Of all the flora in my garden the roses are dearest to my heart. So it should come as little surprise that I have 82 varieties, growing in my yard. Cultivating roses takes a bit of fussing and patience. When you love something caring for it isn't work, it's a joy.
I've fallen in love with all of my roses, so I don't see them as work. I have in the past seen them as work. Here are some of the things I've discovered through trial and error, so hopefully you'll get more joy than work.
Light
Roses MUST have at least 5 hours of direct sunlight a day. Partial shade in the morning is fine so long as they have direct sun in the afternoon.
I was forced to move eight of my bushes because a tree had the nerve to grow, blocking the sun. What happened was puny growth, few blossoms, lots of rust and mildew. It was ghastly.
I nearly lost two of my favorites as a result. Please, Please..make certain your roses will have proper light.
Soil
Roses require rich soil. They don't like
clay one little bit. (I learned the hard way, again it was horrible)
Amend your soil where you are going to plant your bushes in three
foot circles, to allow for root expansion. Amending is adding
better soil to what you already have;
I use a combination of compost (mushroom is a good choice), and
aged manure (chicken is best) when amending the soil for new roses.
Roses don't like soggy conditions. If the drainage isn't good you will literally see them wilt. El' Nino gave me some trouble in this arena, even though I normally have great drainage. Please check for proper drainage, if need be dig deeper, add gravel and sand to provide the drainage the rose requires.
Nothing is sadder than a rose bush trying to throw out blossoms in poor conditions.
*In a large enough pot, even a grandiflora with flourish for you on a patio or balcony. Apartment or Condo living doesn't mean you can't have roses.
Picking your
rose.
There are six common types of roses on the market and many less
common. For time and space I'll only mention the ones you are
most likely to see at your local nursery.
1. Hybrid Tea - This is the most common variety. It comes
in an array of colors so there is plenty to choose from. The Hybrid
Tea gets to be about 3' tall and I've had them spread out to nearly
4' across. This variety can be used for long stemmed cut roses.
2. Floribunda - Floribundas toss out many flowers at the same time offering a breath-taking bouquet. They are slightly bigger than a Hybrid-tea, but not by much. Again the selection is nearly endless.
3. Grandiflora - This variety grows quite tall, up to 6' and about 3' across. They produce wonderous sprays of roses, and as with the others have a wide selection. This variety can be used for long stemmed cut roses
4. Climbing roses - Need the support of a fence, tree or trellis and must be trained up what you want them to climb on. Most are vigourous bloomers and are great in limited space.
5. Landscape and hedge roses - These are fairly recent. From what I've heard they are a lazy rosarian's dream. They require much less care, but more room.
6. Miniture Roses - Can be found most everywhere. I've found them
for much less and much healther at a nursery vs grocery. They
will tolerate being indoors for short periods of time..but prefer
being out of doors. I have seven varieties growing in large containers...They
can rival the size of floribundas and produce a carpet of small
blossoms for the entire season. If they had fragrance they would
be perfect.
*Please don't be fooled into thinking the mini-wonders can survive
in those itty-bitty pots...they can't for long.
If you don't like modern roses and long for a garden with the marvelous 'old time roses' Don't dispare there are ways to buy Old Garden or David Austin roses as well as some of the old favorites. It takes a bit of effort, but you will be happier if you purchase the type of rose you long to see. The Internet provides a number of Old Rose sites. (See Links)
When you are planning a rose garden take
into consideration many roses come in all but the miniture varieties.
If you see 'Iceberg' check to make sure it is what you want. Coming
home with a climber when you thought you had a hybrid tea can
be frustrating. You certainly wouldn't want a Hybrid Tea stuck
behind a Grandiflora.
Grading
When you go to buy your roses you will
be faced with Grading.
I was confused about this. Why does one bareroot cost $1.98 while
a similar bush costs $11.98 Well there are a number of reasons.
The $11.98 rose is a grade 1 rose who has passed strict grading
procedure. Grade 1 roses will generally do better in their first
season, and usually come from a well known company like Jackson
Perkins or Armstrong.
Grade One
Grade one roses are not all the same.
Make certain the bush looks healthy.
If the canes are brown and brittle, pass it over.
You want a bush with a hardy green appearance. Sprouting or bulging
eyes should be visable at purchase. (Bulging eyes resemble those
on a potato, and are found on the canes.) Over look bushes with
badly damaged leaves, broken canes, or those with less than three
canes.
When you buy a rose from a underling company there are a couple of risks you take.
1.The hybrid tea 'Honor' I brought home in 1996 thinks she's a grandiflora. She was in a patio container when I discovered her secret so it didn't pose a problem. I've had friends experience similar surprises.
