22,152 Garden Web Discussions | Roses

It doesn't matter what brand as long as it's a good light potting mix that will drain well. I've used some with water crystals and others with fertilizers and some just plain potting soil. They all work as long as they drain well. I don't usually get the ones with fertilizer because I prefer to control what kind and how much of that they get but if that's what you find it will work. I've used many different brands. Miracle Grow is good but there are good ones out there that are cheaper.

I know I've stressed a lot about drainage but that's very important. Roses hate to sit with their roots in water. That being said, potted roses will need to be watered more often than roses in the ground. Pots dry out quicker. So it's kind of a catch 22. You don't want the roots to be soggy but you need to make sure they don't dry out either. You have to find the balance that works for you, in your climate and with the roses you purchase.

There are smaller varieties of roses also, in case the growth size in containers was something that you were concerned about, even though containers do help to control the overall size.

This year, I added miniature roses to my plants-in-containers, and I also saw something at Lowes or HD described as ground-cover roses. They seem to be very low-growing but still put out a great look of roses blooming.

And as for what others said -- I agree, grow what you want to grow! The pot size and your pruning will help keep it in check.

Glad to hear that others are trying this and getting results. I have a lot of wood chips left over from the 2 trucks the tree trimmers dumped for me last summer. I put the remainder of that pile in the backyard to cook further, and I have been putting kitchen scraps, coffee grounds and I ground up all my fall leaves and added it to the pile. It is turning black and full of those white and yellow beneficial fungus 'threads'. Every time I scoop out of the pile several giant earthworms can be seen wriggling everywhere.

I have a relatively small yard so I laid the woodchips and horse manure all over the yard--basically anywhere there wasn't lawn. It is turning previously barren areas into soft luscious dirt. This is still the first spring for my roses but they are putting out vigorous growth. I am sort of concerned about one thing--

When I started my initial big rose bed, it was before I discovered the woodchips. I created this bed by layering grass clippings, newspaper, shredded leaves, ground pine bark, some bagged soil, and horse manure. This 'soil' is very rich and is absolutely chock full of worms, but it is ALWAYS wet. I never water it and even after a week of no rain it is still quite moist. Is there too much organic matter? this may all be related to the horrible drainage problem in my backyard. It holds a ton of water every time it rains, but I am almost finished installing a drainage system to hopefully move most of the water from the back to the ditch along the street in the front yard. Maybe this will help to allow the soil to dry out some. Another potential issue is that I have a well in my backyard, and the pipe is located inside the rose bed. I wonder if this is leaking?

My Bronze Star rose is closest to the well pipe and a lot of the leave have been yellowing and falling off. But I don't know if these are just the old leaves from last year just giving up. It is the leaves closest to the bottom. The new leaves seem fine and the plant is blooming.

This is one reason I prefer the wood mulches over the rubber or artificial mulches. Over time, I have to replenish, but that is because the mulch is replenishing nutrients to the soil, for which I'm glad.

Now I had not thought of it as "Back to Eden" style, but yes, I add mulch to the rose area or landscaping every year also. When I dig to put in new plants, I see how nice and moist the ground is. It's always moist, black and I always see worms even in the first few spades or shovels of dirt.

So I'm definitely sold on annually mulching or in this case, using the method of "Back to Eden".

Suckers would be root stock that has come up on a grafted rose or an own root rose that sends up a shoot from the roots at some distance from the main plant.

I think Mad has it right. That's the graft sending up new canes from below ground.

Wow that gives me even more hope for my OLD OLD Peace rose.

I think the black canes are from cold damage. It could have happened at the store or at your home. You mention 2 varieties so the 2nd one may have been more resistant to the cold or you got it later when temps were warmer.

Definitely cut them off, otherwise it seems to travel down the cane and make the entire cane go bad. Some say about 1" below the black part to where you have a healthy stem (inside the stem should look healthy also).

I had this happen this year, before knowing about the frost damage. My bare-root had about 6 canes coming out and I thought I had chosen such a good one, compared to the others that were in the store. But then I lost 4 of them before understanding what this is.

So I was down to 2 canes but like many plants, as long as the roots or crown are good, then your plant will return just fine -- in some cases, even better.

