Roses Plant Memories - Marion County
Roses Plant Memories for Indiana Gardeners
By Gail N. Hunt
Master Gardener
Purdue Extension-Marion County
Among the many flowers spanning their memories since childhood, most gardeners think of roses. Whether you admired your grandmother's carefully tended hybrid teas from a distance or fingered the velvet petals cascading from a neighbor's fragrant floribunda, roses hold meaning for you.
Roses have undergone much breeding and hybridizing, resulting in improved disease resistance and a wider choice of color and habit today. Adding a rose or two to your landscape will provide pleasure for generations.
Three kinds of roses are identified by growth habit: bush, climbing and shrub roses.
Size varies in bush roses, from miniature roses six inches tall to six-foot hybrid teas and grandifloras. The hybrid teas from grandmother's garden are more popular than any other with their large, fragrant blooms. With care they often survive most winters.
The floribunda blooms profusely in clusters. The flowers resemble small hybrid teas. Floribundas seldom reach more than four feet in height.
Crossing the floribunda with the hybrid tea, plant experts have produced the grandiflora, which bears small clusters of large flowers on plants up to six feet tall.
Miniature roses, as the name implies, range from 6 to 18 inches tall, flowering in smaller versions of the larger-blooming types.
To produce a tree rose, growers graft a bush rose onto an upright trunk. Ranging in size from three to six feet, tree roses are useful as specimens, in containers or as accent plants. They require special care for the winter.
Some roses are classified as climbers; they climb, trail or ramble, spreading canes that range from 5 to 20 or more feet long. Everblooming climbers flower in the spring and sporadically thereafter. Newer varieties often have more continuous bloom and are more winter hardy.
Ramblers grow rapidly, sometimes 20 feet in a season. Although the flowers may be only two inches across, they bloom in dense clusters on one-year-old wood. Rambling roses are winter hardy but some are susceptible to powdery mildew disease.
In contrast, large-flowered climbers grow slowly, produce large blooms twice a year and require attention in terms of pruning and support.
Trailing roses, which make good wall or bank plantings, have small, abundant flowers that often produce colorful fruit, known as rose hips, that can last throughout an Indiana winter.
Shrub roses are the last major category. They have large, dense growth that needs little maintenance. They are often used for hedges and screen plantings. Some are wild, but others have been hybridized so various cultivars are available. The seasonal blooms are not spectacular but some cultivars are quite fragrant.
Once you decide which rose size and growth habit is perfect for that northeast view from the living room window or the sunny spot in the corner by the rail fence, be sure to consider plant hardiness, disease resistance, bloom form and color.
Plants are graded No. 1, 1 1/2 and 2. No. 1 roots and canes will be better developed and more numerous. They do not cost much more so No. 1 plants are the best buy.
Roses are sold bare-root or potted. Plant bare-root plants in early spring while dormant. Potted roses, usually more expensive and available in limited variety, can be planted over a longer period. In either case, look for healthy green growth. Discolored canes may indicate disease or insect damage.
The hardest but most important part of growing roses is preparing the site. Roses must receive at least six hours of sunlight every day. They must be placed at least two feet away from a building or solid barrier and not too close to trees or shrubs.
Four to six weeks before planting, dig a hole at least one foot deep and 18 inches wide. If planting more than a few, till or spade the entire bed. Most Indiana soils require incorporation of organic matter to increase drainage and aeration. Mix one part organic matter such as peat moss or compost with two parts soil and till.
A high phosphorous fertilizer will help grow strong roots. Take a soil test to determine the best fertilizer to use.
Apply one inch of water every 7 to 10 days throughout the growing season with a drip or soaker hose. Use 2 to 3 inches of an organic mulch.
Purdue publication HO-128 offers more information about selecting, planting and caring for beautiful, fragrant roses your grandchildren will remember.
Questions
Q. How do I control diseases and insects that attack my roses?
A. Purdue publication HO-128 has a complete list of rose insects and diseases and how to control them.
Gail N. Hunt is a Master Gardener in Indianapolis. To contact a Master Gardener, call (317) 275-9292, or e-mail: marionmg@purdue.edu
Photo Credit: Steve Mayer
Photo Content: Rosa rugosa Frau Dagmar Hastrup, Frau Dagmar Hastrup Rugosa Rose
Purdue University, Indiana Counties and U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperating. An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution.
June 2004
