Choosing the Right Roses for Your Garden by Ron King The selection of roses you can grow in your home garden is enormous. With so many to choose from, finding just the right ones may seem more like work than play. To make this process easier, here are a few important factors to help you narrow down your field of choices. Color How will the color of your roses affect your garden? For color ideas, look at rose catalogs, at nurseries, and at your neighbors' gardens. You should consider the colors of nearby plants and flowers that will be sharing the garden. Will the assortment of colors look good together, or will they clash? For some gardeners, color is a priority; for others, it's no big deal. Climate Choosing the right roses for your particular climate zone is essential. In order for roses to grow healthy and bloom generously, they must be able to adjust to your climate. If your climate is too hot or too cold, or has the wrong amount of humidity, it could weaken your roses and make them vulnerable to pests and diseases. Size The size of the roses you choose is also very important. Consider the height of the rose at full growth. If the rose grows 15 feet tall, will it look unattractive in your garden? Remember, roses vary in size. While some roses may grow up to 8 feet, others can grow as high as 20 feet. Measure the area of your garden prior to choosing your roses. Compare your width and height measurements with roses you'd like to purchase. Your roses will need plenty of space to grow as well as room for exposure to the air. If you have only a small amount of space to dedicate to roses, you may want to grow miniature roses. These roses do not take up much space and they are easy to plant and care for. Maintenance How much time will you be able to spend maintaining your roses? Are you one of those people who lives to be in the garden, or are you more of a low-maintenance gardener? There are several types of roses which are very high-maintenance. Although they'll be dazzling in your garden, they'll require a lot of your time. The classification known as "Modern Roses" are very stunning, long blooming, and highly fragrant; however, they are very high maintenance and are prone to disease. The rose classification known as "Old Garden Roses", on the other hand, have been bred to be very disease-resistant and require less maintenance. "Old Garden Roses" bloom for several months at a time, and have a strong and beautiful scent. The bad news is that people with strong allergies to fragrances will have a terrible time around them. If that could be a problem for you, then consider any of the variety known as "shrub roses". They are also disease-resistant and long blooming, but produce a mild scent. If you're new to gardening and want to try your hand at growing roses, landscape roses may be your best option. These roses are easy to care for and disease-resistant. They'll look gorgeous just about anywhere. If your garden has trellises, you can add several climbing roses as well. Although climbing roses look very similar to landscape roses, climbing roses have been trained to grow upward like vines. They add a beautiful touch to any home. Whatever variety you choose, roses will be a wonderful addition to your home. About the Author Ron King is a full-time researcher, writer, and web developer. Visit Grow-Roses-Now to learn more about this popular gardening activity. Copyright 2005 Ron King. This article may be reprinted if the resource box is left intact.
I started my rose collection with one called 'peace'- a pure white rose - now I have quite a variety. I tend to go for floribundas, climbers or peonies. I've been toying with the idea of trying to breed a new variety myself but haven't actually gotten around to it yet.
Well my mother's name was Annie (pet name Bunty) and Ian's dad's name was Daniel (Danny) so I thought of combining the two somehow. Something like Buntanny????? Both loved the colour blue so a lilacy/blue rose is what I'm aiming for. It'll take years to produce the rose but if/when I do I thought of putting 'blue' before or after the name I pick.
'Buntanny Blue', I like that Eileen. Got a nice ring to it I reckon. I hope you get around to realizing your dream!
I think I finally have this picture thing figured out. My son, Dan, came and helped me. I had to of course open a photobucket account and transfer the pictures. It went smooth until I forgot to log in to Garden Stew and we couldn't figure out why it wouldn't take. Duh! Finally figured it out and there are the pictures. There are actually three roses bushes in each picture. Dooley
Very nice Dooley. Do you know what variety they are? Glad to see you posting pictures now! I hope this is only the beginning...
I don't know the varieties. They were here when we moved here a few years ago. The red ones are a climbing rose but they float over the other bushes. The other bushes are all mixed up, some red, some apricot, some pink and a white one with red edges. There is a rose that climbs on a fence at the end of the space. Someone planted them among the apricot trees so sometimes it looks like the apricot tree has red roses. There are about 19 rose bushes scattered over the property. We planted only two, both climbers. A Queen Elizabeth and a Tropicana. I will have to transfer some more pictures to PhotoBucket and take a few more of all the things I planted last week. Dooley
Weyhey!!!!! Glad you've managed to start posting piccies Dooley!!! LOVELY!!! Really looking forward to seeing more. Sorry must dash as we've got a lot to do before heading off to Holland on Wednesday. Take care and I hope to be posting a few pics of my own when we get back.
I ordered some bulbs from Holland. They haven't arrived yet because they are shipped close to planting dates. When I think of Holland plants, I think of tulips. Do they have other plants that are native to Holland? Did tulips originate in Holland or is it just a plant that does well in that climate? My mom lived at a lower elevation here in Arizona and she had to dig up her bulbs and refrigerate them and them plant them again because it was too warm and they need so many cold days a year. Apple trees need so many days of cold too. She didn't dig those up every year. She just didn't try to grow them. There must be a lot of plants like that. Just as there are hot weather plants you can't grow in cold weather areas. Dooley
Really informative article Frank - thanks. I read a bit somewhere (can't remember where now) that tulips were so expenvie in the 1600's that if you had them growing in your garden everyone knew you were a 'man of considerable wealth.' Guess the folks back then would think I was a multi-millionairess then!
