This calendar started as a handout for new members and grew every time somebody at a meeting said "you forgot to mention..." It's written for the suburbs around Philadelphia, where the last frost usually comes in mid to late April and the first one in late October. If you live up in the hills or down along the river, slide everything a week or two. And remember the first rule of roses: the plant hasn't read the calendar. Watch the plant.

January
The catalogs arrive and we all lose our heads. Read them by the fire, mark everything, then cross off half. Order bare-root roses now for April delivery; the good new ones sell out. Check that the soil mounds from November are still in place after any thaw, and that the climbers are still tied up after any wind.

February
Clean and sharpen your pruners, oil them, and buy a new pair of good leather gloves (the long kind, for climbers). Stock up on fertilizer and spray before the garden centers run low in April. Come to our pruning program at the February meeting.

March: Prune When the Forsythia Blooms
This is the old rule and it's the best one. When the forsythia turns yellow, usually the last week of March or the first week of April around here, it's time to prune. Earlier, and a late cold snap can kill the new growth. Then:

• Pull the winter mounds away from the canes gradually, over a week or two.
• Cut out anything dead (brown or black inside), anything thinner than a pencil, and anything crossing through the middle of the bush.
• Cut hybrid teas back to about 12 to 18 inches, just above an outward-facing bud, on a slant.
• Floribundas a little less hard, shrubs just shaped, and miniatures by about a third.
• Leave the once-blooming climbers and old garden roses alone until after they flower in June.
• Many of us put a dab of white glue on each fresh cut to keep the cane borers out.
• Rake up every old leaf and every clipping and throw them out. Do not compost them.

April
Plant bare-root roses as soon as they come. Soak the roots in a bucket of water overnight, dig a big hole, make a cone of soil in the bottom, spread the roots over it, and set the bud union (the knob where the rose was grafted) about an inch below the soil line. Water it in and mound loose soil over the canes for a couple of weeks until the buds break. Feed established roses when the new growth is a few inches long. And start spraying for black spot now, when the first leaves open, not in July.

May
Mulch two or three inches deep once the soil warms up. Spray every seven to ten days. Aphids show up on the new buds; a hard spray from the hose takes care of most of them. Roses want about an inch of water a week, deep, at the roots, in the morning. The first blooms open around Memorial Day, and every year it feels like a miracle.

June
Peak bloom, and our spring show. Deadhead faithfully: cut each spent bloom back to the first leaf with five leaflets, and the bush will send out a new shoot. Feed again after the first flush. Watch for the first Japanese beetles toward the end of the month and get the coffee can ready.

July
Beetles, heat, and humidity. Hand-pick beetles every morning. Water deeply, especially in a dry spell like this year's. Don't spray when it's going to be over 85 degrees, or you'll burn the leaves; spray at dawn. In hot dry weather, check the undersides of the leaves for spider mites (fine webbing, speckled leaves) and wash them off with the hose. Take a vacation in July if you must. Have a neighbor water.

August
The last feeding of the year goes on by mid-August, so the new growth has time to harden before frost. Keep up the spraying; black spot loves August. If you're planning to show in October, start choosing your candidates and disbudding them (pinch off the little side buds so the main bud gets everything).

September
The cooler nights bring the fall bloom, with the deepest colors of the year. Keep watering if it's dry. Keep deadheading through the month. Get your show entries ready, and fill out your entry tags in advance.

October
Our fall show. After that, stop deadheading. Let the last flowers fade on the bush and form hips; it tells the plant it's time to slow down for winter. Keep picking up fallen leaves. Don't prune now, no matter how leggy things look.

November: Tuck Them In
After the first hard freeze, which here usually comes some time around Thanksgiving, it's time for winter protection:

• Mound 10 to 12 inches of soil or compost over the bud union of every grafted rose. Bring the soil in from elsewhere in the garden; don't scrape it from around the roots.
• Cut very tall canes back to three or four feet so the wind can't rock the bush loose.
• Tie climbers firmly to their supports.
• Clean up every leaf, on the ground and on the bush. This is your black spot insurance for next year.
• Miniatures and own-root roses are tougher and usually just need some mulch.

December
Rest. Come to the holiday party. Put a new pair of pruners on your Christmas list, and a good rose book, and tell your husband exactly which one. Then start watching the mailbox for the catalogs.