June is National Rose Month, which is perfect timing as roses begin to bloom. The bold, bright and big flowers catch our eye during neighborhood strolls and make it near impossible to not stop and give it a sniff.
A fragrant rose is truly one of nature’s sweetest gifts.
Here are some ways you can celebrate roses this month:
- Visit the Rose Garden at Avery Park in Corvallis.
- Decorate with roses. Make a floral arrangement with roses freshly cut from your garden and a mix of flowers. Or simply enjoy a single stem in a vase next to your bathroom or kitchen sink. This is also a fun activity to do with kids and friends.
- Brighten someone’s day and send them a rose arrangement.
- Plant a rose bush. We have a beautiful selection of roses right now!
- Take care of the roses that you have. Fertilizing is important, so if you haven’t done so in awhile, be sure to feed your roses with a high bloom feed. Feeding your rose bushes will keep them blooming, and make them more resilient to dealing with pests and disease.
Tips for Growing Roses
First of all, there are entire books dedicated to explaining the diversity and uses of roses in the landscape. Our goal here is to keep it simple and offer a little guidance for those who want to grow a rose bush, and keep it growing healthy and blooming beautifully, year after year.
Choosing a Variety – You Got Options!
If you’re a new gardener, choosing a rose with high disease resistance means greater chance of success and better chances of enjoying your roses with less maintenance. Some varieties have higher tolerance than others to issues like mildew, rust and black spot, so choose a variety that fits your growing goals.
There is a range of growth habits and qualities among roses. No matter what growth habit you choose, roses offer blooms starting as early as late spring and as late as early fall. Here’s a quick guide of what you’ll find at our garden center:
- Hybrid Tea – Typically what one imagines when they think of a rose bush. This class of rose offers large, high buds and tall, straight stems; generally producing only one blossom at the end of each stem. This is the kind of rose you’ll get from a florist.
- Grandiflora – A cross between a hybrid tea rose and a floribunda rose offering hybrid tea-like blooms on long stems, as well as clustered blooms. Typically grows taller than hybrid tea roses.
- Floribunda – A breed of roses with high disease resistance and continuously blooming clusters of roses like the classic tea rose, but slightly smaller in flower size.
- Shrub – We distinguish these types for their mounded, bushy growth habit. They are generally hardier and tougher than the classic garden types. The blooms are smaller but bloom in abundance, and for a long period of time.
- Climbing – This group grows long canes, commonly to 14 feet but as long as 20 feet, that are covered with blooms and are a stunning plant to grow on an arbor, up a trellis, pergola, or up along a fence.
Soil
Soil should be well-draining and rich in organic matter. Apply a 2-3 inch layer of mulch around the base of the plant in fall and spring to help conserve water and insulate roots. When planting, we recommend amending your soil with G&B Organics Planting Mix or Harvest Supreme if you have poor soil.
Full Sun
Plant roses where they will receive at least 6 hours of sunlight during the summer.
Space
Ensuring good airflow around your rose bush will help to prevent common fungal disease. Grow your rose bushes where they won’t be crowded by other shrubs and low growing plants.
Water
When temperatures rise in spring and into summer, maintaining the soil moisture is key, watering deeply to encourage root growth. Avoid creating wet and soggy soil conditions by only watering when the top 2-3 inches of soil are dry. Only water the soil around the base of the plant and try not to get the foliage wet as this will help to prevent disease.
Maintenance
- Deadheading – During the growing season, remove fading and finished blooms to encourage more flowering and improve appearance. The ideal here is find the first five-leaf junction down on the stem of the faded flower. Make an angled cut with clean and sharp pruners just above that five-leaf junction. Don’t think too hard about it though as you can’t do much damage by cutting down a few stems.
- Fertilizing – Roses are heavy feeders and benefit from a feeding in early spring, in early June as the first bloom period begins, and again in mid- to late July. Feed with balanced fertilizer or one intended for roses.
- Pest/Disease Management – We welcome you to bring in a leaf sample if you suspect your rose bush is suffering from a disease or pest. Together, we can determine what the best remedy may be.
- Pruning – In February or March, while the rose bush is still dormant, prune the canes of hybrid tea, grandiflora and floribunda rose types by about a third of their length down to 12 to 24 inches. Pruning encourages strong stems, large flowers and opens and shapes the plant. Climbing roses can be lightly pruned in early spring only to remove broken or dead branches.