Can You Grow Roses?

If you follow only most of the advice in this book, you will certainly be able to grow the queen of flowers.  If you follow all of my suggestions, you'll have exhibition-quality blooms by the score, assuming, of course, that you can provide the right conditions.

As you'll learn in Chapter 3, roses have some basic requirements.  You can get around some; others are impossible to circumvent.  For instance, water.  If you haven't a ready water supply or if you won't use what you have, don't plant roses, for they're insatiable drinkers.  If you get little or no sun in your garden, roses probably aren't for you either, although I've seen people manage to produce sensational roses with what must surely be minimum direct sunlight.

If you have inherited rosebushes without knowing their history, the first thing you should do is find out what varieties they are.  Plan to get rid of whatever you don't like and to coddle those you want to keep.

Most modern rosebushes come with a metal I.D. somewhere near their bud union.  Look for it.  If the tag has been exposed to the elements for a long time, the paint may have weathered off.  Even so, you can usually feel the letters, since most are stamped into the metallic disk.  If there's no identification whatsoever, wait until the bush is in bloom; then either look it up in a book or, better yet, ask an American Rose Society consulting rosarian to have a look.

Don't make the mistake of keeping varieties that you don't like; it makes no sense to give rosebushes the care they deserve if you aren't swept away by their blooms.  After all, the least expensive part of growing roses is buying plants; bushes cost far less than the nutrients and spray materials they require, to say nothing of your valuable time while ministering to them.

Start taking good care of whatever you keep, applying the tips from Chapter 4, especially those on fertilizing.  Regardless of when they were last fed, it's safe to assume that roses are hungry.  They'll be thirsty too.

Drastic measures might be necessary at pruning time, just to correct mistakes that someone else made.  Neglected rosebushes have gnarled, grayish brown wood that you should hack out without a second thought.  Even if you have to lop off half the bush, get rid of wood that's past producing.  Bushes that are too tall should be shortened and thinned; those that have been pruned too enthusiastically should be left alone to reach heights where they'll bloom comfortably.  Local rosarians will advise what to do to which, but start by taking Chapter 8 to heart.

You just may have inherited some old roses in addition to modern varieties.  I did.  When I bought the property where I grow roses commercially, some dilapidated Victorian buildings came with it.  The first time I looked at the old farmhouse, I noticed a huge rosebush on its west side.  At first, I thought it was a hedge, but when I got closer I realized it was just one overgrown shrub.  Even though I had no idea what variety it was,  I made a mental note to take it out and replace it with something more civilized.

When pruning time rolled around and I stripped the bush to get a better look at it, I realized that I had better leave it just where it was since it camouflaged drainage and water pipes, and, more recently, propane flex-lines.  I shaped the bush and left it alone.  I've since learned that it's Rosa laevigata, better known as the Cherokee Rose--Georgia's state flower.  It has five-petaled, white flowers and apple green foliage, and it is a sight to behold every May and early June.

Old rose varieties make their contribution to the garden, mostly in landscaping.  I'd never give up my modern roses for them because I need a succession of blossoms from spring through fall.  Most old garden roses have only one bloom--early, abundant, and spectacular--after which they're occasional repeaters.

If you are ready to add roses to your garden, I'll suggest varieties to suit your particular landscape, tell you about growing roses in containers (a nice solution for those with limited space), suggest how to crowd in more rosebushes when you seem to have run out of space, mention the advantages of mixing varieties or sticking with one or two, and make some general comments about probable size and height of bushes, though you'll learn that where you live makes a huge difference.

If you are an aspiring rosarian and have not yet established bad habits, you are the ideal reader of this book.  You can buy, plant, and maintain roses properly from the start.  If you already grow roses, but aren't satisfied with them or their yield, you will find that it's not too late to adjust techniques.  If nothing more, concentrate on the chapter on cutting and at least get extended life from the blooms you're already producing.  Or if your bushes are disease ridden by midsummer every year, you might give in to trying chemical sprays, using the safe but effective spraying methods I suggest.  If you're never going to be satisfied with the roses you have because they're the wrong varieties, it might be wise to replace some of them with surefire winners I propose in Chapter 9.

Everyone has some place for a rose.  If nothing else, there can be a potted miniature on a window ledge, though I'm going to try to talk you into much more.