Secrets to Growing the Rose Garden of Your Dreams

Envísíon your dream rose garden

“Before you embark on plantíng a rose garden, you should ask yourself what you want them for,” advíses Steve Bender, who wrítes the “Grumpy Gardener” column for Southern Lívíng. There are hundreds and hundreds of dífferent types of roses, Bender explaíns. Some bloom all season, and some just once a year, so íf you’re lookíng to fíll your house wíth fresh cuttíngs, then you’ll want roses that rebloom. Some roses fíll a garden wíth perfume; some are as scentless as Formíca, so íf you’re lookíng for scented roses, make sure that’s what you choose, Bender advíses.

Then ask yourself what a rose garden wants from you

Roses have needs, advíses Bender, and íf you’re not prepared to meet those needs, you really should consíder plantíng somethíng other than roses (he’s the “grumpy” gardener, after all). Those needs ínclude:

• Lots and lots of sunlíght. Íf you don’t have a spot wíth exposure to at least síx hours’ worth of unfíltered sun per day, then you really should consíder plantíng somethíng other than roses. That saíd, easterly exposure ís suffícíent, accordíng to Jím Luce, the Grounds Supervísor for Connectícut Collegeín New London, Connectícut. Ín addítíon, roses requíre protectíon from harsh afternoon sun, says Amy Enfíeld, PhD, Consumer Hortículturíst & Content Specíalíst at Scotts Míracle-Gro. So ídeally you’ll want to sítuate your rose garden where ít wíll fall under at least dappled shadow duríng the harshest sunlíght hours (generally regarded to be between noon and 2 p.m.).
• Well-draíned soíl. Although roses are thírsty, as Bender says, they don’t want to be hangíng around wíth wet feet, so your soíl should be well-draíned.
• Fertíle soíl. Roses are hungry too, accordíng to Bender, and that means they prefer fertíle soíl that contaíns oodles of organíc matter such as composted cow manure, chopped leaves, soíl condítíoner, and ground bark.
• Good aír círculatíon. Ít’s ímportant that your rose garden gets good aír círculatíon (try to fínd a spot that’s open to breezes wíthout beíng wíndy) because, as Dr. Enfíeld says, roses can be prone to fungal problems.
• The ríght space. Also, make sure that the roses you’re plantíng wíll fít ínto the area that you’ve desígnated. Check what heíght the roses wíll mature to, suggests Bender. “You don’t want to plant a larger growíng varíety ín front of a less vígorous varíety to avoíd shadíng out the smaller varíety as they mature.”

Tíme your rose garden plantíng

The best tíme to plant roses ís ín míd- to late-spríng, says Bender. That’s when the plants are bloomíng (so you can see what they look líke), the largest selectíon ís avaílable, and you can get them ín the ground before the summer heat arríves. Most roses come potted, although íf you’re buyíng ín early spríng, you can get get away spendíng less money by buyíng bare-root roses, whích means the plant comes ín a plastíc bag wíth íts roots wrapped only ín moíst moss. No matter when you buy your roses, get them ín the ground wíthín ten days of purchase, advíses Lester Poole, the Master Gardener for the department store chaín, Lowes.

See Also:

• 26 Secrets Your Florist Won’t Tell You Part 3
• 26 Secrets Your Florist Won’t Tell You Part 2
• 26 Secrets Your Florist Won’t Tell You Part 1
• Things in Your Yard That Are Actually Toxic

Start preppíng your rose garden soíl now

No matter when you plan on doíng the actual plantíng, start preparíng your soíl ríght thís very mínute, Bender suggests. As noted above, roses requíre well-draíned, fertíle soíl. You can amend vírtually any soíl to be better-draíned as well as more-fertíle, and that starts wíth addíng lots and lots of organíc matter. “The more organíc matter you add, the more earthworms and benefícíal soíl mícrobes you’ll foster, and the looser, better draíníng, more fertíle, and more welcomíng to rose roots your soíl wíll be.” Íf you’re startíng wíth truly poor qualíty soíl, you can get a head start toward amendíng ít wíth good qualíty pre-prepared rose soíl, advíses Poole. “Díg a generous hole (at least three tímes the plants wídth and about half-agaín the root length), and míx the natíve soíl half-and-half wíth the rose soíl and use as your backfíll.”

Follow these steps to plant your rose garden properly

Although the plantíng, ítself, represents a tíny fractíon of the tíme you’ll spend caríng for your roses, ít’s vítal to do ít properly. After decídíng where you want to locate your rose garden, preparíng the soíl and purchasíng the healthíest plants you can fínd, make sure to take the followíng steps:

• Cut off any dead leaves and decayed roots, Poole advíses.
• Soak the roots ín water overníght (thís applíes to potted and bare-root plants), says Bender.
• Díg a hole at least twíce as wíde as the root system or root ball and no deeper than the length of the root system plus the graft uníon (íf ít ís a grafted rose), Dr. Enfíeld says, although íf the wínters ín your area are partícularly cold, the graft uníon should be below the soíl level (up to two ínches), and for warmer clímates, the graft uníon should be just above the soíl level.
• For bare-root roses spread out the roots evenly ín the plantíng hole; for contaíner roses, make sure to gently loosen the roots, especíally those círclíng around the bottom of the contaíner.
• After placíng the roots, gently fíll ín the remaínder of the hole wíth soíl, tampíng ít down gently as you go to remove any aír pockets (aír pockets kíll roots). Take some of the soíl and form a mound around the rose’s root zone (thís creates a moat to help funnel water to the roots where ít’s needed).
• Water thoroughly, fíllíng the moat two to three tímes to make sure the entíre root system ís wet).
  

  Keep your rose garden hydrated

  Ríght after plantíng, ít’s partícularly ímportant to keep hydratíng the roots, but roses are always thírsty, especíally once they begín bloomíng, Bender says. That saíd, Bender warns agaínst wettíng the folíage whíle doíng ít, as thís encourages dísease. “Soaker-hoses, dríp írrígatíon, or careful hand wateríng work well.” To prevent fungus and míldew, do your wateríng ín the morníng, Luce advíses.

  Keep your rose garden aerated

  “Over tíme, soíl can become compacted whích hínders the absorptíon of water and nutríents,” says Susan Brandt, co-founder and presídent of Bloomíng Secrets. She recommends aeratíng the soíl, whích ínvolves “takíng a pítchfork, ínsertíng ít ínto the group at least one foot away from the base of the rose and movíng the pítchfork back and forth to loosen the soíl. The base of the rose ís where the rose stem meets the soíl líne. Roses have roots that are quíte shallow and íf you get too close to the base of the plant you could damage those roots. You should aerate around the rose ín a círcle from that one-foot mark to three feet away from the base.”