Rose Care: Please pass the Salt.

When I heard about amending soil around rosebushes with Epsom salt, I was a little surprised. I have used many home remedies for roses. Banana peels, egg shells, coffee grounds and soapy water all can benefit your roses and banish pests and diseases. So began a brief exploration into Epsom salts.

If used as directed, Epsom salts are said to make plants stronger, produce lusher foliage, bigger blooms and encourage roses to send out new canes (branches) low on the bush. Caution: Salts in the wrong quantity can be lethal for many garden plants. Epsom salts are naturally occurring minerals known as magnesium sulfate which were first found in Epsom, France.  Cartons of Epsom salt are often located in drug stores and groceries in the same areas as laxatives or the sore muscle potions (a clue to some of their other uses).

There are probably as many ways to care for roses as there are recipes for Banana Bread. I have gathered a small selection of “recipes” your rosebushes. Please only select one method. The amounts of Epsom salt are intended for average to large sized plants. If your Roses are minis or small bushes, use just ¼ to 1/3 of the measurements. If you are unsure, it is recommended to test your soil before amended it.

• Simply mix a handful of Epsom salts at planting time; OR
  
• Sprinkle 1 Tbs. of Epsom Salt about 2 inches from the base of your rose bush; OR
  
  
• Two tablespoons dissolved in a gallon of water added next to the roots, being careful not to wet the foliage; OR 
  
  
• Just 3/4 cup of Epsom salts mixed in with the dirt around your roses each spring, then water in well; OR
  
  
• Martha Stewart recommends giving each rose bush 1 tsp. of Epsom salts for every foot of their height.
   
• Depending on the size of your plants, sprinkle anywhere from 1 to 4 tbls. around the drip line every spring.
  

• To apply to existing rose bushes, either mix ½ cup of Epsom salts into the soil around the rose bush and water well or dissolve ½ cup of the salts in water and use to water the rose bush. Do this in the spring, just as the bids are beginning to open.

• Jerry Baker's website, jerrybaker.com, has a recipe that uses cola, beer, molasses, vinegar, ammonia, dish detergent, and epsom salts. One blogger recounted that after feeding her roses this concoction from a watering can, her roses soon produced the biggest and best blooms ever.

A side note: I came across a note that planting parsley alongside your roses will increase their fragrance. I'd love to hear if anyone knows this to be true.

Once you have treated your roses to an Epsom salt treatment, fill a washtub with hot water and a handful of Epsom salts. It's time to treat your tootsies.

For a field trip: When roses are blooming, be sure to visit the Chet Clayton rose garden at URI or the Victorian Rose Garden at Roger Williams Park which is maintained by the Rhode Island Rose Society.

Rose Solutions is a website for Rhode Island Rose Gardeners

All things roses: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/publications/roses/prune.html

Some of the many sources for the information in this article:

Homemade Remedies to Kill Rose Bush Diseases & Insects | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/way_5576921_homemade-rose-bush-diseases-insects.html#ixzz1KoFi11v1

http://www.rosecare.com/faq.html

http://www.marthastewart.com/article/epsom-salts-for-roses

http://www.a-non-toxic-living.com/epsomsalts.htm

*If you have a special interest in roses, cultivate them, or have expertise growing roses, you are a “Rosarian”. As my friend, Leslie, responded when I referred to her as a Master Gardener, “I just like to play in the dirt.”

Renee C Brannigan