7 Steps To Growing Great Roses

First, the stock. Buy a few good, healthy plants. There are many reliable mail-order firms on which you can depend. Look to them. The difference between their well-grown, robust plants and bargain-basement stock is vast. The first may cost a bit more, but will produce for years. In my garden there are many roses over 20 years old that still carry exhibition caliber blooms.

Second. the location. There is a saying among rose growers that roses like their own company. Mix them with other plants, they say, and you are courting trouble. This may or may not be so. The great thing is to locate plants in an open, well-drained spot where air hits them. This is probably the most important rule of my seven-point program. It is surprising how pests and disease are cut down by nothing more magical than plenty of fresh air.

Third, the planting. Your plants will come with the root systems wrapped in moss or something else that retains moisture. If you cannot set them in the ground immediately, wet the moss thoroughly, cover plants with a wet sack, and keep them in the shade until you get to them. Obviously, the sooner you do, the better.

Much has been said pro and con spring and fall planting. My experience says which season you plant is far less important than how.

Make the hole large enough to accommodate roots comfortably. Dig it two spades deep. Keep topsoil separate from the soil beneath it. Now half-fill the hole with compost. If you have none, try a dodge often used by English gardeners: turn over a thick piece of grassy turf and drop it into the bottom of the hole. It rots, as time goes by, and becomes humus. Mix a cup or two of bonemeal with the topsoil. This centuries-old fertilizer is rich in phosphates and calcium, promotes vigor, but does not burn tender roots. Much different than the chemicals in the best lawn fertilizer found at garden centers.

Firm the compost. Sprinkle a 2-, 3-inch layer of topsoil over it. Try your plant for depth. The completed job should see the crown (point at which plant was budded) about an inch below ground level.

Position the plant in the hole. Spread out the roots. Pour soil between and over them until hole is about half-full. Firm soil around plants with your heel. Pour a bucket of water in the hole. When it has soaked down, fill hole almost to the level of the bed and firm again so roots are snuggled in the soil and all air pockets are eliminated.

Fourth, winter protection. Where I live, in Vancouver on the Pacific Coast, winter protection of any kind is seldom necessary. Where frosts are severe, it is, especially in the case of hybrid teas. Hitting soil, from the bed, around each hybrid tea suffices except where winters are severe indeed. You do this before winter sets in, and remove the hill gradually as spring approaches, not all at once. Remember the amount of winter protection varies with conditions. If your conditions are unusual, consult your county agent or a local rosarian.

Fifth, pruning, In Vancouver we prune in March when spring growth starts. Here pruning consists of cutting away all dead or weak wood and keeping the center of the plant open. A good rule of thumb is to cut back all remaining stems (after removing dead and weak ones) to about one-third of the previous year’s growth. Many experts just barely cut stems back. Others prune severely, sacrificing quantity, they say, for quality. So do not be afraid to prune. But, if you are a beginner, play it cautious, and stick to the one-third of previous year’s growth rule. It will give you a good display. Make the cut just above an outside eye. New growth will extend out of this eye and you will get a well-balanced plant. Also, after being poked in the eye once when pruning I now always were my prescription safety glasses for extra measure.

Sixth, feeding. Use bonemeal, as I suggested, when you plant, then do not feed roses again until the second growing season. By withholding food, you will induce roots to work, to spread out, expand, and get established quickly. Later use manure, if you can get it, or a balanced commercial fertilizer. Use the latter precisely in accordance with directions and keep it off stems and foliage. Most commercial fertilizers are potent and so it is unwise to ignore directions for using them.

Seventh, pests and disease. Some rose growers spray, some dust. I am a confirmed duster. I laid aside my spraying equipment 10 years ago and never have regretted it. Dusting is much easier. Or so it seems to me. There are many fine all-purpose dusts on the market. Most are packed in containers that serve as guns.

Early in the growing season, when leaves are forming, cover plants with dust, choosing a time when there is no wind so the dust settles with a minimum of waste. Try to get dust on every leaf, on both sides. You can do this by aiming from the base of the plant. Dust again when leaves are fully formed. And this does it. Later, if a shoot is covered with aphids, get your gun out and let them have it. It is as easy as that.

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