Roses: the perennial symbol of love. A single bloom worn on the lapel, a cluster on the wrist, waist, or bosom, all lovely displays of affection, esteem, and caring. A dozen long-stemmed red roses, boxed or wrapped, is the ultimate token of undying passion. Growing these flowers is not the foreboding task it seems! While the idea of a formal rose garden conjures up images of stately rows of bushes, one does not need to be a professional gardener with acres of free space to successfully cultivate beautiful blossoms.
Rose types: characteristics and maintenance
Hybrid Tea Rose: This is the rose that you purchase at the florist shop for Valentine’s Day. They bloom from early spring through the first frost. Available in a large variety of hues, from traditional solids to bicolor blossoms, they are readily available commercially. It works best to prune these bushes down to 14-18 inches in the early spring. When pruning (this goes for all rose types) concentrate on the three D’s: dead, diseased, and damaged canes. If you wish to thin the bush further, remove any crossing or weak branches. The flowers themselves are long and conical and grow one per stem. To get the biggest blooms, identify the main bud on each stem and carefully nip off any tiny side buds. Though the most prone to diseases, hybrid teas are the ideal cut roses.
Gardening Tips: Roses – Selection Care
Floribunda: This class of rose also blooms continuously through the growing season. However, unlike the hybrid tea, these roses grow in clusters and are shaped like saucers. In general they are hardier and more resistant to disease than hybrid teas and are useful as a flowering hedge.
Grandiflora: This bush combines the best of the hybrid teas with the best of the floribundas. It is hardy, disease resistant, and produces many flowers. The flowers themselves look much like hybrid tea roses and require the same care.
Old Garden Rose: This catchall category includes any rose that traces its history to before the introduction of the hybrid teas (1860′s). The ones indigenous to the southern US require little care. The northern species should be pruned once in the early spring and once again after the first burst of flowers has run its course.
Climbers: Climbers come in ever blooming and once blooming varieties. Ever blooming plants should be pruned carefully in the early spring, leaving new branches to grow whenever possible. To encourage continued flowering, cut back spent stems to 1/2 inch above the second set of five leaflet leaves. Once bloomers should be pruned after flowering. As the name implies, climbers need a trellis or other support system. Hardy varieties make an excellent ground cover — simply secure the canes to the ground.
General rose care includes feeding a balanced fertilizer or rose food three times a year: early spring, after the first bloom, and mid-August to encourage a fall flowering. Roses require a good soaking once a week and a light watering on the other days. There are many commercially available products to help control diseases and pests. Check the package for specific directions and follow them exactly! Like all chemicals, insecticides, fungicides, and other aides should be stored in locked cabinets.
Your location is very important when deciding which types of roses to purchase. While a good nursery will only carry plants that grow well in your area, a catalog may not specify a growing area. In general, hybrid teas do well in the northern US People living in the Deep South or the Gulf States would do better to buy Old Garden Roses, which are more tolerant of high heat and humidity.
Roses should be purchased for planting in the early spring (and/or fall in the southern US). The best time to buy a plant is when it is available locally. Once you get your bush home, unpack the roots and immerse in a bucket of water for 24 hours. At this time you can cut and remove any damaged canes. Prepare the planting space by digging the hole deep enough to bury the bud union (a knot or bulge in the main stem above which the plant starts branching) and mixing the loose soil with compost or peat moss. When you set the plant in the hole, make sure to spread the roots out. Fill the hole with the soil/compost mixture and tamp it down. Water thoroughly. When the water has soaked in, finish filling the hole.
While rose care may seem involved or difficult, the above instructions are really guidelines. Personally, I once let my hybrid teas go three years without pruning with no ill effects — and boy, do they get tall! And while I do buy commercial insecticides, I don’t use commercial fertilizers. There is really no reason other than laziness and lack of time. Yet, year after year, I get scores of gorgeous peachy-pink roses on my three bushes.
Now, a word for apartment dwellers. If you do not have a plot of land to call your own, it does not mean that you are to be bereft of the beauty of homegrown roses. Miniature rose bushes are available and can be grown in a container as small as a teacup. Purchase the kits from a reputable nursery or home and garden supply outlet, and follow the directions carefully. This is my first year trying minis in the house. I have five hearty seedlings from about 20 seeds planted in a four-inch pot. I hope to transfer the largest to its own container next week. Wish me luck!
Happy gardening!
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