Roses for the Landscape                                     Coastal & Tropical South

Roses are the queen of landscape flowers. Nothing entrances a gardener or even a nongardener like a rose. Who can resist stopping to gaze at a newly opened rose blossom or to lean over for a whiff of the fragrance. The traditional rose garden is filled with hybrid teas, with their long stems and perfect rose buds ideal for cutting. However, when it comes to landscape plants, we need choices that are more carefree, that are attractive and able to withstand our climate, pests, diseases, and soils, while providing a little seasonal color.

Abandon Rose Prejudice
Many of the best landscape roses have not made it big because of what I call "rose prejudice." Most people think all roses need to be pampered and are bewildered at the confusion over proper pruning techniques, but I am talking about roses that are able to survive and bloom even if you don't spray them. Pruning them usually amounts to a big shearing in winter and a light shearing or two in summer.

Another form of rose prejudice is the idea that rose blooms need to look like a long-stemmed hybrid tea. In fact, roses have many forms -- from simple single blooms with five petals to shaggy multipetaled forms to the traditional tea forms, just to name a few.

There are a number of roses that make good landscape shrubs. The basic qualifications are that they are dense with attractive foliage and are not prone to disease problems. They also need to be well adapted to our warm southern growing conditions, and bloom well, too.

Some of my favorites are Knock Out and the newer Rainbow Knock Out. These roses makes a great shrubs with dark green foliage and new growth that emerges with beautiful color in red and pink. The best part is that they are some of the most disease-resistant roses I have ever grown.

Planting Roses
Bare-root roses should be planted in late winter, but container grown roses can be planted at most any time of the year. Mix several inches of compost into the soil prior to planting. In our southern climate, raised beds are usually helpful in draining away excess water during those times of the year when it just can't seem to stop raining!

Our southern summers bring blistering heat and humidity. It can be a challenge to grow roses here. But even in our hot climate, roses need full sun to bloom well.

Feeding Your Plants
Roses need regular feeding to bloom their best. Many of these modern repeat bloomers will bloom up a storm if you keep them vigorous and happy. Fertilize them with a cup or two of complete fertilizer per 100 square feet of planting bed every 6 weeks from spring to late summer. There are numerous blends on the market for roses.

Despite the old advice of using high phosphorus fertilizers, I find that most of our soils contain plenty of phosphorus, especially if they have been fertilized in the past. Therefore many rose growers in the south now use products with a 3-1-2 or 4-1-2 ratio of nutrients. There are also some great natural products including cottonseed meal, blood meal, and fish fertilizer, which work great on roses.Some of my favorites are Knock Out and the newer Rainbow Knock Out. These roses makes a great shrubs with dark green foliage and new growth that emerges with beautiful color in red and pink. The best part is that they are some of the most disease-resistant roses I have ever grown.