Growing Roses

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Growing roses will reward the time spent on them, because their root system is quite resilient.  There is a rose to suit every landscaping situation, from ground covers to shade.

It is feasible to make a truly beautiful garden by having and doing nothing other than growing roses.  Modern roses are the only garden plants which flower for nine months of the year, bringing almost everlasting colour to gardens.  In addition, they are long-lived.  It is not uncommon to see some gardens growing roses that are over 80 years old.

 

 

Roses can be used as living fences, tall screens or hedges, as borders, in mass plantings for colour, to cover columns or pillars, to dress up walls, to cover ground and for shade in small areas.  Fences made from growing roses are cheaper than paling ones.  They last longer and, thanks to thorns are impenetrable.  Growing roses may be found on their own or among shrubs, perennials and annuals, where they receive a minimum of five hours of sun.  Miniature roses,can be very attractive when growing amongst their bigger sisters, especially if they are of contrasting colours, as the rose tree pictured at right.

 

Roses are the Beauties of the plant world although they are a relatively high maintenance flowering plants.  You will need a well prepared loamy soil, efficient drainage, mulching, bi-annual fertilising and pest and disease control if you want to have growing roses in your garden that look absolutely stunning.  Roses like growing in soil which has a clay subsoil, but like anything else roses don’t like growing in clay.  Because these plants prefer a soil with good drainage, roses like growing in sandy soils if organic matter is added.  In pure sand dig a trench about a spade and a half deep and a little wider.  Line the base (not the sides) with plastic.  Fill the trench with one part sand and three parts organic matter.  The organic matter is prevented from being moved away from the roots of the growing roses by the plastic.  Sandy soils enhanced with organic matter are the best for drainage but the one drawback is that need more frequent watering.  Yet a further drawback is that roses will not tolerate wet soils. 

 

Gardener's Supply Company Greensand 5 Lbs. Fertilize your roses with Greensand, to prolong their blooms next year. Roses and other flowers thrive on this product called Greensand because it supplies marine potash, silica, iron oxide, lime, magnesia, phosphoric acid and 22 trace minerals. It's also a boon for tomato lovers, because it has the vitamins and minerals that tomato plants need to produce abundant, intensely flavored fruit. Improves plant health Loosens heavy clay soil Earth-friendly and 100% organic Apply 2-4 lbs per 100 sq ft.

 

Growing Roses as Climbers:

These roses are pruned in the summer however, not in the first year after being planted.  They may not flower that year because they were already pruned prior to them being sold.  This was probably done as a necessity for handling purposes.  Regrettably it cuts off the wood that will carry flowers in the next year.  Train growths horizontally by tying them in place rather than allowing them to grow upwards.  Prune immediately after flowering (usually May) and cut flowers or remove spent heads as for other growing roses.  Old canes are removed only in winter when the growing roses are dormant.

From GardenExpress, one of our most trusted Australian suppliers, you'll find a  very useful and comfortable, light pruner, perfect for cutting roses and flowers, it holds the stem as you remove flowers from the bush.  Once on their website, just go to "Tools & Accessories" then click on the 'Felco products' icon, then scroll down the page.

 

Transplanting old Growing Roses:

A few weeks before the move, dig over the new site to about spade depth, when the soil is just damp and has lost its stickiness.  In cold, wet winter areas, this is best done in late autumn.  A layer of compost, decomposed almost to a soil-like condition may be mixed in with the soil at the same time; but do not add fertilizer.  However, a handful of garden lime or dolomite may also be added, per square metre, especially if the soil is acidic.  The soil should be left in its roughly dug state in order to aerate.

 

After digging around the growing roses with a spade and lifting them, trim all the roots with sharp, sterilized secateurs or pruners, and then cover the roots to prevent drying out while the new hole is being prepared, now that the size of the root ball is known.  Make the hole no deeper than to bring the growing roses to their previous depth but wide enough to take the full spread of the roots.  Rake surplus soil in a ridge to create a water holding depression around the rose plants.  Spread a layer of leaf mulch, or dead grass before watering.  Do not feed for two or three months after new spring growth commences.

 

Replacing Old Growing Roses:

It is unwise to plant a new rose or transplant an old rose to where other roses have been growing, as soil-borne organisms can cause what is known as ‘rose sickness’ in the new rose.  However, this can be overcome by removing as much of the old roots as possible also removing at least half a barrow of the soil, which should then be replaced with new soil, mixed with friable compost, from another part of the garden where there haven’t been any roses growing.