OK, so I'm getting rid of those ugly shrubs in my daughter's garden. When I asked her what she wanted to replace them with, she said "OMG roses!!!" Actually she asked me when they first moved into this house a couple of years ago if they could plant roses somewhere, because it's her favorite. So, people, I know nothing about roses! I DO know that there are so many different kinds it makes my head spin, and that Paige wants the "regular" kind. What that means apparently, are the kind you see in flower shops, in bouquets, the kind you get for Valentine's day or a birthday....you know , the "regular" kind. The neighbors on either side of us each have a rose bush, planted last season, and both are looking good and growing nicely, though they haven't flowered yet so I can't tell if they're the "regular" kind or not. Unfortunately neither of the neighbors have a clue what kind of rose bush they have. Paul got his from Aldi and has no recollection of the name. Allen on the other side had some landscaping person plant it, but he too has no clue. So, I'm on my own here.......well, no actually, I'm not. I have you all!!! The growing conditions aren't great. We have heavy clay soil under the layer of mulch, and lots of sun. I'll be footing the bill for the roses, and I'm on a ridiculously tight budget so can't afford anything horribly expensive. I also need to be able to get it locally if at all possible. I really just want to be able to run to my local Home Depot, the very nice nursery down the hill, or even Ace Hardware that has a huge selection of plants and such. So? What do you suggest? I'm all ears. ( photo / image / picture from Ronni's Garden )
Ronni, Grab a cup of coffee and don't make plans for this morning--I LOVE to talk roses! "Regular" roses that Paige wants are most likely hybrid tea roses. Unfortunately, they are not for the novice rose grower since they are prone to diseases and bugs and need careful pruning. May I suggest a heavily scented, own-root (not grafted) old-fashioned rose? There are so many colors, and most have heavily petaled blossoms (called "cabbage roses" sometimes). Here are a couple of links where you can see what is available: http://www.chambleeroses.com/ https://www.antiqueroseemporium.com/ You may not be able to get these at Aldi's, Home Depot, or Wal-mart, but many nurseries carry these easy-care roses because they smell good, are easily grown, and live long and happy lives. Any good nursery can order a rose for you if they don't stock what you want. Also, Chamblee's is pretty reasonable in pricing. Your soil is fine for roses. Just add compost to the soil when planting, and keep adding compost as mulch. Roses need at least a half-day of sun and don't like competition from large shrubs and trees. You don't have that problem. River is old enough to understand about thorns, but how about Lucy? There are some roses that are almost thornless. Personally, I find it better to teach children that some plants are best admired from a distance! So, are your ears tired yet?
Jane! Tired????? Hahahaha....no way!! This is exactly the kind of info I need! That's actually a good point about the thorns and the kids....I hadn't even thought of that. But Paige is very much like me (it's amazing how similarly we parent!) and is much more prone to using life for the abundance of teaching moments it provides. A quick thorn prick, though upsetting for a little one, will do far more to teach them a valuable lesson than just removing the problem. There's a saying I love, which I'll share here because it's germane. As parents, it's far better to prepare our children for the road than it is to prepare the road for our children.
Great thread you two! I know nothing about roses, too, and am planning to start some this year. Thanks for the info mg!
Check out the Knock Out roses available now. They are highly resistant to diseases such as blackspot, powdery mildew and rust so a regular routine of fungicide treatments isn't necessary. They grow in almost any kind of soil, mine have been blooming since April and will continue until the first frost and they do have a mild fragrance.
Thanks for your suggestions everyone. Jane, I hadn't had a chance to check out those links when I first responded to you. I've since done so, and felt like I could just smell all those roses right through the computer! Mmmmm. OK, so talking with Paige some more, and she'd really really like a kind of rose that has a strong fragrance. She said one of her biggest disappointments when she's been given a bouquet for example, was that the roses had virtually no smell. And so she doesn't want to plant roses that don't have a yummy fragrance. With that in mind, can I have some suggestions for the particularly fragrant varieties of roses, that will also still grow well in this clay soil and are bug resistant? Also, I snapped a picture of the neighbor's rose bush that he planted last season and that came back and is growing well. The buds haven't really opened, so I don't know that you can tell much about the bush yet. But here it is anyway. If his bush is doing well I figure maybe I can get the same kind, y'know?
