The Common Garden Waste That'll Help Your Roses Thrive

Your roses may be hankering for some mulch at their bases to help hold moisture in the soil, provide additional nutrients, deter pests and disease, aerate the soil, and even easily eliminate weeds around your roses once and for all. You could head out to the garden center and buy some bags of mulch, or you could save money and reuse something you already have or can easily produce: grass clippings. The clippings as mulch will also help cool the temperature of the rose plants' soil.

Grass clippings are a great choice not only because they are free, but as an organic material that decomposes quickly, the clippings will deliver nutrients to your roses. That's why many homeowners prefer to leave clippings on the lawn instead of bagging them or raking them up. Since clippings contain nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous, which are the most common fertilizer ingredients, you might even save on fertilizer costs by mulching with this reliable organic matter. 

The first step to using clipping as much is knowing when and how to best use grass clippings. Roses will benefit from grass-clipping mulch when they are first planted, and subsequently every fall. With grass clippings, you'll want to repeat applications because the common recommendation is to use a thin layer of clippings—just 1 to 2 inches. Avoid a thick layer as they could smell and become matted, making it difficult for air and water to penetrate it.

Note a few other cautions around reusing grass clippings as mulch for your roses. Allow the clippings to dry thoroughly before mulching roses with them to avoid problems similar to those associated with thick application. Don't use clippings that have been recently treated with herbicides or pesticides. Avoid clippings from weed-infested areas that are likely to introduce weed seeds to the mulch. If you have clippings left after your roses are thoroughly mulched, you may want to consider additional ways to repurpose your lawn clippings for a healthier yard and garden.