How To Repurpose Grass Clippings For Thriving Rose Bushes

Roses are beautiful flowers, even if you're not looking into the meaning of each color. Aside from the emotional boost these colorful blooms bring us, rose bushes are aesthetically pleasing in yards and they're a clever way to cover a fence for natural privacy borders. Maybe the biggest perk is that you can pick the flowers to create bouquets for you and your friends. If you're a rose bush grower, you may already know the importance of mulching. What you may not realize is that your lawn is already providing you free mulching material perfect for your roses, in the form of grass clippings.

Mulch benefits plants, and roses in particular, by helping keep soil moist, ensuring your plants get enough to drink, even when it's drier out or you miss a scheduled watering. Soil stays cooler when mulched, which prevents dryness as well. On top of that, a good coverage of mulch will keep weeds from growing and competing with your roses for moisture. But before you go out and buy bags at your local nursery, we have a suggestion: stop throwing grass clippings away after mowing the lawn. This free byproduct is a great option for mulching your rose bushes. 

Mulching roses can help prevent fungal disease by preventing spores and soil from backsplashing onto plants while watering. Softer mulches like grass (compared with bark or gravel) help reduce backsplash even more. Because grass clippings are natural and organic, they're also rich in beneficial nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium — all things that help your roses grow beautifully. The only time grass won't be beneficial to your plants is if it's unhealthy — don't use yellowing or infected grass as fertilizer. While most lawn-based diseases won't spread to plants, it's better safe than sorry, and it will help avoid additional fungal risks. Also avoid grass that's filled with weeds and weed seed, like dandelions.

Use your mower attachment to collects grass clippings before dumping them out around the base of your rose bushes. Or, you can use our must-try trick that'll make picking up grass clippings easier. Mulch in February to April (depending on your USDA zone), spreading an even 1- to 2- inch layer as far as the bush is wide. Leave a few inches bare around the collar to allow roots to breath; you can mound mulch up during winter freezes to help insulate the plant. You can also combine grass with other organic mulches as grass tends to decompose pretty quickly, The addition of materials such as wood chips slows down the process. If have a container garden rather than an in-ground flowerbed, don't worry — you can add lawn clippings to roses in pots as well.