tips for growing roses
I learned the most important facts about roses from my grandfather and they go like this:
Roses are not fussy plants, if they have full sun exposure they will put up with conditions that few perennials can withstand: drought, heavy soils, extreme temperatures on both sides of the spectrum and even salty water.
If you are a passionate rosarian by all means go after the hard to find, hard to care for heirloom rose breeds, but if you want low maintenance plants that bloom all the time plant hybrids and landscaping roses, they perform very reliably.
For great effect use a mass planting of the same rose, rose bushes thrive when planted with their own kind and the use of one color enhances your landscaping design.
Have patience with roses, they need time to become established. Don’t get discouraged if they don’t bloom the first year, they are using all their resources to get acclimated to the new location. Some rose shrubs do the opposite and try to put out flowers immediately to ensure the plant’s future just in case the mother plant doesn’t thrive. Professional gardeners recommend to remove the buds as they appear so that the plant can use all its energy to develop a healthy root system.
If you want roses to bloom, feed them, they are hungry plants.
There are no roses for shade. There are some shade tolerant roses but don’t expect them to flourish if the location has less than 6 hours of full sun exposure a day.
The wilder the variety, the more resilient it is. Rugosas will create dense and thorny thickets and make up for the ruggedness with splendid clove scented flowers and beautiful bright orange hips.
Roses make wonderful neighbors and will blend beautifully with other perennials.
Don’t prune once blooming roses until after the flowers have faded. They bloom on old wood and you will remove all the flower buds.
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