What Roses Need in August – 5 Vital Tasks to Enjoy Many More Fragrant Flowers

Look after your rose plants in August and you’ll be richly rewarded with plenty more blooms. If your rose is a rebloomer or a repeat flowerer, the right care now can keep these shrubs flowering into fall, right up till the first frost. But even if your rose variety only provides a single flush of flowers that’s already over, good August rose care is vital: without it, too little water and late-summer diseases can threaten long-term plant health.

Roses use a heap of energy in summer, growing flowers and then hundreds of seeds, safely encased in shapely rosehips. Add in the heat stress of this El Niño summer, and you can understand why roses require your support in August. Neglect your plants now and they may cut their flowering period short, or succumb to an unsightly – and sometimes fatal – fungal rose disease. Feed them too late, and you’ll encourage growth that won’t survive winter temperatures. But with the right nurturing, many rose varieties will flower for months more, and all roses will enter winter dormancy strong and healthy.

Giving roses what they need in August is easy, whatever type you’re growing and in whichever zone. Ready to get started? Here’s everything you need to know to get the best possible results.

1. Water Deeply to Improve Drought Tolerance as Well as Hydration

Keeping your plants hydrated should be at the top of your to-do list when it comes to what roses need in August. It's important to water deeply, however. Established roses will have grown a deep root system, stretching up to three feet down into the ground and, there are shallow feeder roots nearer the soil surface, it’s these lower roots that you should target with your irrigation. So, it’s far better to water established roses thoroughly, once a week, than it is to give them a light watering every day.

Less mature roses will need watering more often, but you should still aim to water deeply, to encourage those roots to delve down in their search for moisture as that will make them more drought-tolerant. Deep root systems will also help fix your shrubs in the ground, reducing wind-rock once fall storms arrive.

Roses in containers will also need watering more often but still, water deeply, until you see water draining from the drainage holes.

Aiming to water the ground at the base of the rose, rather than the plant itself, in early morning so any splashed leaves dry quickly, significantly reduces the risk of disease. A long watering wand that fits to a hosepipe such as this telescopic 36”-60” wand with a ratcheting head from Walmart makes that easy to do while you’re standing well clear of the thorns.

2. Remove Faded Flowers – But Leave Some for Rosehips

Deadheading roses stops the plant from wasting energy on seed production and redirects it into new growth, so this is a key part of how to keep roses flowering into fall. And even rebloomers should be deadheaded: while they’ll still flower if you don’t, you’ll get more blooms if you do.

Now, many roses produce beautiful rosehips which not only bring great fall color but provide winter food for birds. Small seed-eating birds like finches will perch on the shrub to feed, while bigger birds like blackbirds will wait till frost has softened the outer case and the hips have fallen to the ground before eating the seeds. So, before you deadhead, think about whether or not you want rosehips, as removing the final flush of faded flowers will prevent them forming.

If you’ve got a rebloomer or repeat flowering rose, you don’t need to worry – there are plenty more blooms to come. But if your rose is done flowering for the year, leave some faded blooms in place to form rosehips.

Use a pair of hand pruners – and do sharpen blades first as it’s a two-minute task and clean cuts are far easier for plants to heal – and cut the faded flower stem just above the first set of leaves below it. If your rose flowers in clusters, wait until all have bloomed then cut the stem below.

If you’re going on holiday, you can remove all the open flowers, not just the faded ones, and you’ll return to a heap of fresh buds just about to open.

3. Improve Airflow to Avoid Late-Summer Diseases

As we roll into late summer, more humidity and heavier dews in hot spells can create ideal conditions for common rose diseases including black spot, powdery mildew and rust. Good rose health is your number one guard against disease, as a happy, well-hydrated plant is far less susceptible. But hot on its heels is airflow. Good air circulation around a plant cuts damp spots where fungal diseases flourish, and it’s easy to achieve.

A well-pruned plant has far better airflow through it, but August isn’t the time to prune roses. You can, however, improve conditions now by regularly deadheading and removing any dying foliage, weeding the ground around the rose, and trimming any spring- or summer-flowering perennials that may have encroached on its space.

