Roses

First off, I am not an “expert” on Roses, I don't have any fancy degree either. You should be contacting Maureen's brothers Kevin and Brian (T&T Seeds). As they know more about roses and plants than I will ever know, but in the meantime here goes my 2 cents worth.

Buy a good quality rose.

Planting dept

In Terrace I plant the Bud union about 2-3 inches below the surrounding soil. Yes I know the package says above but trust me they winter better up north down under the soil.

Plant the rose in a sunny location. They need at least 6 hrs sun per day per books I have read. Soak the rose in a pail of water for 24 hrs. before planting I use a mixture of steer manure, peat moss and any old dirt I have ,approx 1/3 each, and dig a hole big enough to spread the roots out, and deep enough to put a good shovel full of the mixture above in the bottom. try not to damage the fine root hairs on the roots. Water the dirt in the hole before placing rose in. Tamp the rest of the hole, with the rose in place of course. Ensure no air remains around the roots. I use the end of my shovel to do this.

Water, Water, Water.Roses require at least 1“of water per week.

Go easy on the nitrogen fertilizer if you want blooms, that is the first number in the fertilizer formula EX- 24-12-10

Cut the rose blooms on any plant you buy. Yes they look nice but give the rose a chance to root. Then later on for English tea roses and old English style roses, cut the blooms off and take them in the house, or give to your favorite senior citizen, or whoever. But please don't leave the bloom on the rose, once it opens up. More you cut off, more blooms you get. Simple!

• HYBRID TEAS-
  • Large Flowers- One per stem
    • Pencil size cane-Cut to 4-6” from Graft
    • Little finger size- 6-8“ from graft
    • Forefinger size cane-cut to 8-12”
    • Thumb size and bigger 12-24“, cut to lowest bud on the cane
• FLORIBUNDA-
  • Lots of Flowers per stem (smaller size)
    • Prune 12-18”from graft
    • MINIATURE- cut back 1/4 of old growth
    • Prune into nice round shape
• CLIMBING ROSE- Don't have any knowledge of these sorry!

When you prune cut at a diagonal just above a point on the stem where there is 5 leaves branching off. Some will have 3, don't cut there! Use sharp bypass pruners.

Don't put water on leaves when there is any sun on the plant at all. Use soaker hoses. Black spot will form sure as I am typing if you wet the leaves down. Rain does not seem to be a problem, but sprinkling is.

• Blue roses are very pretty, but are not hardy in our region. They aren't really blue either, more lavender.

• In the Fall before winter and snow I prune the stems on all my roses, not the climbers, down 1/2 way from where they stand. This prevents snow from breaking them off.

• I put piles of leaves around the base of each rose for protection. I have seen shows where the white thin foam material was used to wrap the plant in. No doubt works, but I have over 75 roses ,so this could get costly!

• In the spring I prune back depending on size of the stem. See directions above. Always prune to a bud that is pointing to the outside of the stem.

• Watch for black spot as they grow, and use a fungicide if you see any. Also watch for aphids and whitefly. Strong water spray under leaves will usually do the trick as they can't fly. You can get chemical sprays, but most are banned now. There is some soap sprays that work fairly good for whitefly and aphids.

• On the real tall varieties I stake the branches, just so that the wind does not break the branches.

That's it in a nutshell, Plant and enjoy, we do!

Check out this link below for the best roses and seeds T&T Seeds Winnipeg MB