2. Every once in a great while the package is mismarked..and the yellow w/salmon base rose you were expecting may be salmon w/yellow base. This is rare, but worth noting.
3. These less costly grade 1 roses are not given the care more prominent companies provide their plants and the nurseries don't dote on them as much so often they take a month or so longer to establish. Most of the time by the end of the season you are hard pressed to tell an expensive bush from its less expensive counterpart.
One and one half
grade roses and below
These are the $1.98 bin roses. As with any bareroot rose find
the healthiest bush you can. Also I would advise against lower
grade roses for the beginning rosiarn. Personaly I won't deal
with anything under 1 1/2, because my zone is too unforgiving.
1. These bushes were not up to standard in some fashion. (Generally size)
2. They often take an entire season to establish. Don't expect much the first year they are in the ground.
3. Mistakes in labeling are more likely, and they don't have tags so you will have to make one if you are to remember what it is.
4. These bushes take patience, lots of care and may still die.
*I purchased a number of lower grade roses last year. Of the ten I purchased, one died, and one needed intensive care for the entire season. The other 8 are behind in growth compared to their $4.98 first grade nonpatiented counterparts. On the upside, this summer they will have completely caught up, and again you will be hard pressed to pick them out of the garden.
*This year I bought 1 1/2 grade roses from Bear Creek Nursery, and they were bigger than the first grade I bought at another store. Lesson learned, always choose the healthiest bush available.
Bareroot vs Boxed
or Potted roses
Bareroot roses come with their roots wrapped in wet cedar chips,
paper and plastic. They have little or no growth, because they
were shipped dormant. They will do just as well as a potted rose
over the season. (Given proper care)
*Bareroot from a mail order company will come, 'bare root', no dirt. Plant it as quickly as possible. If the weather is not cooperating, wrap the roots in wet newspaper. Then put the entire bush in a dark plastic bag and store it in the coolest, darkest place you have.
Planting boxes seem to be all the rage. These cost more than the bareroot, but are easier to plant. You simply dig a hole to accomadate the box, water and back fill.
Potted roses have been in a green house
so they are often in bloom when they arrive at the nursery. They
have the advantage of strong growth, and are easier to transplant
into your yard. They also are hard to resist in full bloom, when
your bareroots are just peeking their heads up.
Again patience is your pocketbook's best friend.
If you are leary of buying a bareroot bush because the planting process frightens you, or you are very strict about seeing a blossom to make certain you'll like it; Then buy potted roses, otherwise bareroot are just as good.
*When buying potted roses inspect the
entire bush for insects, mildew, black spot and rust.
Avoid diseased specimens. A small amount of rust or mildew won't
hurt anything. Remove the damaged foliage and keep an eye on it
for further disease. Though I would chose a disease free plant
if given an option.
You certainly don't want to bring home insects and disease to
the rest of your garden.
Look around. I found 2 gallon potted roses for $4.97! Had I known,
I'd have waited and saved myself some time. (Smile)
Equipment
1. A sturdy pair of pruning shears - These are for dead heading and light pruning.
2. A pair of Lopers (long handled pruning shears) - These are for removing large canes.
3. A pruning saw - These are for removing canes you can't reach with pruning shears or a loper.
4. A good quality leather, gaunlet glove - These gloves have extentions at the wrist to protect your forarms. You can try to deal with roses with normal garden gloves if you chose. Personally I think the money spent on my Rose Pickers was more than worth it.
5. Knee cushion - After a couple of years I got tired of sore, muddy knees. The knee cushions are inexpensive, and quite nice.
6. Garden sprayer - If you are going to be tending more than ten roses bushes, the premixed spray cans of rose spray can get expensive. You may chose from a hand held spray bottle, a small pump sprayer or a larger version. My advice, pick what suits your situation. I have a two gallon pump to pressurize sprayer because of the number of roses I'm tending.
Planting a bareroot
rose bush.
Every bush you buy will have exactly the same directions. Follow
them, amend the hole with compost and you will do just fine.
Caring for Roses
At the beginning of the season, there isn't much to do, except wait. Once I see growth begin to appear I do a couple of things.
A. Between April and July, I pour one
quarter cup epsom salt at the drip line of each bush during their
monthly feeding. This encourages basil breaks.
Basil breaks are red growth which develop into new main canes.
There isn't a more joyful sight to a rose lover than to see strong
new growth on their bushes in the spring.
Growing seasons vary widely. My advice, apply the epsom salt at
the beginning of your season and continue 1 application a month
for four months total.
