Rose bushes are the pinnacle of backyard gardening. Nearly everyone imagines their yard being filled with beautiful, fragrant blooms, and those who have successfully planted and nurtured roses earn a fair bit of envy from those who are too intimidated to try planting rose bushes.
While roses can be somewhat particular, they aren't beyond the gardener who does a little research and preparation before planting. And the reward of having beautiful roses in your own yard is well worth whatever work they require.
Rose bushes come in several varieties: shrub roses are very popular used in flower beds; climbers are used on arbors and fences; landscape roses can be used as ground cover; miniature roses are perfect for containers.
Beyond these distinctions in size, roses are available in just about any color you could imagine. Red and yellow roses are the most common, but you can also find lovely peach, white, lavender and orange blooms, in addition to variegated petals. There are many sub-categories of roses including hybrid teas, floribundas, David Austin roses, Old Garden roses and many more. These distinctions matter to the hard-core rose enthusiast, but if you're only planting a couple of shrubs or a climber in your yard, you probably only care that the flowers are pretty, smell nice (or don't smell at all) and are relatively easy to care for.
The first step for making your roses happy is to plant them somewhere where they will get a lot of sun. Six hours is really the minimum for most rose varieties, and they won't complain if they get full sun. An east-facing plot is perfect for roses because the morning sun is a little less harsh than that in the afternoon.
Well drained, slightly acidic soil full of organic matter is the best place to plant your roses. The roots need lots of room to spread out to establish the plant, and they don't like growing through hard, clayey soil. Planting your rose in the right place will set it up for success.
Those roses referred to generally as shrub roses are usually the easiest to care for, so unless you have a special situation that requires a climber or a landscape rose, stick with the old reliables. which still give you tons of options in terms of color, fragrance and size.
The best way to find the best rose bush for you is to go shopping, or, more accurately, browsing. You'll want to look at a lot of roses before you settle on the one (or ones) for your yard. Searching online and looking through rose catalogs is fun and can be helpful, but the best way to find roses that grow well where you live is visiting a local nursery that stocks a lot of roses.
The best time to buy and plant roses is in early spring, so it's not like you're going to see a lot of blooms when you go to the store. But many rose plants have little plant tags with pictures on them that will show you what the color will look like. Alternatively you could carry a catalog or rose reference book along with you and look up each variety as you see them in the shop.
Choose a rose that you will bring enjoyment to you and your family. Look for a rose in your favorite color or one with a huge floral fragrance that will make you smile whenever you pass it. There's no reason to grow roses if you aren't going to feel joy at having the roses around, so take your time and buy your favorite rose bush.
You will find roses sold in bare root and potted varieties. Bare root just means there is no soil around the roots, while plants in pots have soil. Bare root plants tend to be less expensive, but potted plants seem to survive a little better, probably because there's less of a chance the roots will be damaged when they are surrounded by soil.
When planting your rose, dig a hole about 15 inches deep and 18 inches wide. If you're using a bare root plant, mound a little dirt in the bottom of the hole for the roots to spread out on. The plant should be positioned so that the ball or joint where the canes are grafted together is just at the soil level.
If planting a potted rose, make sure that the rose is only as deep as it was in the pot. Planting roses too deeply is a big cause of failure. You should water your plants well and deeply, at ground level rather than with a sprinkler, to help the roots grow strong. The main nutrient roses need is phosphorus, which you can apply to the soil chemically before planting, or supplement regularly simply by planting your empty banana peels around the plants. Works like a charm!
rose bushes
