Roses 101
Ah, roses. Which girl doesn’t love the elegantly wrapped petals, delicate perfumes, and gorgeous palettes? My husband once asked, “why do you love roses so much?” To which I responded with, “What’s there not to love?” (Ok, maybe the thornes, but still...)
What’s better than enjoying these pretties wrapped in a special occasion bouquet? Being able to grow them right in your own backyard and enjoying them year-round, of course! Yes, you heard me right -- If you live in Southern California, you are lucky enough to be able to get the most wonderful blooms virtually year-round. I once read that California produces some 60% of all roses purchased in the United States, so if you live here and love roses, you're in luck! Here are some tips to get you started:
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Buy quality plants
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Understand what you are buying
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Know different type of roses
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Sun, sun, sun
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Deadhead & hard prune
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Fertilize & watch for diseases / pests
Buy quality plants:
Starting with a good quality plant is important, as with any plants. Transplanting a plant to a new location, even from pots to ground, generally shocks the plant and it also takes time for them to get established in the new spot. A plant in shock will have a weakened immune system and thus be more prone to disease. A good quality plant that is healthy to begin with will help ensure successful transplanting. With the availability of internet shopping these days, my preference is to buy my roses from a specialized nursery that focus primarily on roses. Every plants is different and have different needs, so when your roses come from a rose nursery, you can be sure they know what they are doing when growing and propagating. I found that I generally receive healthier and disease-free plants from nurseries than large warehouses. Roses in particular can be disease prone - there is a reason why you often hear gardeners complain that they are high maintenance - but starting with a quality plant will ensure you are starting on the right foot. I highly recommend Heirloom Roses. Most of the roses in my yard are from them, and I’ve only had 1 fail from transplanting (and I contacted them within the warranty period to receive a replacement plant). I also love that their roses are on own root (more on that later). Even though they sell mainly young plants ~2 years old, due to quality of their roses, they grow FAST. Below is an image of my roses when first planted and 2.5 months - 1 year later.
Initial planting (these little guys are less than 12" tall):
1.5months later (flowering already!!!):
1 year later (with a hard-prune (more explained later) over the prior winter which trimmed the plants to half the size, it still doubled in size a year later):
Understand what you're buying:
If you do buy roses through an online nursery, or any plants for that matter, you'll see terms like, grafted, own root, bare root. Make sure you understand what you are actually getting.
- Grafted vs. own root: Grafting is a horticultural technique used to join 2 (or more) plants together. Often times, it's used as a propagating method, where a botanist graft a desirable rose stem to the rootstock of a stronger plant (which may have unattractive flowers). You'll then get a benefit of a flower of your choice + the root stock of usually a stronger, more disease resistant plant. However, without proper care, sometimes, the rootstock plant may eventually take over the grafted plant. Own root roses are exactly what it sounds like - same plant from top down. There are pros & cons for both, so be sure to do your research and make sure you are getting what you really want. I have both in my yard, and even though grafted plants establish and grow faster initially, I honestly find that they're fussier and more prone to diseases after the first year.
- Bare root: If you end up buying a plant from an online nursery during the plant's dormancy period (typically winter - early spring), you will often receive bare root plants, which is basically the dug up root of a plant + a bit of stem with minimal or no leaves on it. Shipping via bare root help minimize damages to the plant and usually arrives at proper planting time. If you purchase your plant from a local bricks & motors nursery store, you will usually see full plants during its growing season. Either is fine, just don't be surprised when you receive a bare root thinking you will have a full plant from the get-go.
Know different type of roses:
Are you looking for a traditional long-stemmed (hybrid tea) rose, or a climbing rose, or a landscape / groundcover rose, or a rose with spray flowers (floribunda)? Roses have been bred for hundreds of years, with new cultivar constantly being developed, so it should not be a surprise that there are various different types for different uses. You can even get ones that look like a peony (garden or English roses variety) or a ranunculus. Rose flowers also range from small 3" (not counting mini-roses) to dinner-plate 5" sized, scented to unscented. So make sure you do your research to understand exactly what you're getting and what suits your needs.
Sun, sun, sun:
Roses love sun. 6-8 hours of sunlight is the best for a healthy, disease-free rose. This is one of the reasons why Southern California is such a suitable climate for roses. Go visit the rose garden at USC, and you will see how those roses are baked under the sun all day long, including the hottest summer days. Area where it gets some shade from the hottest summer afternoons are also good as the hot direct sun will make the blooms fade faster (that's when I cut these beauties for indoor vase!). If you find a spot that only receives 4-6 hours of sun, it might still work, but understand that the stems may become leggy rather than bushy as the plant tries reaching for the sun, and, it might require a tad more maintenance to ensure it stays disease free, as it won't have as strong of an immune system as a thriving bush.
Water in the morning so the leaves are dry by the time the sun comes out, otherwise the sun could scorch the leaves via the water droplets. Also, drip system is preferred to overhead sprinklers, as trapped moisture in the plant could attract fungal diseases. Ideally, you want to keep the soil evenly moist and plant dry.
Deadhead & hard prune:
Deadhead means cutting off the flower from the plant as the flower fades. Do so will promote more flower growth. Otherwise, the plant may send energy to grow seed pods rather than more flowers. Regular pruning also helps promote good air circulation which helps prevent disease. Any canes that are growing inward / crossing should also be pruned to help prevent the thrones from scratching the neighboring canes, as bacteria may enter from the wound (but I admit I'm not good at doing this). When cutting flowers for vases, just keep in mind that leafs produce energy from sunlight, so the more stem / leaf you leave on the plant, the better it will thrive. Also, be sure to snip at 45 degree angle just above a leaf node (the higher end should be just above the leaf node). You should also prune out any damaged / diseased branches.
Hard prune: During the dormant months, strip the rose of all the leaves and prune out any canes that are too thin, criss-cross into the middle of the plant, damaged, looking weak etc. just above an outward facing leaf node. Usually my plants are half the size or even smaller by the time I'm done pruning. Roses love it! They will grow back more vigorously. Also, don't be too scared about pruning it incorrectly -- While not ideal, as long as your plant is health/strong/in a good growing location, it will be fine, and nothing like practice to make it perfect. I like to hard prune in early-January in Southern California, to make sure I don't miss out on the December flowers. Roses are fast growing, so you should see new growth once weather starts warming up around late February / early March and full bloom again by May.
Fertilize & watch for diseases / pests:
As with any flowering plants, roses do require feeding. As mentioned before, roses can be pretty high-maintenance and disease prone (I've noticed that the purple varieties are particularly prone to fungal diseases for some reason). Prevention is always easier than treatment. Besides giving the plant good air circulation and leaves dry, I like to use the Bioadvanced all-in-one rose & flower care every 6-8 weeks. Besides being a fertilizer, it is also a systemic insecticide/fungicide, which helps prevent diseases & pests. However, you should not use this product in the soil where you are growing edible plants.