Like a lot of the country, we got a great big rainstorm this past week. The good news: I am now absolutely certain that all my roses are deeply, deeply watered. The bad news: my garden took a pounding.
Fortunately, I only lost one rose bloom to the deluge. The storm did set me to thinking, though; what on earth do they mean by "an inch of rain"? Lacking a rain gauge, I set out to do a little googling and find the answer.
As it turns out, an inch of rain is: the amount of rain that falls on one acre. There are 27,154.258 gallons of water in one inch that cover exactly one acre. We all know that roses are big drinkers, so I'm pretty sure that much would more than satiate them. Check out this nifty chart by the U.S. Weather Service: https://water.usgs.gov/edu/earthrain.html
Crossing this with one of my other worries - how much water is enough for my roses? - I came across quite a few different answers. The distillation of all these recommendations is this: if you're not sure, stick your finger in at least three inches down in the soil. If it's dry, water. I have found that it's usually good to water until you can see just a bit standing on top. If it gets absorbed by the count of ten, you can add a bit more. If not, you're done.
During humid weather, and assuming you have at least an inch or three of mulch atop your roses, you should be OK with watering twice weekly or so. If it's hot, dry, windy, or you have sandy soil, you'll want to step up that schedule to daily. Obviously if it's rainy and damp, less often will be fine. Keep an eye out for the beginnings of wilt as a sign of under-watering, and for yellowed leaves as a sign of over-watering.
There are also doodads available to tell you if your soil needs watering (I've seen cute little ceramic worms that change color) so that you can be a little more certain. You can always add one of those glass bulbs that holds water and releases it into the soil as needed. I have one of those and am thinking I'll pick up a few more for my newer roses.
Happy Gardening - stay hydrated!
Fortunately, I only lost one rose bloom to the deluge. The storm did set me to thinking, though; what on earth do they mean by "an inch of rain"? Lacking a rain gauge, I set out to do a little googling and find the answer.
As it turns out, an inch of rain is: the amount of rain that falls on one acre. There are 27,154.258 gallons of water in one inch that cover exactly one acre. We all know that roses are big drinkers, so I'm pretty sure that much would more than satiate them. Check out this nifty chart by the U.S. Weather Service: https://water.usgs.gov/edu/earthrain.html
Crossing this with one of my other worries - how much water is enough for my roses? - I came across quite a few different answers. The distillation of all these recommendations is this: if you're not sure, stick your finger in at least three inches down in the soil. If it's dry, water. I have found that it's usually good to water until you can see just a bit standing on top. If it gets absorbed by the count of ten, you can add a bit more. If not, you're done.
During humid weather, and assuming you have at least an inch or three of mulch atop your roses, you should be OK with watering twice weekly or so. If it's hot, dry, windy, or you have sandy soil, you'll want to step up that schedule to daily. Obviously if it's rainy and damp, less often will be fine. Keep an eye out for the beginnings of wilt as a sign of under-watering, and for yellowed leaves as a sign of over-watering.
Happy Gardening - stay hydrated!
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