It’s Time to Plant Rose Bushes (and There Are More Varieties Than You Think)
When you think of a rose, the stereotypical red or pink, tightly curled, long-stemmed (and overpriced) flowers likely come to mind. Roses are your grandmother’s flowers, right? But there is actually a lot of variety and beauty beyond the standard red rose, and now is one of two times of year that is ideal for planting these perennial, hardy and adaptable plants.
There are more types of roses than you think. Climbing roses strive for structure and climb high, but not necessarily wide. Climbing roses are like hedges: they grow huge in both width and height. There are the standard bush roses that most of us think of, as well as tree roses, which are upright bushes on a bare tree trunk. There are also miniature roses. Here are some of my favorite rose varieties:
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Armure Blanche Rose: This tea and rose flavored ice cream cone is a real hit. As a bush rose, you can use it in any landscape – just imagine the floral arrangements you’ll create.
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Earth Angel Parfuma Floribunda Rose: If you love peonies, Earth Angel will win your heart. It smells almost as good and has the same flower structure, creating incredibly complex and fussy centers that will remind you of cupcakes.
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Claire Austin : Claire Austin’s classic rambler rose smells nice but also has a double rose structure that I find very interesting, taking the bloom from ordinary to unique. As a rambler, this plant will take over any border in your yard.
When (and where) to buy roses
When you buy roses, you buy them either bare root or fully grown. The difference is easy to notice because bare root roses are not in the soil, but plants are. A bare-root plant may look dead, but it’s not—it’s being kept in a kind of stasis with just enough moisture to keep it alive. Once planted, fed and watered, it will grow into a plant quite quickly because it is actually a mature plant.
The right time of year to plant bare-root roses is before spring, from January to May. Roses that are not purchased at this time are planted in the soil mixture and become available as plants in the summer and fall. That’s where we are now: nurseries and mail order companies are fully stocked with rose bushes. If you get your roses in the ground early enough to leave six weeks before the first frost, they will survive the winter just fine.
The best place to buy roses is still your local garden center, where you will receive support and plants acclimatized to your zone. In addition, there are many online suppliers and some of them are quite popular, such as David Austin and Perkins & Jackson.
How to plant roses
Since you will be planting mature rose bushes at this time of year, you will plant them as you would any other plant from the nursery. Choose a location and dig a hole three times the size of the container the plant is in. Gently loosen the plant in the container by rolling it (and cutting the container if necessary). Add rose fertilizer, available from a garden center, to the hole. Use your fingers to loosen the root ball of the rose.
Place the rose bush in the hole and be sure to turn it the way you want – most plants look better on the side. You want to be sure that you are not burying the rose more than it was in the container; Roses have a crown, and it is needed on the surface of the soil. Fill the hole and then water the plant thoroughly.