Roses, Roses, Roses
Roses have captured the hearts of many gardeners over the centuries, and with good reason. The sheer volume of categories, varieties, colours and beauty have left most of us gardening aficionados with a lust for yet "One More".
The Latin name (scientific name or botanical name) of a rose consists of the genus name Rosa, followed by the species name.
Here are some examples:
- Rosa canina (the dog rose)
- Rosa palustris (the swamp rose)
- Rosa multiflora (a rootstock variety)
- Rosa rugosa (wild rose)
Planting Roses
The best time to plant roses is in early Spring or mid to late Fall. Spring planting is done after all danger of a hard freeze is past, but you should still protect your rose from heavy frosts. Once your area frost date is past, your rose will start putting out new roots and shoots, and leaves will start appearing.
Frost Dates for Canada - Old Farmers Almanac
Frost Dates for U.S. - Old Farmers Almanac
Europe Hardiness Zone Map
British Isles Hardiness Zone Map
When planting in the Fall, ensure the rose has a good chance of going dormant for the winter but not getting frozen to death, which means a planting time of 4-6 weeks before ground freeze. The rose will be growing new roots in that time period, and will get a head start when Spring rolls around.
Soil
Roses prefer well drained soil amended with composted matter. Roses like neither sandy nor clay soils so if you have either of these types of soil, dig the hole for the rose bush about 2 times larger than needed and mix in composted soil with your regular soil to get it to where the roses will thrive. If your soil is in fairly good shape, then mix the soil dug from the hole with composted manure - hen, cow, fish (or mix em up) at a rate of 50/50 (50% natural soil from the hole and 50% composted manure).
Bud Union
The swelling at the bottom of the rose stem from which new canes emerge. Plant the rose bush with the "Bud Union" a couple of inches above the ground if you are in Non-Freezing zones. In colder zones, plant the shrub with the "Bud Union" just slightly below soil level, not more than a couple of inches.
Planting Hole For Bare-root Roses
Dig the hole about 2 feet wide by 2 feet deep. Mix your soil as instructed above, and mound the soil up in the bottom of the hole to make a cone shape. Spread the roots of the rose over this mound... you'll have to make the mound of soil high enough so that the bud union is either slightly above or slightly below ground level, depending on your zone. (See above) Mulch to discourage weeds and maintain soil moisture.
Planting Hole for Potted Roses
Planting a container-grown rose is much easier than a bare-root rose. Just dig a good size hole, about twice the width and depth of the root ball, amend the soil the same way as mentioned above. Remove the rose from the pot, place the rose in the hole, making sure the bud union is at the proper depth (see above), fill in with amended soil, and water deeply. Again, mulch to discourage weeds and maintain soil moisture.
Sun Exposure
Roses prefer Full Sun - at least 6 hours a day - but will do all right in partially dappled sun or shade in the latter part of the afternoon. Do not plant Roses where they get morning shade, as this will increase the chance of disease... the sun needs to dry morning dew off the plant as soon as possible and, as well, good air circulation is also important to disease prevention.
Fertilizing Roses
Roses need a Lot of food if you want them to do their best. Roses are heavy feeders so if you don't forget about fertilizing, you'll be amply rewarded. Here's a little fertilizer primer:
- Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K) are the three major ingredients needed by all plants, in varying proportions, to grow and thrive.
- Fertilizers, by law, have a numerical N-P-K ratio printed on the container.
- Fertilizers may consist of organic materials (previously living plant or animal matter which are generally slow-release, as they need to decompose to release the nutrients)
- Fertilizers may consist of In-Organic materials (man-made compositions, formulated for different speeds of release, but generally provide immediate food source)
Roses use each ingredient at different times of the growth and blooming cycles.
- Nitrogen (N) is needed for early spring growth of stems and foliage, as well as for constant supply throughout the entire growing season.
- Phosphorus (P) is for roots and blooms; a higher phosphorus food should be applied from 3 weeks before blooming until bloom time finishes.
- Potassium (K) provides health for the plant, it helps Nitrogen and Phosphorus to do their jobs. It promotes hardiness to heat, drought and cold, and so is a good supplement just before the dormant season.
The ideal N-P-K for Roses is 6-12-6
When and How to Fertilize Roses
For newly planted bare root plants, take care not to burn the tiny new roots. Amend the soil with organic matter at planting time, then wait until after the plant has produced its first blooms to apply chemical fertilizers. By then the roots should be large enough to accept chemical fertilizers without burning them. First, water the rose well, apply the fertilizer, then water well again. You can start feeding regularly, but be a bit cautious - use weaker strength fertilizers more frequently to be safe, and to ensure your plant has an adequate food supply.
For established Rose bushes, start fertilizing immediately after early spring pruning. Add Organic amendments to the soil and as the weather warms up, the organic matter will break down, adding the nutrients to the soil slowly and consistently throughout the growing season. You can replenish your organic amendment as needed. Here is a recipe you can use for your own amendment, or purchase one that is specifically formulated for Roses.
