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A History of Growing Roses

Spring Rose Foliage Color - Rich Baer
Spring Rose Foliage Color – Photo by Rich Baer

 

June is the month when, in most areas of the Pacific Northwest, roses will be at their peak bloom. Portland, Oregon calls itself “The City of Roses” and the Portland Rose Society is celebrating its 124th Annual Rose Show, which is the oldest rose show in the United States and also the largest.

At one time, rose bushes were a mainstay of many home gardens. There would be few home gardens without some rose bushes and they were a very traditional plant to have in the landscape. New varieties would appear every year and gardeners flocked to garden centers to get the newest and the best. In 1986, the rose was designated as the official flower of the United States. Do not think that roses only have color when they bloom. Look at this collage of photos from the garden of Portland rose grower Rich Baer of his bushes with no bloom but great color.

Peace Rose - Rich Baer
‘Peace’ Rose – Photo by Rich Baer

Roses have occurred throughout recorded history and it is interesting to note that they only occur in the northern hemisphere. The oldest rose identified today and still commercially available is Rosa gallica and in ancient Rome, it was very common to see roses planted at homes as well as in public gardens. In the 1700’s a revolution in rose interest occurred with the increased trade between China and Europe. Rosa chinensis, the China rose, was introduced into Sweden in 1752 and became well known in the rest of Europe around 1793. What made Rosa chinensis so phenomenal was that it was a repeat bloomer as prior to this time; roses were primarily one time bloomers.

More recently, one of the most popular roses of all time, ‘Peace’ has a very interesting history. In 1939, an international conference of rose hybridizers was held in Lyon, France. When the group visited the rose growing firm of Meilland, there was a particular rose that captivated their attention. Shortly thereafter, when it appeared that there would be a Nazi invasion of France, Francis Meilland sent budwood of this plant to rose growers in several countries including the United States. After France was liberated in 1944, plants from this budwood were introduced into the United States and the rose was named ‘Peace’. In 1945, the secretary of the American Rose Society sent each of the 49 delegations at the inaugural meeting of the United Nations a single long-stemmed ‘Peace’ rose with the note: “We hope the ‘Peace’ rose will influence men’s thoughts for everlasting world peace.”

Knockout Roses - Rich Baer
‘Knockout’ Roses – Photo by Rich Baer

Over the years, roses began to lose some of their allure as rose breeders tended to concentrate on plants with strong stems and single “perfect” flowers. Fragrance and disease resistance seemed to have gotten lost. The way we garden has also changed and with homes on smaller lots, there is less space to plant a traditional rose garden. Gardeners began to plant mixed borders or flower beds that were not made up of just one variety but many. Then the “green” movement arrived and the high maintenance of caring for roses with constant spraying made them even less desirable.

The gardening public wanted roses that were fragrant and required little or no spraying and luckily the rose breeders heeded the public and new roses began to appear with both fragrance and disease resistance.

Rosa Glauca - Rich Baer
Rosa Glauca – Photo by Rich Baer

One of the most popular roses of all time is “Knockout”. This is a shrub type rose with clusters of cherry red flowers. I have a grouping of “Knockout” in my garden and I have never sprayed them nor have I seen any sign of disease. This would have been unheard of not so many years ago. While it is not the traditional long stem rose, it is a shrub that mixes well with other plants and gives me color all summer.

Another favorite rose in my garden is Rosa glauca which is a species rose. While the flower is a single type, the foliage on this plant is outstanding and many people visiting my garden will comment on it. The leaves tend to be a blue-gray color and provide great contrast to the green foliage surrounding it. This is a large growing plant, mine is probably eight feet tall and almost as wide. The branches tend to be weeping and thus give a fountain effect. Try planting this in the background of a flower or shrub bed.  An added bonus is clusters of red hips in the fall.

Monkey Business Rose - Peoples Choice Best Rose - Rich Baer
Monkey Business Rose – Peoples Choice Best Rose – Photo by Rich Baer

As part of the Portland Rose Festival Celebration, there is an event called “Portland’s Best Rose”. This event was held on Sunday, June 10, at the International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park. A group of rose enthusiasts, media people and gardeners, all come together and judge a selection of roses growing in the International Rose Test Garden with the criteria being how the roses look right at this moment. The overall winner designated as Portland’s Best Rose for 2012 was “Monkey Business”. Looking at this photo, it is easy to see why.

A special category is that of fragrance. For this category, the general public was asked to vote along with the “judges”. The winner was “Sugar Moon”. Not only did “Sugar Moon” win at Portland’s Best Rose event, it also won as best fragrance at the Portland Rose Society Rose Show.

Sugar Moon Rose - People Choice Fragrance - Rich Baer
Sugar Moon Rose – People Choice Fragrance – Photo by Rich Baer

Growing roses is not difficult. The primary requirement is sun and good drainage. They should be planted with a minimum of five hours of sunlight. Use Black Gold Garden Compost Blend when planting and work it into the ground around the roots as well as on top of the soil. Rose and flower fertilizer will supply the necessary nutrients for a healthy bush and is formulated with alfalfa meal which is prized by many rose growers. Apply in spring when new growth appears, again in mid-summer and a final application in late summer or early fall.

