If I Can Grow Roses, You Can, Too!

If I Can Grow Roses, You Can, Too!

Right up front, I am going to have to set the record straight. I am no rose-growing genius; far from it. If anyone has sent a pile of roses to plant heaven, it has to be me. Through much trial and error, I have finally come to terms with the Queen of the Garden. What I am going to write here might seem a bit unconventional, but it works for me. After all, I can only write from my own experience with this most beautiful and intimidating of plants.

Sooner or later, everyone wants a rose in his or her garden. The first thing most of us do, until we learn our lesson, is to run to the local discount store, do-it-yourself center or supermarket. They set up shop for the growing season, and we buy those roses that they sell. More often than not, we wind up killing them. Before we go into what works for me, I will let you in on something I learned fairly early on: Buy roses from reputable nurseries or plant centers, a place whose primary business it is to sell garden plants and supplies. The cost will definitely be higher than at the aforementioned places, but you will get plants that will have a better chance of surviving. And don't forget gardening catalogs, particularly those that specialize in roses. Be careful here, though; I might be a bit too cautious, but I purchase my roses from Northern sources. I want the toughest plants that I can get, and if you choose to buy from other sources, that is fine. I just feel I need all the help I can get.

Now, on to varieties. If you have never grown a rose before, or if you have had bad luck with traditional roses, you might want to try something besides the hybrid teas and floribundas. It's really easy to become discouraged early on, so why not wet you feet on something that is pretty sturdy, and easy to grow to begin with?

I am talking about hybrid rugosa roses, Canadian Explorer roses, and some of the other modern bush roses. Yes, there are alternatives, and lovely ones, to the hybrid teas. Please listen to what I have to say about some good roses for our region.

Today's hybrid rugosas are not those lousy roses that the discount catalogs used to sell as an alternative to fencing. Those roses, that shall remain nameless, suckered like mad. Once they were in, short of blowing up the yard, you could not get them out. Yes, hybrid rugosas will do some suckering, but not to the extent that cannot be managed. The newer varieties of rugosas come in different heights and colors, and most of them have a wonderful scent not found in many of the teas and floribundas. Overall, they are easily managed, and provide almost foolproof roses.

Rugosas thrive on neglect, it has been said. I do not spray my rugosas, and only cut back any dead canes, and the unruly branch or two that might be throwing the shape of the bush off. I do apply organic feeding several times a season, but not as much as with other varieties of roses. I find that if I fuss too much over rugosas, they don't seem to bloom as well. They are very hardy and disease resistant for me, and I do not provide the winter protection that I have to on some other roses. Another plus is that most of them bloom several times a season and insects such as Japanese Beetles and aphids don't chew on them as much.

Canada has gone a long way in rose research. Two very good types of roses for our Southern Great Lakes Region are the Canadian Explorer series of roses and the Morden roses. I have five plants of Morden Centennial in the front of my home in its own bed. That site is windswept in the Winter, and takes a while to warm up in the Spring. I do get some dieback, but they reward me every year with hybrid tea-like blooms in flushes during most of the Summer. As far as the Explorers are concerned, I have 'John Cabot', and am very happy with the results, which have been the same as with the Mordens. Once again, I do not protect these roses, and have not had trouble with them here in the North.

Some of the other shrub roses do well in our region. 'Bonica' and 'Royal Bonica' grow like mad. Another group of roses that do well here and in the Midwest are the Dr. Griffith Buck roses. These were developed in Iowa, and that can be a pretty harsh place for a rose to reside. All of them are hardy to at least Zone 5b, my zone, and there are some that are hardy into zone 4. These roses have a lot of variation: Some look like hybrid teas, some like floribundas, some are single, and some are old fashioned in appearance. There are quite a few varieties to choose from.

If you are into antiques, then try the once-blooming, but heavenly, albas, centifolias, and moss roses. Bourbons are nice, but they have not done well for me here. I don't even attempt to grow them anymore. Many of the old-fashioned roses have the quartered or cabbage rose form, and most of them are heavenly scented.