* 1 cup bone meal or superphosphate (0-20-0)
* 1 cup cottonseed meal
* 1/2 cup blood meal (or just increase the bone meal if you don't like blood meal)
* 1/2 cup fish meal (if you can't find fishmeal, substitute with fish compost)
* 1/2 cup epsom salts (magnesium sulphate)
First, water the rose bush thoroughly, then spread the recipe evenly around the bush, under the drip-line (outer perimeter). Scratch it lightly into the top 1 to 2 inches of soil and again, water in well. In warm climates with long growing seasons a second application is beneficial in early September for the fall bloom cycles.
About two to three weeks after spring pruning and adding organic amendments, new growth will appear. Chemical fertilizers can then be applied and will provide an instant food source for the heavy feeding period.
Rose Diseases
Black Spot - caused by the fungus Diplocarpon rosae. This disease cause the bush to drop all of it leaves by late summer, early fall. It can cause the canes to die back and/or develop canker. A severe winter can kill the rose bush in this weakened state.
Symptoms: Circular black spots appear mainly on the leaves’ upper sides and infected leaves turn yellow and fall prematurely. If the cane becomes infected, it will produce a reddish-purple spot. Pale flower color may also occur.
Black spot is spread by splashing water. Infection occurs after leaves are wet for several hours, and is more serious during wet, rainy periods.
Control: First of all, a thorough cleanup in the fall is a must... rake up and destroy all diseased leaves fallen on the ground. Prune ALL of the diseased canes by cutting several inches into good wood. Spray with fungicide in the summer before the leaves become spotted and continue through until frost. During rapid leaf growth or during rainy weather, it will probably be necessary to spray the plants twice a week. When growth is slower and there's less rain, spraying every 7 to 10 days is usually enough.
Powdery Mildew - caused by the fungus Sphaerotheca pannosa. Causes young leaves to curl and turn purple and the canes may become distorted and dwarfed. If seriously infected, the rose bush can die and as well, badly infected buds won't open.
Symptoms: Leaves, buds, and stems are covered with a white powdery coating.
The white 'powdery' growth on the leaf surface contains thousands of fungal spores which the wind can carry to young leaves. spreading the infection. Mildew develops rapidly during warm, humid weather but powdery mildew from other plants won't infect roses.
Control: Again, a thorough cleanup in the fall and/or spring is a must... rake up and destroy all diseased leaves fallen on the ground. Prune ALL of the diseased canes by cutting several inches into good wood and then apply a fungicide. Taking these measures will limit the initial growth of fungus. During the growing season, continually clean up and destroy all diseased leaves as new growth is very susceptible. It is very important to thoroughly spray or dust the canes, upper and lower leaf surfaces and the growing tips. Treating the infected plants on a weekly basis should suffice, however during rapid growth or rainy periods, treat more often.
Blight - caused by the fungus Botrytis cinerea. This disease causes flower buds to droop and remain closed, and then turn brown and dies. Partially opened buds may sometimes become infected, and also an entire flower may be covered by gray fungus.
Symptoms: A smooth, slightly sunken, grayish-black lesion may develop just below the flower head. The bud is destroyed. It frequently hangs over at or near the lesion. The fungus may also infect stub ends of stems from which flowers have been cut.
Botrytis occurs when water remains on leaves or buds and is a gray fungus that usually lives on dying tissue. Any dead plant tissue can release thousands of Botrytis spores.
Control: Cut and destroy all infected blossoms as soon as they droop or die. Remove dead plant material to prevent large numbers of fungal spores and spray with a fungicide.
Rust - caused by the fungus phragmidium. Causes orange colored spots to appear on stems and leaves and when severe, an orange dust-like substance will be present on the plant on the ground around the plant. Rose rust attacks all plant parts except the roots and petals. Severely diseased leaves may turn yellow or brown and drop off.
Control: Good air circulation is essential so don't crowd the roses amongst other plants and shrubs. Prune your roses to keep the centers open and air circulating. Watering before noon gives the rose bush a chance to dry out, but try to avoid getting the leaves wet by watering under the plant. As always, remove and destroy diseased leaves and plant parts. Use a fungicides containing either ferbam, mancozeb, propiconazole or lime sulfur.
All Purpose Rose Disease Fighter
(from 'Rose Magazine'... http://www.rosemagazine.com/articles02/pages/rosediseases.asp )
Works to combat the "Big Three" (blackspot and mildew and rust)
Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped
3 - 4 cloves garlic, crushed
½ Jalapeno pepper, crushed
1 ½ tsp baking soda
Cheesecloth or fine mesh
Spray bottle
1 or 2 drops dishwashing liquid (or Insecticide soap) to help mixture adhere to foliage
Preparation:
1. Steep garlic, onion and pepper in 1 quart of warm water for 1 hour.
2. Strain the mix through the cheesecloth or mesh and retain liquid, add the baking soda
3. In spray bottle dilute 1 part of the strained liquid with 4 parts warm water and add the dishwashing liquid.
4. Mist plants lightly.
This recipe has the added benefit of repelling insects as well.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
So... Now that you know a lot more than most people about roses, it's time to start choosing your favourites.
There are Four basic groups of roses:
1. Shrub roses
(Old Roses, English Roses)
2. Hybrid Tea and Grandiflora (Modern Roses)
3. Climbing roses (Old Roses, English Roses)
4. Floribunda roses (Modern Roses)
Let's go to the next page to find out more about each type... ROSE TYPES
| 
