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A common myth about roses is that they are “hard to grow”. This is just wrong; some varieties do require more maintenance than others, but roses are easy to grow and can provide decades of beauty and enjoyment if suitably placed, planted and cared for. A new rose bush, like other plants are like a new baby, while it requires a lot of love and attention at first, it will grow stronger and more independent with time and you will surely be proud.
Need plenty of elbowroom ~ Plan to give roses adequate space to grow to their full potential size and still allow air to circulate all around them. Average size roses will need at least a 4’ x 4’ area to grow and fill out. Plan for giving yourself some space to access them without getting bit from their thorns. They will not tolerate root competition, especially from heavy feeders like grass. Short dwarf shrubs or non-invasive perennials planted around them will help to hide the bare knees of taller roses. Avoid planting them in an area where they will be sprayed by irrigation or water drips off the roof near them. Turn on the sunshine ~ Roses must be given six or more hours of direct sunlight per day. Plant to plant them in a southern or western exposure for best results. Dig it ~ Make sure to dig a hole that is at least two square feet for your new rose bush. Build a small mound of dirt in the center of the hole and spread the roots out on top of it. In our cold NH climate, the roots should be buried just slightly deeper than it was growing in the pot. Rich is good ~ As for soil, they prefer it to be enriched with plenty of organic matter as well as being well drained, loamy and slightly acid with the pH between 5.5 to 6.5. Prepare the soil using generous amounts of compost, peat moss and manure mixed with good quality topsoil. Cover soil with a 2-3’ layer of bark mulch to discourage weeds and keep the soil from drying out.
Heavy drinkers ~ Roses like a good, deep soak to promote deep rooting and they will actually develop drought tolerance if established this way. Applying the water very slowly with a soaker hose or drip irrigation allows the water to soak in to the roots rather than running off, keeps water off the foliage and reduces the puddling that cause clay soils to form a hardened surface less able to accept water. It is best to water your roses in the morning, as much as needed so soil stays evenly moist and never becomes very dry. Avoid getting the foliage wet, watering only at the roots to prevent black spot fungus or other fungus from attacking the foliage. Frequent light watering promotes shallow roots that will depend on excessively frequent watering. Feed them three times a year ~ It takes a lot of energy to produce all those exquisite blooms for you. Fertilizer choice may vary depending on what type you like to use, Rose-tone, or other specialty rose food works well. The application rates vary, but you feed them when the roses first leaf out, then after the first blooming period, and a low nitrogen fertilizer six weeks before the first fall frost. Use only low nitrogen fertilizers after July 1st. It’s all about the soil ~ pH not just fertilizing, the pH measures the acidity or alkalinity of your soil. It's an extremely important consideration because of its affect on fertilizer. It is very often overlooked when trying to discover the source of a problem. If soil is overly acidic or alkaline, then nutrients are "locked up" in the soil and won't be available to the plant. No matter how much fertilizer you apply, it will be almost the same as not being there at all. < Insert subliminal message here - COMPOST! > Watch foliage for evidence of mineral deficiencies. Look for yellowing of leaves from lack of nitrogen, leaves turning grayish-green from lack of phosphorus, or browning of leaf margins from lack of potassium. Some soils are deficient in calcium. Calcium deficiency causes the margin of rose leaflets to turn brown, and then eventually the entire leaf dies and falls off. The flowers may be deformed, with brown spots near the margins of the petals. When these symptoms appear have a soil sample tested. Pruning ~ Whether you cut the roses to enjoy indoors or leave them on the bush to beautify the garden, pruning ensures strong re-blooming. By deadheading your roses instead of allowing them to form seed hips, you're signaling the plant to produce more flowers. It's also a way to continually prune and shape the plant. To dead-head a rose, no matter which type, rose leaves develop in sets of three, five, seven or nine leaflets. Look for the five leaflet leaves; these are where you'll want to prune. Try to sure to cut stems back to wood strong enough to support a new rose — at least pencil-thick is a good guide. If stems are too small they will either "go blind" (won't produce a bloom) or they will be unable to support the bloom's weight. Cut back to a stem portion strong enough to support a new rose - pencil-thick or more is a good guide. If stems are too small they will either "go blind" (won't produce) or it will be unable to support the weight. Make cuts at a diagonal, parallel to an outward facing bud. To produce extra large blooms on hybrid tea roses, disbud the plant when the buds are very small. Remove all but the one terminal bud on each stem. The terminal bud will then develop into a much larger than normal flower. The fun begins ~ Selecting which roses to buy. Consider all the different rose attributes: form, vivid or pastel color, sweet fragrance, pruning, maintenance etc. Some are even thorn-less. Many are named for famous people or a special cause.
Understanding the rose types will also aid in your selection: Hybrid Tea ~ most popular type of roses, classic cutting rose, large blooms set on top of long vertical stems, has a huge variety of fragrances Climbers ~ do need assistance to start the climbing habit. They are best grown on trellises, arbors, fences or other support. English or David Austin ~ hybrid crosses between old and modern roses, doubled, cabbage rose form, strong fragrance, casual cottage bush form, repeat flowering, great for informal landscaping. Floribunda ~ have clustered blooms, when cut can be an entire bouquet, shorter than a hybrid tea, bushy growth habit. Grandiflora ~ is a tall bush form, with large, beautiful flowers in multiple clusters on short cutting stems. Groundcover ~ easy maintenance, short and spreading type, great for quick color in a dry, sunny spot, plant close to cover quickly. Hedge ~ used as a screen, a rose that you could squeeze into a small space to grow together, usually easy maintenance. Shrub or Rugosa ~ low maintenance, tolerates harsh conditions, and has fewer disease problems, fast growth rate and quite vigorous, known to leave it’s boundaries. Miniature ~ are a small bush growing up to 2’ tall with delightful miniature blooms, great for use in decorative container gardens. Tree Rose ~ standard, grafted rose on top of long cane, focal point in a formal garden, requires special winter protection and support. Winter is coming ~ prune overly long branches back for most roses back so they do not become dislodged from the ground in the harsh winter winds. Tie the canes together if needed. After the ground has frozen, (not before) provide some extra winter protection by mounding straw mulch, shredded leaves or evergreen branches over the crown of the bush. Additional protection could include a rose cone or tying layers of burlap around the plant. Who doesn’t love spring ~ if the winter has killed some of the tips of the hybrid teas, grandifloras, floribundas, or English roses damaged tips can be pruned away down to the top most, outward facing bud. As for climbers, shrub, and ground cover roses, very little pruning is needed. Usually shearing the top 1-4” and removing any old, dry, brittle wood from the center will help produce new growth. Fungus ~ The "Big Three" of rose problems are blackspot, powdery mildew and rust, all of which are types of fungus. The common denominators of all three problems are: wet foliage, lack of air circulation, and improper sanitation. Blackspot occurs during humid or rainy weather or where watering (especially overhead) is excessive. Powdery mildew prefers warm days and cool nights, crowded plantings or damp, shady areas. Rust develops on moist foliage, so areas with heavy dew or fog are prone to this. Proper rose care, including plenty of sun, sufficient air circulation, proper watering and sanitation (remove old leaves and other debris) will minimize all three disease problems, but they may still occur especially when the weather is foul for prolonged periods. If detected early and treated with a fungicide none of these will spread out of control. See the page on Fungus Problems for more information. | |