And now, for my personal favorites:

I absolutely adore the David Austin English roses. I have had mixed results with them, however. I find that some of them are not as vigorous as the other roses I have mentioned. Here it is definitely a case of trial and error. However, once you have grown them, you will be hooked! They have marvelous fragrance, and have been bred to bloom as much as the hybrid teas, which is one of the roses they are derived from. I have a beautiful plant of 'Fisherman's Friend' growing in my back yard, and 'Brother Cadfael' is there, too, along with 'Graham Thomas' and 'Mary Rose'. The culture is pretty much the same as for hybrid teas, and I do protect them in the winter.

As far as planting, growing, and all the other nuances of rose culture, I will tell you this is how I do it: I dig the biggest hole that I can, and when I think it's big enough, I dig some more and mix in compost and rotted manure. If the plant is grafted, that goes down a good three inches below the surface level. If the plant is on its own root, the lowest part of the canes is buried at least three inches down below the soil line. Another thing to remember is that roses do not like wet feet. I live on a small lake, and there are boggy areas, so I am careful of where I plant them. When considering a location for roses, plant them where they will get at least six hours of sun , with morning sun being the best.

I try to feed them before and after each bloom cycle, but stop about 8 weeks before the first Fall frost, roughly by the 10th of August. Again, I don't want you to think that this is etched in stone, because it depends on what type of rose you are growing. (I don't routinely fertilize rugosas that much). It also depends on what type of plant fertilizer you are using, and it should be organic to avoid build-up of salts in the soil. I have a mix that I use, and the roses thrive on it:

Rose Fertilizer, 15-30-30:

25.0 lbs. alfalfa meal
13.5 lbs. bone meal
30 lbs. greensand

Apply a heaping 1/4 cup for each plant, evenly around the base of the plant, and scratch it into the top of the soil. I also work in a tablespoon of Epsom salts around my roses before the first bloom cycle and after the first bloom cycle only.

Fertilize after frost when the leaves and new growth starts up, when the buds first start to form, and in July. Do not fertilize after August the 10th to avoid tender growth that will not have a chance to harden-off.

However you choose to feed them whether with the formula I have given or with a purchased rose food, and I hope it is organically, go by the recommendations.

As for insect and pest controls, there are many sprays and dusts that can be used, and at this point, I can only recommend using organic methods of disease and pest controls. I have several good alternative measures that I use against aphids, thrips, and other insect pests and diseases. After you finish this article, I have a list of organic helps and solutions listed here. There are several good online resources for organic disease and pest management, and I will give you the links here:

Links to Online Organic Gardening Supplies:
These are all active links:

Golden Harvest Organics
Gardens Alive!
Extremely Green Gardening Co.
Greenfire
Home2Garden.com

I find that if the plant is healthy, the bugs don't seem to dine on them as much. My major scourge is, however, the Japanese Beetle. I find that unless my neighbors put grub control of some sort on their lawns, these thugs come in and dine on my roses, anyway. The best control I have used as a deterrent is NEEM oil. Traps can actually attract more beetles, so I do not use them. If you wish to use them, place them well away from your roses and other plants that these marauders are attracted to.

Another good way to avoid disease and pest problems is to clean up the leaf litter each fall. Also space roses as recommended for good air circulation, and try to buy disease-resistant varieties to begin with.

Never water roses at night, and never water them overhead. Soak their bases. Not water them, SOAK once a week, and keep them mulched!

Pruning depends on the rose variety. The Austins are treated like hybrid teas, the rest I prune for shape. All of them are cut back by a third in early Spring, all except the once-blooming roses. I wait to prune these until after they finish blooming, because with once-blooming roses, this year's blooms come on last year's old wood.

Winter protection is usually done only on the Austins and with any rose that has lived less than two years in the garden. I put some fresh dirt (usually bagged black dirt) over the bases of the roses, and then I will add leaves over that.

That's all I do for my roses in a nutshell. It is the way that works for me, and these are the roses that I find work out well in my yard. They may not be hybrid teas or floribundas, but I do know that visitors seem to think they look pretty nice, though...

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