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Regardless of the climate where you live, there are certain steps you should take to prepare your rose bushes for winter.

For those who live in warmer climate zones, preparation will be minimal. For those who live in the colder climate zones, more preparation will be needed.

In the warmest southern zone, freezing isnt a major concern. You’ll want to check your plants for disease, taking care to treat for any problems that may have arisen. You may want to give a light fertilization in November to ensure blooms in time for the holidays in December.

After the blooms in December you’ll want to prune your bushes in preparation for next spring.

For those who live in temperate southern and coastal zones, the freezes that occur are generally short-lived, so major preparation isn’t necessary.

You’ll want to stop fertilizing and pruning or “dead-heading” in fall. To prepare for freezes, apply mulch after the second hard frost. This mulch should be mounded around the base of your plant to provide ample protection.

If you live in the colder central zones, your winter preparation is a bit more extensive. If your roses are of a hardiness that’s adapted to your climate zone you can simply follow the steps set out for the warmer climates.

However, if you have varieties that aren’t well adapted to colder climates you have three options: transplanting to containers for storage indoors, burying your plants or building a protective covering.

For anyone who lives in the northernmost climate regions your best options are burying or transplanting your rose bushes as mentioned. The winter temperatures are far too cold to rely on a protective covering for your plants, as the cold exposure may still be too much for them to survive.

Generally, transplanting is the preferred method of winterization for the most extreme winter climates.

Although winter preparation can be a bit daunting, and at times even overwhelming, by preparing in advance for winter you’ll ensure you have beautiful, healthy rose bushes next spring.

Make a winter preparation plan during the summer, doing your research and gathering supplies ahead of time. This will make carrying out your winter preparations easier and less stressful.

For more in-depth advice on caring for your Roses, go to: Rose Gardening

To download our free eBook on Indoor Gardening: go to: Free eBooks

Bonsai has been around for centuries. It’s been raised, trimmed and cared for by many Chinese and Japanese, who do bonsai planting and growing as an form of art and hobby. Bonsai hobbyists are growing rapidly with many more people all over the world, not just Japan and China, now practicing the art of tray planting.

With this growth, it’s not surprising that bonsai of all sizes, styles, and shapes can be found in the rooms and gardens of hundreds of households in the United States and other countries in North America and Europe.

Learning the art of tray planting or bonsai is a long process that requires you to exert and spend much time, effort, and patience. In addition, you’ll need to use your imagination and creativity to make your bonsai tree in a true sense. This is why artists and hobbyists often label bonsai as an imagination tree.

What is Bonsai?

What is bonsai? That’s what most people ask when they hear the term bonsai. For beginners, the main characteristic you should understand is that bonsai is a miniature plant grown in containers, but cared and respected as an art form. What makes it a form of art lies in the fact that unlike other plants, bonsai are grown and formed to look like a naturally and century-old tree — but in its smallest form.

Bonsai, although a unique horticultural art form, can be developed either from cuttings, or through seeds. There are, however, some growers who develop bonsai from existing young trees or from those diminutive trees taken from the woods and forests.

For these plants to be called a bonsai, they need to be planted and transferred into a pot or container. It’s worth noting that the transfer of the plants or seeds into a pot is what holds the very core of bonsai planting. It’s patterned from the term “bon” meaning pot or tray, and “sai” which stands for tree or plant.

Click Here for comprehensive information on Bonsai Growing.

Hydroponic gardening is a great way to garden indoors if you do not have arable land suitable for gardening. If you are going to be gardening indoors, you will want to garden efficiently, in order to get more produce from your hydroponic garden.

Hydroponics means that the plant is grown without dirt and with a nutrient solution that provides for all of its needs. As long as you have the right lights and a hydroponic digital ballast you can grow your plants in sand, gravel or rockwool, or you can grow them in water. The advantages to (more…)

Most of us, at one time or another, have tried our hand at owning a house plant or two. Some thumbs are naturally a little greener than others, however, you can easily learn how to better care for your potted companions if you haven’t been successful in the past. There are several common mistakes people make when it come to caring for houseplants — the following should help you along nicely.

The first important requirement is adequate light. Without it, you’ll have very little luck keeping your plants alive. Think ahead of time and determine where you’ll put your plants so they can enjoy as much sunlight as possible. You may even have to move some around throughout the day as the sun moves around (more…)

Of course, we all know that having a garden hose is necessary for anyone who has a garden or shrubs and plants around their home. But, not everyone knows what to be aware of when it comes to buying a new garden hose. Here are 3 quick tips you should know before shopping for your next hose.

1. Buy a long enough hose.

Always be sure that you buy a garden hose that is long enough for your needs. I know that sounds pretty basic, but you would be surprised at how often (more…)