Blue Girl and Julia Child have wonderful fragrances. Blue Girl is sorta blue in color and smells like you expect a rose to smell. The blooms are on single long stems which makes them perfect for cutting. Julia Child is a golden yellow and smells like a combo of honey and cinnamon. You can bring bring the blooms into the house but you have to use a very short vase for them. Florist roses have had the fragrance bred out of them over the years. More attention has been paid to long stem, bright color, tightness of the bud and long lasting blooms instead.
A lot of hybrid teas have been bred for form, so scent is lost along the way. Although there are quite a few that have wonderful scent. Perfume Delight and Blue Girl are 2 that come to mind. I loved my Blue Girl, such a beautiful color! Check out http://www.heirloomroses.com/ for all the different types/colors/etc Added: Haha me and Toni had the same thought process going xD
For scent and hardiness, I'd recommend Dark Lady (an Austin rose) which is deep red; Nacadoches which is bright yellow and smells heavenly; soft pink Bon Selene, but she might be too large for your space; Julia Child, as Toni said, and is an Austin also; and Duchesse de Brabant, a pink with a lovely fragrance. Be sure that the roses you choose will fit into the space when they are full grown. I've found that most rose growers underestimate the size of their roses by about a foot, both vertically and horizontally. The KnockOut series of roses are very hardy and disease resistant, but don't have much, if any, fragrance. They are a shrub rose, not appropriate for taking a bouquet inside. They do make a stunning border, though, and you see them in many commercial landscapes because of their ease of care.
My neighbor's roses bloomed from those little buds I took a picture of...was it just a couple of days ago? Man, they opened fast! Anyway, they're gorgeous, and they do have a fragrance, though not as strong as I'd hoped. But at least they smell like roses rather than the zero smell of the grocery store bouquets. Isn't this just lovely? Looks like a fake flower it's so perfect! And here's the second bloom With this further detail, any idea what kind it might be? Oh! I went by my local nursery yesterday afternoon looking for roses. I was really shocked that they had so few, because last year (when I wasn't looking to plant any) it seemed that they had an abundance! The gal there told me that sadly the extreme weather conditions over the winter had affected rose production, and their suppliers had way fewer this year to share with them. The ones they did have were pretty, but weren't at all what I was looking for. There were some climbing roses, and some shrub roses, and one or two regular bushes, but a) they had little scent, and b) the petals were way less formed...they looked more like a regular flower than they did a rose. She said to check back frequently because it was still early enough in the season that they may well end up with a better stock after a while.
Ronni, I have no idea what your neighbor's rose is, but it sure is pretty! Here is Dark Lady: David Austin's Dark Lady rose ( photo / image / picture from marlingardener's Garden ) And Bon Silene: Bon Silene rose ( photo / image / picture from marlingardener's Garden ) And Nagodoches ( misspelled it in the previous post): Nagodoches rose ( photo / image / picture from marlingardener's Garden ) I guarantee these are "smelly" roses!
Well, sweet Paul, the next door neighbor who is always SO helpful, found a couple of rose bushes at Costo of all places, and picked them up for me. Can't beat the price at $4.99 each! And the packaging says they're fragrant, hardy, disease resistant, and easy to grow. They're actually the same kind of roses that he planted last year...he got his from Costo too! Anyway, one is in the ground already (did it last night, with LOTS of "help" from Master River and I'll get the other one planted in the next couple of days. Paige is ridiculously excited!! She's always wanted rose bushes she said, and now she has them in her garden! I'm semi-seriously considering creating a rose garden in the back yard, just for fun! Here's a picture of the box the one I planted came in. And then the other one, which should be in the ground by the weekend. For $5.00 each I'll give these a season. If they don't work for whatever reason, I don't feel much compunction about digging them out and starting over. Oh! The roses came with instructions, one of which was this fungicide information: Should I go out and buy stuff?
I have been so busy these days, just look what I missed. Wow all these roses are beautiful. I am so jealous. Just all of you wait till mine get to a blooming.... LOL. I will show you... I only have 2 smelly ones but rest assured I will find some that you are all suggesting. Love them.
