Question
Hi,
I am from California and I bought 'assorted roses' as a small plant around May.It didnt have any buds initially. In 2 weeks I transferred it to a new pot and use potting soil. It has grown pretty well with a lot of leaves but no flowers at all. Luks like there is a bud but it turns out to be a leaf again. Is there anything I am doing wrong? I water it twice a week. sometimes I see a partially yellow leaf (just one) which I guessed might be due to too much water...Please let me know what shud be done or what I shud check for..I am pretty new to gardening..but I am loving it...Really wud love to see flowers....Thank you...

Answer
Shuba, "Assorted Roses" does not sound like a Grade A First Class Plant to me -- Are you sure that's all the label or the pot said?  It's nice to be able to identify the name of the Rose that is making bang your head against a wall for.  

They can be REALLY finicky, these Roses.  

And worse, they are almost ALWAYS High Maintenance Prima Donnas.  I'm not kidding here.

Let's get down to business.

West Coast weather is great for Roses.  You can grow just about anything in that zone.  I envy you.  Maybe we can change that to "Slightly Less Than High Maintenance" since you are on the balmy, Rose-friendly California climate.

Score 1 for you.

Now, you put it in another pot?  Any chance you can put your Assorted Rose into some of that California soil?  Because pots are a balancing act -- balancing of moisture and when to water; balancing of heat and how hot the pot will get; balancing fertilizers while trying to avoid a buildup of toxic salts... It isn't easy, Shuba.

You have to give your Rose as much sun as possible.  Roses are like that.  No tickee, no shirtee.  Sun, sun, sun -- they will love it, and reward you with flowers, but only if you put them out in the open in full sun all day long.  Dawn to dusk is best.  Lunchtime to sunset is a passing grade.  Less is asking for more time between blossoms.  

I'd say that sun is the single most important ingredient for growing first class Roses.  

Pick up a good Rose Fertilizer - or order one on the internet.  Your Rose needs a lot of TLC in this stage of her life.  A box of something called "Rose Food" is also a good basic gardening lesson in How To Read The Fertilizer Label so let me go into this for just a second.  

All fertilizer has a label on it that tells you what it's going to feed your plant(s).  The label is three numbers with dashes in between, you'll see N-P-K.

The N is for Nitrogen.  Plants use Nitrogen for growing leaves.  

P is for Phosphorous.  It's the Flower and Roots vitamin -- Feed your Rose Phosphorous (middle number) and you'll have enormous flowers and lots of blooms.

And finally, K is for Potash.  This is a good all-purpose Mineral and Vitamin for general vigor.  

Roses need more Nitrogen than other plants, such as Flowering Perennials, Annuals, Trees and Shrubs.  Reason being, You have to be able to count 2-dozen or more leaves on your Assorted Rose before you can expect to harvest one gorgeous Rose.  So Nitrogen is more important thant you would expect for a Rose bush.  

Finally, when you water your Rose, the best thing to do is to fertilize as you water, and make sure you give your Rose PLENTY of H2O.  Your Rose should be dry before you water it again.  

This is not as easy as it looks.  If you overwater, your Rose will not be the least bit happy about it.   Yellow leaves can be a symptom of overwatering -- you want to drench the pot and soil, then wait until it all dries out.  

Some people think that drenching a plant will drown it, so they don't water enough and the plant becomes an underwatered wreck.  Be generous with water.  Then wait for it to dry up and water again in a few days.  

And this is where experience comes in.  

The best thing you can do is follow all these instructions and do your very personal best when it comes to your Rose.  But expect to make lots of mistakes.  It's a great way to learn the art of gardening.  

Since you are so smitten with the Rose bug, why not pick up a 5-star book on the care and feeding of America's favorite flower: "A Year in the Life of a Rose: A Guide to Growing Roses from Coast to Coast" by Rayford Reddell, which includes instructions on customizing your care according to the local climate -- which is a great idea.  

Remember, I am only the Long Island Gardener and all that I grow is here on the opposite end of the continent.  If I had that book on my shelf, I would pick it up right now.  Come to think of it, maybe I will order it.  

The book is available from Amazon.com for $23 plus s/h (but for an extra $2 they'll throw in s/h for free).

Any more questions?