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Roses

Type of Roses

There are many different types of roses available on the market. To see a list of the roses we carry click here.

To keep roses blooming for a longer period of time, be sure to remove the hips, or spent blossoms. Be sure to pinch the stem back to the first branch that has five leaflets.

Hybrid Teas and Grandifloras
Free-branching shrub roses of upright or bushy habit, usually with prickly stems, mid to dark green oval leaves. The large, usually double, often scented flowers are borne on one- and two-year old wood. These roses are borne in flushes from summer to autumn. Good uses are as a hedge or in a formal bed, and for cut flowers.

Floribunda
Everblooming, free branching shrub roses of upright or bushy habit, usually with prickly stems and glossy, oval dark green leaves. Small to medium, single to fully double, sometimes scented flowers are often borne in clusters. These roses bloom almost continuously from summer to autumn on shoots from second year and new wood. Use in a border or as hedges.

Rugosa
Hardy shrub roses. Usually bright green leaves with medium to large, oval leaflets and prickly stems. Most bear single or semi-double, scented flowers in clusters throughout the summer and autumn, on shoots from second-year wood and on new wood. Use as hedges, for a bed or border, or as specimen plants.

Shrub
A diverse group, including modern hybrids, hybrid musks and English roses. Usually larger than hybrid tea roses, with often prickly stems. Produce leaves with medium to large, oval leaflets. The usually scented, single to fully double flowers are borne in few to many flowered clusters, sometimes singly, from spring to autumn from first and second year wood. Some varieties bloom only in cool weather. Ideal for a border or bed, or as edges; some are also excellent specimen plants.

Climbing
Often vigorous, with prickly, arching, stiff stems that climb. Dense, glossy, mid-to dark green foliage. Single to double flowers borne singly and in clusters are from second year wood, some bear on first year growth. Some bloom in spring or early summer only, while others bloom in flushes throughout the summer. Train against a wall or fence, or use to cover garden structures.

Miniature
Very compact, sparsely prickly, short stems. The leaves are small, lance shaped. Single to fully double, rarely scented flowers are borne in flushes from summer to autumn on first and second year wood. Ideal for edging paths, or for a raised bed, rock garden or container.

Soil

Good soil is essential for quality rose plants. If the soil is not properly prepared no amount of fertilizing, irrigation, or spraying will yield superior results. Soil not only serves to anchor a rose plant, it provides nutrients to the roots. Therefore, the soil must have a good moisture-holding capacity, yet allow excess water to drain.

To improve a soil that is too sandy or one that is composed of too much clay, the remedy is the same: generous amounts of compost must be added to boost its organic content.

Water

For best performance, roses need watering at all times during the growing season. Inadequate water slows or halts growth and bloom. Water deeply so that the entire root system is moistened. How often to water depends on soil type and weather.

Avoid getting the foliage wet, as this will encourage foliar diseases by keeping the foliage and the atmosphere damp. If you do sprinkle, do it early in the day to be sure foliage dries off by nightfall.

Fertilizer

Regular applications of fertilizer will produce the best results. Give roses their first feeding just as growth begins in the spring and continue until 6 weeks before the earliest normal hard frost.

Dry commercial fertilizer, applied to soil, is most frequently used. Many have a systemic insecticide mixed in that will help to control disease. Follow directions on package for amount and frequency of applications. Liquid fertilizers are useful in smaller gardens utilizing basin watering. Most liquids can also be used as foliage fertilizers - sprayed on rose leaves, which absorb some nutrients immediately.

Disease Control

Roses are susceptible to aphids, leafhoppers, spider mites, powdery mildew, black spot, rust and many others. Therefore, it is important with roses to take preventive measures instead of waiting until you see a problem. A spray program involving the following is advisable:

Insecticide: Kills harmful insect pests that either chew leaves or suck their juices.

Miticide: Spider mites are tiny creatures that build fine webbing among foliage and suck a plant’s juices. Ordinary insecticides are usually ineffective in controlling them, so a miticide is needed.

Fungicide: Helps to prevent fungi, such as powdery mildew, rust, and black spots from living on the plant.

Regardless of what kind of spray product you choose, ALWAYS read the label carefully before use, since dosages differ and even sprays made from "organic" compounds may be toxic to humans, pets, and fish.

Pruning

Reasons to prune roses:

To stimulate the production of new canes. The best roses tend to be produced on new canes.
To eliminate suckers. Suckers originate from below the graft, or union bud.
To control the plant’s height or shape.
To remove dead or crowded canes.
To encourage light penetration and air movement.

Before you start pruning, be sure you know what the pruning requirements of that rose are. Some roses bear their flowers on one-year-wood, or the growth of that year, while others grow on two-year-wood, the growth from last year. These require different pruning styles.

In our area, pruning should begin when the spring thaw begins and before the leaf buds have started to open out. Pruning too early can weaken the plants and might lead to pests, especially bores, to cause damage to the canes.

When making cuts to canes it is best to make them on a slant, pointing down from the opposite side of a leaf bud in order to shed water away from the bud. First take out all dead canes, then remove all undersized canes or "whips", canes less than the thickness of a pencil. Next, decide what lateral canes to keep for good shape and which to remove for good air circulation. When cutting, be sure not to cut more than 1 inch above a leaf bud. If the cut is make too high, dieback may occur in the exposed stump. If you cut too close to the leaf bud, a new lateral cane may fail to develop.

Group	Season	For Maintenance
Hybrid Tea, Grandiflora	Late winter or early spring.	Cut back main stems to 18-24". Remove weak, spindly shoots.
Floribunda, Miniature	Late winter or early spring.	Cut back main stems to 18-24". Remove weak, spindly shoots.
Shrub, Rugosa	Late winter or early spring. Summer after flowering	Prune main stems lightly. Cut back 1/2 to 1/3, as necessary
Climbing	Late winter or early spring.	First 2 years, rain stems but do not prune. After, prune to shape.
Groundcover	Late winter to early spring.	Cut back to outward-facing buds. Shorten sideshoots if overcrowded.