I also had another different variety already established in my yard, so while I had roses growing outdoors for many years, I had not experienced this kind of frost damage, so it was new to me. It could also be, as you said, one that is more established already.

cold damage or canker? either way, cut it down. when i was new to roses i thought cold damage was canker and fungicided after i pruned. turns out it was winter kill . because i cut back, they lived

Thank you Sammy, you've reminded me it can take some shade so that gives me more options for placement. You've also showed me the rose needs little care that's for sure!

Sammy, try taking a cutting. My Weeping China Doll rooted easily.

I have one as a standard in the front yard and the cutting. I plan on putting the cutting in a fairly large plastic pot inside of a green ceramic pot on the patio. I think it will look nice cascading over the sides of the pot.

aquaeyes - Red, Oranges, yellows. They all look terrible in pictures to me.
No good camera. Just my phone. And clever manipulation of its settings and the lighting to try and capture the truest colour.

Canadian rose - Black baccara can be truly black. Though I have to say I've seen photos as of late where it's quite the opposite in their yard. It seems to appear just as any other red would here.
But in my yard out seems to be striving to achieve its blackest black.

Gorgeous isn't it?

I was looking at it in the light of the sunrise, and thought I would snap a picture.
It's lost much of its black, and has taken on the very dark red tone.
It should remain this colour.
But I'm pleased to say. I actually managed to capture true to life colours in this photo.
Probably because the bloom had lightened so much.

This post was edited by Ordphien on Fri, Apr 25, 14 at 11:19

Pat -- Those roses are a really nice orange!

I just looked up narrow-leaf zinnias, and I have no idea why our nursery didn't have them -- they sound perfect for our area! They are mildly drought-tolerant and like the sun. They sound like a good companion for marigolds, which also don't like it too wet and like the sun.

Also take a look at Vavoom, Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale, or Orange Morsdag.

My orange rose is the HT, Spice Twice, it is hard to find now, but very orange, and fragrant.

I started some pruning today and did get some nasty scratches. Oh well it's part of the game.

We did have good snow cover, Zack, but it didn't seem to help. It was just too darn cold for too darn long and I lost a lot of cane.

Glad your roses look as good as they do. I suppose this is the kind of winter you are less concerned with winter die back and more thrilled that they survived at all

I'm still curious about this, so I hope PattiCakes will follow up.

Jeri

1) i am from india.
2) i have one light orange rose plant and a pink rose plant
3) orange rose is 4 year old and it is still not flowering it has good leaves,long branches.i haven't see a single bud on it since 4 years.
4) on the second hand i have another pink rose plant which has no problem
5).i give water daily and proper sunshine is there,then why my rose plant is not blooming.it is supposed to be orange rose as told by gardner.
i am sending the pick of that rose plant

They're beautiful, Marhel, and you should be proud of them!

I've never seen a Cl. Peace before. It's really impressive and beautiful. Candyland is very pretty.

Just my opinion, but if you haven't grown roses before, growing a climber up over part of your house and have it look like Christy's photo is like learning to drive by entering the Daytona 500. There's some skill and practice involved in trellising and pruning to get that beautiful look.

Best to try a few roses first, learn about them, and get a feel for what they do in your area. You have no information as to your location--your selection needs to be based on your climate.

Hoovb: Great analogy--and true! Lol. Even so, you must admit these roses are gorgeous.

@photogirl11: I hope I didn't mislead you in any way. I'm sure it's doable, but as Hoovb mentioned, a lot of work and skill, no doubt.

Good luck.

This post was edited by christy51274 on Thu, Apr 24, 14 at 17:30

I think one of the Lamium cultivars might work well for you. They do bloom, but generally in Spring, finishing about when the roses get started. There are many cultivars with various amounts of silver mottling which would be attractive in a shadier spot surrounded by evergreens. One suggestion -- if you're a patient gardener, don't worry about planting enough to fill the area right away. The Lamium will spread gently over time, and is easily divided and replanted to fill in elsewhere.

:-)

~Christopher

Thanks all for your suggestions! I'm grateful for this website. The folks here (including you all) are very helpful for newbies, such as myself. :)