch, £18.99, is highly rated on Amazon, and it feeds the soil, too.
A little TLC in March can lead to to healthy, abundant roses over the months ahead.