B. I put down a systemic fertilizer at the same time as the epsom salts, to get a jump on the insects.
C. I also spray my roses for disease at first sign of growth, to help ward off rust, mildew and black spot.
During the growing season I continue with the systemic fertilzer, in conjunction with 16-16-16 fertilizer every six weeks. Make certain you water the fertilizer in well, so it can do it's job.
I water my roses according to the weather. If we are having a cool summer, one good drenching a week is suffient. If the weather is scorching and dry, I may water them as often as every other day. When watering roses, remember they are deep rooted, long deep watering is the best. Avoid wetting the foliage above the bottom branchs. Wet foliage encourages, rust, mildew and blackspot.
I remove all dead or spent blossoms as soon as I see them. If you want your bush to repeat bloom, you have to take off the old blossoms. How you deadhead is just as important, as the act itself. You want to count up from the bottom of the stem three sets of five leaflets. Idealy you are looking for a set of leaflets which point to the outside of the bush. If the stem is puny or diseased, take the whole thing off at the next budding eye or five leaflet set.
So long as everyone stays healthy, I don't spray again until spring. This rarely happens. If you have to spray, remove all diseased folage and throw it in the trash. Then spray your bush from bottom to top applying the spray to the underside of the remaining leaves, one spray to the top and you are finished.
Moving Roses
If you must transplant a rose, as I had
to, because of poor light conditions or you are moving, here are
some tips for a successful move.
1. Do your very best to move them in the early spring or late
fall, when they are dormant. Moving a rose during the summer is
an iffy business and you are better off to wait. A small amount
of growth shouldn't be a problem early in the year and don't worry
about having to cut them back in the fall.
2. To reduce stress, prune the bush way back. I pruned my canes back to three and four inches. However don't shear the canes off at the bud union...you might lose it.
3. Dig two to three inches beyond the drip line. The roots of roses spread out beyond the foliage and you want to cause as little damage as possible.
4. Ideally have your rose's new home ready and waiting for it. Keep as much dirt from the old hole around the roots as possible. Remember plants don't move on their own, and new soil can be a shock along with being exposed to the air. If you can't have a hole waiting for the bush, wrap the root ball, dirt and all in a square of burlap and secure the top with twine. Keep the bush moist, not soggy and in a cardboard box until you can plant it.
5. I put 1/4 cup epsom salt, 2 Tbls of a high number fertilizer and 1/2 cup fish emulsion into each new hole then filled it with water before transplanting. Then water thoroughly when the bush is seated.
I didn't lose a single bush to transplant shock, and you'd be hard pressed to tell they haven't been exactly where they are for years.
Pruning
We'll end with pruning.
With a pruning shear, small garden saw and loper (long handled
pruner) in hand let's start.
Follow the directions for general pruning.
A. Remove all twiggy growth from the top.
B. Look for dead or dying canes and remove those next. Also any puny canes should go.
C. We want to clear the center of the bush for air circulation. Remove growth crossing the center of the bush.
D. Depending on where you live now we prune the canes we have left.
1. If you are in a mild climate where no frost is likely look for budding eyes facing the outside of the bush and make your cuts one quarter inch above them.
2.If you are in a frost zone or have severe winters you will want to prune your bushes accordingly. Cut the canes down to no less than two inches (I left most of mine at 4-6 inches) and mound with compost, covering the entire bush.
For further protection I suggest adding a layer of leaves or straw. After danger of frost has past remove the heavy blanket so the roses can grow. Leave the bud unions mounded to keep them from drying out.
Favorites
I love all my roses, but I do have some favorites.
'Barbara Bush' is a Grandiflora with marvelous form, light fragrance and blooms which last forever indoors or out. She has a marvelous combination of pink tones which continue to change as the bud opens.
'Honor' most often a Hybrid Tea offers wonderfully tight buds of pure white. She has a light fragrance with long lasting blooms.
'Intrique' is a Hybrid Tea of a marvelous deep fusia unlike I've ever seen. Her blossoms don't last over long, but while they are there..Oh My!
'Ingrid Bergman' another Hybrid Tea, is a deep nearly black red with glorious perfume. Large buds slowly spiral open to show a perfect double blossom. She is as stately and beautiful as her namesake.
'Arizona' is a Hybrid Tea of marvelous
shape and color. She looks like a desert sunset, shades of orange,
yellow and pink all swirled together with a mild perfume.
I'll stop here otherwise you will have my entire Rose Journal.
Since I only have a limited number of dupicate plants this could
get lengthy.
Links
Jackson and Perkins - www.jacksonandperkins.com
Springhill Nursery - www.gardensolutions.com
American Rose Society -
Bear Creek Nursery - www.bearcreeknursery.com