South Africa will host the 2012 World Rose Convention, Rosafrica 2012, in Johannesburg in October next year.
Held every three years under the auspices of the World Federation of Rose Societies, the show was last held in Canada and next year, rosarians from various countries will attend events in several provinces, including KwaZulu-Natal.
Rosafrica will be celebrated with a large rose show at the Rosebank Union Campus in Hurlingham, Johannesburg from October 12-14, 2012.
Rose grower Ludwig Taschner will be unveiling a brand new “Rosafrica” rose later this year and plans are being made to take visitors to rose events across South Africa.
Celebrations start in KwaZulu-Natal and will be spearheaded by the Midlands Rose Society.
Known as the top rose exhibition team in the country, the Midlands Rose Society is expected to build an amazing rose display in the Olympia Hall at the Sunday Tribune Garden and Leisure Show in Pietermaritzburg in early October 2012.
Visitors will then move to the World Rose Show in Johannesburg before travelling south to the Bloemfontein Rose Show. Delegates will end their South African experience in the Western Cape where they are expected to visit rose gardens and wine farms.
With roses in the limelight, now is the time to work on your own rose garden. Pruning should take place late July or early August and you should evaluate which plants to keep and replant with this season’s latest roses.
How to prune
* Make sure your secateurs are sharp and clean. Sterilise them by soaking them in a diluted solution of Jik, Dettol or Jeyes Fluid. Then rinse them thoroughly in water and dry them using a clean cloth.
* Take a good look at your rose bush. The aim of pruning is to end up with a vase-shaped bush with four or five strong stems around an open centre.
* Start by removing all the dead and diseased stems. Cut them away at their lowest or base point.
* Remove spindly and weak growth which is unlikely to be able to support buds or clusters of blooms.
* With all bush and shrub roses, cut away stems that cross in the central area of the plant. If you need to cut away a thick old stem, use a long-handled pruner or a pruning saw.
* Now select the four or five strong stems around an open centre that you wish to retain, and cut down to the base all other stems.
* Cut the chosen stems back by one third. Low-growing roses can be pruned to 50cm in height, but taller roses should only be pruned back to 1m in height.
* Sprinkle a handful of a specialised rose fertiliser around each rose bush. Then mulch well and water thoroughly.
How to plant
July and early August is the time to plant new roses or transplant established roses, because roots are least stressed when planted in cold weather. Decide where to plant your rose and dig holes to a depth of 50cm, working in plenty of organic material and bonemeal or superphosphate for root development.
If you are transplanting a rose, cut it down by half before transplanting and push the blade of the spade into the ground in a full circle around the bush.
Once the ground is loosened and the roots have been cut, slide in the spade, push the handle down and carefully prise the rose out of the ground.
How to choose a rose
If you are looking for new roses, choose from the new generation of disease-resistant roses bred in Europe on rose farms where fungicide or insecticide spraying is banned.
The new roses are more disease-resistant than old varieties and will give your garden a fresh new start.
Look out for the 2010 All America Rose Selection rose, Easy Does It (apricot peach) as well as glorious Winter Sun (light yellow), Red Ayoba (antique red), Clocolan (apricot), Knysna (apricot pink) and the gloriously large blooming, Brumilda van Rensburg (delicate pink).
If you are looking for glamour, try Heidi Klum (shocking violet pink), the cerise disease-resistant Knock Out rose (deep red), Alabaster (washed white pink), Hot Cocoa (a novel brownish-orange floribunda), Jolly Good (fragrant salmon-pink) or the spectacular, Ruby Pearl (pink and white). - Daily News
For more information, go to www.lifeisagarden.co.za or www.rosafrica2012.co.za