ROSE GARDENS
Tips on selecting the corrrect rose for your garden
So you’re shopping for roses? Maybe this is the first
rose to be added to the garden or maybe you’re an old
veteran looking to try a new type of rose. Either way the
questions you need to ask remain the same; let’s review
some of the basics:
What do I want this rose to do for me?
This is the primary question to ask yourself when choosing
a rose. It makes no sense to look at climbing roses if what
we want is a fragrant ground cover. I find actually sitting
down and writing out a list can help keep me focused and reasonable
in my expectations. If at the end of your list writing it
turns out that you want a fragrant, low maintenance groundcover
that grows in the shade, blooms all year, never needs pruning
and doubles as a weekend baby sitter, perhaps you need to
look at the wonderful selections of plastics and silks available
today! But a realistic assessment of your needs will almost
certainly find a rose for your situation.
Where do I plan on planting this rose?
We should note right here that if you don’t have a full
sun situation somewhere on your property, this rose thing
won’t work out for you (full sun being four or more
hours of direct sunlight- I know of a shrub and one climber
that will do with partial shade, but grudgingly). Is it going
in a prepared bed? On a steep bank? What is the existing soil
like? What climatic zone am I in? Answering these questions
will help pare down the search yet further.
How much time and care am I willing to
give my rose?
This is a biggy. Sure you want to grow old-fashioned bourbon
roses ‘cause Martha said they’re neat, but once
a week for ten minutes is probably going to make you unhappy
with your results (and your rose will be even unhappier).
A lot of the old fashioned roses offer great fragrance and
beautiful flowers, but these are the roses that made people
think that roses are high maintenance and they ARE. If daily
deadheading and regular spraying sound like fun I’m
the first to say have at it. Simply be realistic with the
amount of effort you are going to put in. If it’s less
than pet plants you’re looking for (i.e., daily care)
there is probably a close alternative that will work. Nowadays
there are roses for those of us who don’t want to do
anything to our roses, and they are darn good plants…
What other elements of man and nature
might affect my roses?
Is the site windy? Will salt be an issue, either from sea
spray or roadways? Will my Saint Bernard pull them out and
use them like chew toys? Will my Chihuahua piddle on them
until they give up the ghost? What animals, insects or diseases
might Mother Nature visit upon them? How can they possibly
survive my children? Kind of a catch-all category here but
if you don’t consider all these less tangible gardening
questions, your roses end up damaged or dead just the same.
Take the time to really look at these other small details
that can make all the difference in how your roses will look.
If it sounds as if I’ve raised a lot of questions here,
I have. By finding the answer to these questions, we can make
sure we have selected the right rose to handle whatever you,
nature and the rest of the world can throw at it…
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