Choose The Hybrid Tea Rose For A Touch Of Classic Elegance

The Hybrid Tea Rose is a modern rose, the offspring of 2 old timers getting together: the Hybrid Perpetual and the Tea Rose. These magnificent modern flowers grow on long stems and bloom throughout the year. Although this rose gives off only a faint scent, it makes up for this shortcoming with its many petals and tall stature. The Hybrid Tea Rose has been referred to as "your basic rose on a stick." These are the most popular roses to give or receive on special occasions.
A Thorny Issue
You can find these roses in every color of the rainbow, except blue. When shopping, look for roses with tags that read "smooth" on the label. Well, good news -- there are several thornless varieties!

Many gardeners avoid the Hybrid Tea Rose because they're turned off by the idea of thorns.
You Look Marrrrvelous
Plant in the spring. Space your plants approximately 24 inches apart to ensure a good growth pattern. It's much easier to tend to them this way. They are happiest when planted in rows by themselves.

A Hybrid Tea Rose will look fabulous in any garden.
These roses, like most flowers, do not enjoy the company of weeds. Be sure to keep this area weed-free.
Water Generously
Regardless of chosen schedule, if the ground looks dry and cracked, you water at once. Most gardens require a weekly soaking. Hybrid Tea Roses require lots of water during hot weather, especially if the heat is accompanied by dryness.
The mulch will help prevent those aforementioned unwelcome weeds and conserve moisture. Placing mulch around your roses is a very good idea.
Sunlight is Essential
The morning sun will dry up excess moisture and dew, which will help prevent diseases from developing. Roses require a minimum of 6 hours of sunshine a day, including morning sunlight. It's important that your roses get plenty of sunlight.
Most modern roses, such as the Hybrid Tea, live a span of 6 or 7 years -- even longer if the flower has been given exceptional care. Even after pruning, the flower will grow back to this height annually. The Hybrid Tea Rose will likely reach full height in about 3 years.
How to Care for Your Hybrid Teas
In February, when your flowers are dormant, prune your roses. Your first step will be to remove dead branches and damaged canes.
Those are the canes that will produce buds in the spring. Look for lively green canes -- and don't cut them. In colder climates, you'll probably have to cut all the old damaged wood.
In warmer areas, remove any existing leaves from the plant to promote new growth.
Lastly, remove any debris from your garden.
As spring approaches and your roses begin to grow, you should fertilize your garden with a high-nitrogen fertilizer. Now you're ready for spring.
Then sit back and enjoy nature's beauty.

Compost Tea – Tea Time For Your Garden

But before you start floating a tin can in a some water, you need to create a powerful plant supplement known as compost tea. But before you start floating a tin can in a some water, you need to grow healthy, beautiful plants all summer long. That simple recipe is all you need to grow healthy, beautiful plants all summer long. If you would like a nice garden, you'll need a bucket of water and some garbage.
It can also be used as a fertilizer or a mulch and it enhances the soil's ability to absorb water. Compost improves soil structure and drainage. Compost in the garden will improve your soil which in turn will reward you with strong plants that are better able to fend off droughts and diseases.
Compost tea provides the same benefits to a plant as compost but it doesn't stop there. Not only can compost tea can applied to the soil around plants like regular compost, but it can also be sprayed on the leaves. When sprayed directly on the leaves, it increases the amount of nutrients available to the plant and helps fight foliar diseases. It will even increase the nutritional value and improve the taste of vegetables.
There are many different ways to make compost tea but most recipes can be summarized by saying, if you steep compost in water you get compost tea.
Using rain water is the best way to make compost tea but you can get by with tap water if rain is scarce. Tap water usually contains enough chlorine in it to kill off all of the beneficial bacteria so it's best to let it sit for a few hours before using it.
And actually the sock is optional if you have no plans on using a sprayer. The quickest and easiest way to make compost tea is with an old sock filled with compost and a bucket of water.
Attach some cheese cloth or a piece of panty hose to the sprayer's intake with some rubber bands and you should be fine. When applying compost tea with a sprayer you have to worry about clogs.
If you need more than a few buckets of tea, then an old fish tank or a plastic storage bin would make a great container for brewing compost tea.
After you've brewed a few batches and are happy with the results why not try aerated compost tea? You'll need to feed your mixture a constant supply of oxygen so a bubbler or air stones will be required. You need to keep it aerated so it doesn't grow any harmful pathogens. Some popular ingredients to add to bubbling compost tea are alfalfa, fish emulsion, powdered seaweed, corn meal, green sand and more. Don't use manure. Manure tea shouldn't be used as a foliar spray especially if you're growing vegetables and who wants manure floating around in their bucket anyway.
But ask a serious gardener about compost and they'll probably tell you that it's the most important ingredient there is when making compost tea. But ask a serious gardener about compost and chances are they'll tell you it's powerful stuff with a lot of uses. Ask a weekend gardener about compost and chances are they'll tell you it's powerful stuff with a lot of uses.