Roses Add Color to Any Garden
May 25, 2011
There once was a time when it was difficult to grow roses in our hot, dry climate. Such is no longer the case. Botanists have developed wonderful rose plants of all varieties that do very well in our local gardens. Just drive around any neighborhood today and you can see the many beautiful colors of rose bushes, rose shrubs and climbing roses.
Roses are a relatively easy way to add color to any garden. They require only modest attention and they will bloom brilliantly for months. However, it is important to "dead head" them. As the blossoms fade, removing the fading blooms is necessary to keep the plant strong and productive. Cut off the fading blooms, stem and all, down to a five leaflet leaf. (Sometimes you must search as rose bushes may have a tendency to produce seven leaflet leafs.) You may cut the stems down to only three or four inches of stem remaining. In several weeks new buds and blossoms will be produced.
Another task is to check for suckers. In the Spring, these suckers often produce colorful purple-red blooms and may tempt you to leave them alone. Do not succumb to this temptation as they will suck the energy from the hybrid rose and over time you will lose the hybrid and only have the wild rose bush. Cut them as far down and as close to the spot where the root comes out. They will continue to recur unless you are successful at cutting them below where the hybrid rose was grafted to the rootstock. Not a difficult maintenance issue but one to watch in order to keep your beautiful hybrid roses beautiful.
There once was a time when it was difficult to grow roses in our hot, dry climate. Such is no longer the case. Botanists have developed wonderful rose plants of all varieties that do very well in our local gardens. Just drive around any neighborhood today and you can see the many beautiful colors of rose bushes, rose shrubs and climbing roses.
Roses are a relatively easy way to add color to any garden. They require only modest attention and they will bloom brilliantly for months. However, it is important to "dead head" them. As the blossoms fade, removing the fading blooms is necessary to keep the plant strong and productive. Cut off the fading blooms, stem and all, down to a five leaflet leaf. (Sometimes you must search as rose bushes may have a tendency to produce seven leaflet leafs.) You may cut the stems down to only three or four inches of stem remaining. In several weeks new buds and blossoms will be produced.
Another task is to check for suckers. In the Spring, these suckers often produce colorful purple-red blooms and may tempt you to leave them alone. Do not succumb to this temptation as they will suck the energy from the hybrid rose and over time you will lose the hybrid and only have the wild rose bush. Cut them as far down and as close to the spot where the root comes out. They will continue to recur unless you are successful at cutting them below where the hybrid rose was grafted to the rootstock. Not a difficult maintenance issue but one to watch in order to keep your beautiful hybrid roses beautiful.
posted by shirley harry at 8:09 AM
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