Check out your local garden center for disease resistant roses and you will see how easy it is to work them into your landscape with other blooming plants. There is no need to be on a constant spray program with the new roses available today.

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by another name would smell as sweet”. ~ William Shakespeare

Grow a Big Hip Japanese Rose for Food and Medicine

Rosa Rugosa - Maureen Gilmer
The unique corrugated foliage of Rosa rugosa makes it resistant to black spot and other common diseases.

During World War II the Nazis blockaded English ports so they could not import citrus. As a result many children began to show signs of Vitamin C deficiency, the predecessor to scurvy. Another source of the vitamin had to be found so all local plants were tested. Fruits known as hips from a rural rose bush proved to be packed with vitamins. Ounce for ounce this rose and all other rose fruit contain more Vitamin C than citrus. From the quantities of fruit gathered far and wide, a potent vitamin rich syrup was made that saved the children’s health.

If you’re gardening for self sufficiency, you must have at least one good organically grown rose that bears large hips. The best species for fruit production is Rosa rugosa, known as the Japanese rose. These produce an annual crop of beautiful pink flowers each year followed by fat, luscious fruit.

Rugosas are tough as nails, with foliage that resists the usual fungal diseases that plague other roses. It’s far more cold hardy too, for easy care in northern climates. Rugosas can be found all along the eastern seaboard because the uniquely thick leaves retain moisture despite persistent winds. The whole plant is remarkably tolerant of salt air and alkaline soils too.

Rose Rugosa Hip Low - Maureen Gilmer
Rosa rugosa produces the largest, fleshiest hips with few thorns for painless gathering and preparation.

Rosa rugosa is a long time favorite for rural hedging because the root systems spread out and send up new sprouts. This helps a single individual to spread into a large patch or dense hedge that yields plentiful flowers and fruit. It’s also easy to propagate free copies by simply digging up a piece of root with its sprout attached and transplant to a pot of Black Gold All Purpose Potting Soil.

Hips form in summer and ripen to red-orange in the fall. They are astringent until fully ripe, then become sweet enough to eat off the bush. Once the hips have been exposed to a frost, it’s easier to prepare them.

Use minced rose hips to add raisin-like flavor to baked goods with a bonus of high vitamin content. They also make a famously healthy rose hip jelly for ideal holiday gifts. Fresh brewed rose hip tea with honey is perfect for treating colds or flu.

Rose Hips Cross Section - Maureen Gilmer
Rose Hips Cross Section: This cross section shows the seeds and attached hairs that must be removed from the center of each rose hip in order to harvest the fleshy outer layer.

Whether you grow your rose hips, gather them from the wild or out of other peoples’ gardens, you’ll want to preserve them for future use. First pick the hips, wash well, then peel the flesh away from the seeds clustered at the center. These seeds and attached hairs must be discarded so you’re left with clean flesh. You can also sow them into Black Gold Seedling Mix to create an entire hedge of new plants.

To freeze fresh rose hips, cover a cookie sheet with tin foil and scatter the chunks of fresh rose hips so none are touching. Freeze, then remove from the foil and place in conveniently sized Ziploc bags to store in the freezer until needed.

To make rose hip tea, add a few tablespoons of clean fresh or frozen flesh to a sauce pan of boiling water, then turn down the heat to simmer gently for 10 minutes. The resulting tea will be acidic tasting and rich in antibacterial properties. It will also be chock-full of natural vitamins that strengthen the immune system.

If you’re striving for greater self sufficiency, add a rugosa to your home landscape and let it grow large and flower much. Then when winter cold and flu season rolls around after medicinal herbs have died back, you’ll have a storehouse of organically grown hips from your own Japanese rose.

Fertilize Organically for more Floriferous Roses

Rose Garden - Maureen Gilmer
Climbing roses need nitrogen to stimulate formation of strong new canes to train over arches and arbors.

When I was a young horticulture student in Northern California, in between classes my aged mentor employed me to care for his hybrid tea cutting roses. His garden featured at least thirty of them back in 1979 when spraying, pruning, and fertilizing was a continuous series of tasks all season long.

Rose Nutrition

Among the many lessons were important basics on rose nutrition. It was truly amazing how much standard rose food each of the plants needed to keep producing new buds without pause from May to October. In California the rose season is long, which demanded I feed on a regular schedule. Back then I used 16-16-16 synthetic granules and watched the plants go nuts…for a little while. Then they’d start petering out as the synthetic fertilizer leached further beyond the root zone every time I watered.

Since then we’ve learned that the yo-yo diets of synthetic fertilizers are not beneficial to whole plant health. Growing roses organically can reduce the frequency of fertilizer applications because these nutrients release slower but remain in the root zone far longer. In addition, they contribute to overall soil fertility by stimulating microbes that boost rose plant immunity.

