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| A Rose is A Rose is A Rose… = = = = = = = = = = = = = Dear Casual Gardener, I want to grow roses but am completely threatened by all that spraying and work and stuff! Help me grow a rose! Signed, Rosie = = = = = = = = = = = = = Dear Rosie, A rose is a rose is a rose? I don’t think so! Roses can be difficult! My first experience with roses was when I was a kid back in my hometown – Kokomo, Indiana. My father was a “yard man” and liked a well-manicured lawn. He didn’t garden much beyond the lawn as he worked full time and managed a farm as well. However, he was fond of roses and grew a few Mr. Lincoln’s near the front porch. They were a deep red and smelled heavenly! I can still remember Dad pruning them very carefully and cutting roses for my Mother. Believe it or not, there are many roses that bloom all summer long. I am particularly fond of the newer varieties that don’t have a scent to speak of, but bloom, bloom, bloom all summer. They add a fantastic punch to the perennial bed and require little maintenance. My favorite rose of all time is The Knock Out Rose. If you go to this website – www.theknockoutrose.com you will see the varieties are quite abundant. There are single and double petal varieties as well as white, pink, hot pink and cherry red colors. What’s special about The Knock Out Rose is it’s innate ability to flower without deadheading. They typically require no spraying as they are remarkably resistant to disease and bug invasion. I do nothing to them all year long! In the Spring I snip back dead branches. That’s it. How much easier could it be? They are even tolerant of partial shade, although the preference is still full sun. Another wonderful variety is an older low hedge rose known as The Fairy. The Fairy Rose is simply incredible! It has a super ability to produce graceful clusters of charming pink, one to one and a half inch rosette blossoms from early summer until hard frost. For many months on end, this three foot shrub churns out long canes nearly overwhelmed by their bounty of bubblegum-pink blooms. A single spray is a bouquet! Again, there is no need to spray or do anything to it – just let it be and it will be quite prolific. The only requirement for The Fairy is full sun. It is more difficult to find climbing roses which have very little maintenance. They all require full sun and my bet is for any of the roses in The Canadian Explorer family. Several nurseries in the Chicagoland area sell them. My favorite is a pink named William Baffin. The reason they are special is they are particularly cold hardy and require no special “covering” in the Winter season. Tough roses to be sure! Planting a rose is easy - preparing the soil is key. Start by digging a hole about three times the diameter of the rose planting pot. Amend the soil with compost, rotted manure and fertilizer. In our Northern Region you should bury the grafting knob at the base of the plant about an inch below the soil surface. Mulch and water well. You are done! Happy Rose Growing! If I can do it – you can do it too! Go to the website and check it out! Please send your gardening questions for Shawna Coronado, The Casual Gardener to dearshawna@thecasualgardener.com or The Casual Gardener, P.O. Box 358, Warrenville, IL 60555 |
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