My Grandpa’s Trick to Healthy Roses Can Be Found in the Produce Aisle

Everything I know about gardening, I owe to my grandfather. I have fond memories of watching him work in his garden, prepping the soil for a fresh crop of veggies, and tending to the many flowering plants around his and my grandmother’s Connecticut property. He’d walk us through the rows of crops bursting with color, picking off snap peas and giving them to us straight away, the cool morning dew still on their skins.

He was as resourceful as he was passionate, often coming up with offbeat solutions for every garden ailment, whether that was keeping deer from nibbling his hostas (he swore by Irish Spring Soap) or preventing birds from snagging his prized blueberries. I have dozens of his tips documented — and now put into practice in my own Connecticut garden — but my favorite has to be his ingenious way of giving his roses a little boost. 

Of everything he grew, his roses are what he was most passionate about, and for good reason. They were fluffy and lush, and I can’t remember a single season where they didn’t just erupt in blooms. His secret to epic roses? Banana peels. 

High in potassium and other key nutrients like calcium and iron, banana peels are an inexpensive (read: free) way to add a boost of fertilization to your rose bushes. Roses are especially fond of potassium, which helps boost their immune system, strengthens the stems, and promotes increased bud production. My grandpa would chop up the peels into small pieces and add them to the soil around the plants a few times a season, including right as the plant was leafing out for the spring and around mid-summer. You can also add them to the hole when planting bare-root roses or replanting bushes into planters. 

Another bonus? This handy little banana hack can even help increase your rose bush’s tolerance toward aphids, which are the bane of every gardener’s existence. That said, make sure not to put whole banana peels into the soil, or even big chunks — doing so can unwittingly lure squirrels and rodents into your yard for a snack. 

I love that his trick helps me skip chemical fertilizers and puts to work a kitchen scrap we already have plenty of in our household. Even better, it works like a charm — every time I’ve incorporated banana peels into my care regime, my roses have rewarded me with fluffier blooms, more leaves, and even stronger stems. How’s that for a family legacy?