Tea Roses - Maureen Gilmer
Tea Roses: Mark your calendar to remind you to apply fertilizer at regular intervals to avoid fluctuations in nutrient availability.

Organic Rose Fertilizers

Even before the new emphasis on organic gardening, rose growers discovered the benefits of alfalfa meal fertilizer. It’s cultivated into the soil around the rose plant at a rate of about a half cup per rose. Alfalfa meal is low in nitrogen, just 3%, but it’s released quicker than other organic sources. It is particularly useful in spring to stimulate the development of new canes, which are a rose grower’s goal. Plus, nitrogen helps to stimulate vigorous new growth, strong stems and plentiful foliage to support the flower buds to come.

But roses need phosphorus and potassium too, because these nutrients are essential for new flower production. That’s why rose & flower fertilizers contains bloom stimulating phosphorus and potassium. These nutrients are derived from a variety of organic sources that can be slow to become fully active, but once they are, there is no better way to feed. Your roses will take up organic fertilizer at their own rate rather than the sudden dose of synthetic rocket fuel. Mark the calendar for regular feedings throughout the growing season so your plants will perform without a lull.

Cutting Garden - Maureen Gilmer
Regular pruning, watering and fertilizer applications are key to a picture perfect cutting garden.

Benefits of Organic Rose Fertilizers

Roses are so versatile they are grown in ground and in pots where feeding is even more important due to the limited root zone. Grown chemical free, roses may become less vulnerable to pests and diseases due to natural resistance supported by relationships with certain soil fungi that work through the roots. Organically grown roses won’t have to suffer the yoyo effect of high nutrient loads after fertilizer application, followed by plunging lows a week or two later. They’ll respond much like a child who eats a bowl of sugary breakfast cereal, then when blood sugar plunges in a couple of hours she falls asleep at school

Key to success with organic fertilizers is to make sure they’re worked into the soil and watered deeply and consistently to help plants take up these nutrients. Even moisture levels stimulates better microbe activity too, which in turn makes the soil more fertile over all. For more naturally floriferous roses, feed your soil with organic fertilizer and avoid chemicals. Your plants will reward you with fewer diseases, more vigorous growth and a consistent rate of new bud formation. And that means new flower buds will form every day to remain more floriferous all season long.

The Rose ‘Jude the Obscure’

Jude the Obscure - Mike Darcy
Rosa ‘Jude the Obscure’

If your city has a public rose garden, this should be an excellent time to visit it. In Portland, we have The International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park and it should be at, or near, peak bloom. It is great to visit a large rose garden and marvel at the diversity of color, flower form, fragrance and bloom size. I can never select a favorite but high on my list is the rose ‘Jude the Obscure’. I first saw a large bed of this at Heirloom Roses in St. Paul, Oregon and liked it immediately. It is a David Austin Rose and has the form of an old fashioned rose, a strong fragrance and is a beautiful soft apricot color. It is an excellent bloomer as well.

All roses grow better with the help of alfalfa meal and a good quality rose fertilizer.

Rediscovering Old Roses

New Dawn Heirloom Roses - Pam Beck
The captivating ‘New Dawn’ climbing rose was discovered in 1930, and quickly became a favorite focal point in Southern gardens.

Heirloom roses are again gaining in popularity in our 21st century gardens due to their time-proven hardiness. These are roses with real perfume, a wide variety of colors and bloom types, and many sport luscious hips for fall and winter interest. Plus, they are easy to grow as a majority of old roses are disease resistant, and tolerant of a variety of site conditions. Just be sure to feed them with rose & flower fertilizer.

Officially, Antique roses are defined as any rose grown before 1867, which was before hybrid tea roses were introduced, whereas old roses can be any rose 75-years-old or more. So, if you want roses, but crave something different, rediscover the joy of growing old roses.

Growing Roses in Containers

Balboa Island Roses
Balboa Island: Rose planting is maximized by three tiers of planting in a space less than five feet deep.

If you love big roses but are short on space, here’s a great way to layer them in for more blooms per square foot. Using the vertical plane, this urban home features three tiers of planting: in ground, a raised bed and large window boxes. Hidden behind are two large pots that support the coral flowered climbing roses. All of this fits into a space just five feet deep from sidewalk to house wall.

Because roses are heavy feeders, fill your raised planters and containers with Black Gold All Purpose Potting Soil. It contains controlled-release fertilizer, so it will give newly planted ever-blooming Flower Carpet or small shrub roses the food they need for a vigorous start. After a couple of months, it also helps to feed again with rose and flower fertilizer.

Rose Pruning for Fall

Pruning Roses Fall is a good time for light rose pruning, though most recommend you prune these shrubs in late winter or early spring. Trim your roses to about waist high (3 ft). I like to take off the old leaves if they are still on the plant. Prune out any dead or diseased canes. Be sure to wear heavy rose gloves to keep your hands protected and rely on sharp bypass pruners to make the job easy.

Wait until mid February for the severe pruning of cutting canes to about 18 inches. At this time, it also helps to feed plants with a little organic rose & flower fertilizer.