Regularly removing any dying leaves also gives you the opportunity to check for early signs of disease so you can act early. In August, look out for:

• Rapidly enlarging dark purple or black patches on the top side of leaves, sometimes with a bright yellow ring around them. These are signs of black spot on roses (above).
• Scabby, dark or purplish patches on young stems, also common indicators of black spot.

• A white or grey powdery coating on the leaves, stems and buds. This is likely powdery mildew (above).
• Stunted new growth is another sign of powdery mildew, and you may see the edges of young leaves curling upwards into a boat shape, and fresh stems might appear deformed.

• Small yellow spots on the top of the leaf, with orange or dark pustules in the same place on the underside, are signs of rust (above).
• Leaves discoloring and/or being dropped prematurely can be caused by any of these diseases.

Catch any of these diseases early and they’re easy to deal with. Pick off all diseased leaves and prune any severely infected stems, disinfecting pruners with isopropyl alcohol between each and every cut. Rake up all fallen leaves from the base of the plant, too. Dispose of this infected plant material in your household waste bin, not your home compost heap.

Practise this good plant hygiene, and there’s no need to routinely spray for disease prevention.

4. Move Roses in Pots to a Shadier Spot

In relentless summer temperatures, heat-stressed roses can stop blooming as plants prioritize basic survival over bud production. Plants in pots are particularly susceptible as the smaller volume of soil they’re growing in loses moisture and heats up much faster than the ground. So, even if you’re watering patio pots properly, you may not be rewarded with flowers.

The best solution to protect roses from scorching heat is to move containers to a spot that still enjoys morning sun but is shaded from the intense midday and early afternoon rays. Either physically move the pot, or position a container umbrella or privacy screen to cast a shadow when the sun is at its strongest. Remember you need to shade the container as well as the plant.

It’s also worth grouping potted plants together as this also lowers local temperatures.

5. Feed Rebloomers to Fuel More Flowers – But Know When to Stop

If you’ve been feeding your rose all through summer, it’s tempting to carry on through August. But you should only fertilize at this point in the year if your rose is a repeat flowerer or rebloomer, continuously throwing out new flowers or enjoying a second late-season flush. And then, it’s vital you choose a high-potassium feed.

Feeding roses that are done blooming for the year, or feeding any rose a fertilizer that’s high in nitrogen in August, will encourage leafy new growth that won’t have time to harden before the winter. The result? Stressed plants and damaged stems you’ll simply have to prune anyway in early spring.

If your rose is still blooming in August, it’s almost certainly a rebloomer or repeat-flowerer, so you can safely feed it. Choose a soluble liquid feed that’s high in potassium, tailored for rose or flower production. To check that it's high in potassium, look at the three numbers on the packaging; the last number should be the highest. Check even if it's a rose food as those designed for spring use are too high in nitrogen (indicated by the first number) to be applied in August.

Heed dilution instructions as too high a concentration can cause fertilizer burn, particularly in hot summer weather. Rather than applying the feed close to the base of the plant, target the dripline of the plant – that’s the ground beneath the outer diameter of the plant, where rain would fall – as this is where those feeder roots are concentrated. A watering can with a head that can be angled downwards makes it easier not to splash the feed on the leaves, which can cause scorching.

If you feel your rose could do with a pick-me-up and it’s done blooming for this year, or you’re not sure if it’s a rebloomer or repeat flowerer, treat it to a low dose of seaweed tonic. That will boost root growth but won’t trigger any fresh leafy stems at this point in the year.

Don't feed roses past mid-August or you’ll interfere with the plant’s natural signals to slow down and enter dormancy over winter.

And that's it, you're done! August rose care is all about supporting plants through the stress of summer heat, while not overdoing it so as to interrupt their natural slide into dormancy in late fall. Keep roses properly hydrated, deadheaded, fed appropriately and shaded from intense sun, while taking steps to avoid late-summer diseases, and your plants will stay happy and healthy. Do these essential rose care tasks and, if your rose is a rebloomer or a repeat flowerer, you'll be rewarded by flushes of fresh blooms, week after week.