Garden royalty
With proper care, roses thrive in Albuquerque
Roses. Perceived by many as the undisputed beauty queen of the botanical scene. But do they thrive in Albuquerque, an area known for its hot, dry summers and cold winters?
Bill Farmer, a master rosarian with the Albuquerque Rose Society, says a common misconception is that it is too hard to grow roses in Albuquerque.
“Roses aren’t hard to grow,” he says, “because they want to grow.”
“I don’t know there are any that don’t (do well in Albuquerque),” he adds.
In fact, there are many different types of roses for budding gardeners to try including tea roses, floribunda and miniature. And if you don’t have a garden, roses can also be cultivated in pots.
“Albuquerque allows for any type of rose you want to grow,” says Richard Hobson, owner of Jericho Nursery. “We have a great climate for them. Santa Fe is a different story, if you are in a colder than Albuquerque climate.”
While fall is the best time to plant roses in Albuquerque, local area nurseries get the largest shipments in spring. Roses come in a variety of colors, from the pale lavender of Blue Girl, to the coral-colored Fragrant Cloud, to the red and yellow duo of Ketchup & Mustard.
Created in 1867, hybrid tea roses are the most popular type of rose to grow, and the oldest of the modern garden roses. Farmer describes the blooms as the type of rose found at a florist shop.
“Rose people who are competitors, most will exhibit hybrid tea roses,” Farmer says.
Floribunda roses, such as the buttery-yellow Julia Child rose, are another type of modern garden rose, and have more blooms per stem.
Miniature roses are named for the diminutive blooms, not for the overall size of the plant.
Get growing
Once you have selected your roses, the next step is planting and that ageold adage of location, location, location.
Farmer says the worst direction to place roses would be the west side, close to a house, but he also says he has roses growing in every facing direction.
He notes the morning sun of the east, and the south side of an area are good locations.
Hobson says, “They need six to eight hours of sun. They can grow in shade but they are not as happy.”
Daniel Schwery, a plant pharmacy tech at Osuna Nursery, says in an email that most roses are grown out of state before coming to local nurseries, and our climate is often the hottest and driest place the plant has been. He says when summer temperatures start to climb and roses look stressed, not to cover or attempt to shade the rose during the first year or the roses will not acclimate.
Most roses now are sun-lovers, Schwery says, but will need time to get used to Albuquerque’s sun.
Farmer says the tags on the roses will give you the plant’s preferences. “Most prefer full-sun,” he says. “Some tolerate shade.”
“Some roses, if you keep them in partial sun, can get deeper color and the blooms last a little longer,” says Dane Elias, lead horticulturist and operations manager at Plant World.
Farmer suggests soaking the new rose plant’s roots in a large container
of water and rinsing the soil from the rose’s packaging off the plant, creating a bare root rose. Then examine the roots and take off any that are damaged.
Hobson says, “I tell people to cut all the flowers off before they plant them. It’s easier for the plant to not have to support the bloom. Trying to support the bloom while getting established is hard for them. Enjoy them in a vase.”
To prepare the hole for your new rose plant, you want to make sure the hole is twice the width of the root ball says Elias. Keep the same depth as the container and don’t plant any deeper. However, if there is compacted soil under the root ball, you can plant a little deeper to give the roots space to expand. Also, be sure not to cover the graft point of the rose while planting.
Schwery recommends peat moss or an acidified compost at a 50-50 mix with yard soil. Compost helps aerate the soil allowing roots to follow the water down.
Farmer notes that master gardeners have identified over 50 distinct soil compositions in Albuquerque. Roses prefer a loamy soil. In areas with a lot of clay, perlite can help with aeration.
To help promote good roots, Hobson recommends a root stimulator high in phosphorous, to help roots that are growing. Also, add indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), a hormone that makes more roots, once a week for a month.
Be sure to follow directions on packaging for proper application amounts. You will need to reduce the amount used for roses planted in containers.
If growing in containers, Schwery says to make sure there is proper drainage.
Hobson says roses do much better if they get fertilized regularly, once a month during the growing season. Due to the large variety of types of roses and rose food, he recommends consulting a professional or the Albuquerque Rose Society for fertilizing guidance.
Schwery recommends planting roses, or any plant, in the early evening. Daytime temperatures are dropping by then, he says, and that will take away a lot of stress to the plant and minimize evaporation.
Moist, not soggy
Water the new rose every day for two weeks, then every other day for two weeks.
If the rose is a three-gallon bush, then give three gallons of water, Hobson says. About the amount of water that the container holds.
Hobson recommends initially handwatering and building a reservoir around the bush.
Once established, you can continue hand-watering, or switch to another watering system. Farmer says there is debate among rose enthusiasts over whether drip irrigation or directional sprayers are better for watering roses. But he says the amount of water depends on the size of the plant.
“The easy answer is to keep the soil moist, you don’t want it to dry out,” Farmer says. “If the roots dry out, the plant dies, but not soggy wet.”
The hottest parts of the year, you want to water three times a week, says Elias. In the more marginal temperatures such as spring and fall, water a couple of times a week.
Roses should also be watered every 10 days to two weeks in the winter.
“More roses die in winter due to dehydration,” says Farmer.
Factors like temperature and weekly precipitation can alter the watering amount.
After the rose has bloomed, you can deadhead the plant to promote new blooms. Deadheading is the term used for cutting the bloom off the cane.
Farmer says the cutting can be done straight across the cane, and does not need to be at an angle. He also recommends adding a dab of white glue to the end of the plant’s cut cane to prevent insects from laying eggs in the soft pith.
Winter protection
After the last blooms fall and winter has arrived, Farmer says mounding soil around the base of the rose will help protect the crown of grafted roses, which can be more sensitive to cold.
Roses in containers are also more susceptible to cold temperatures than those in the ground. But Farmer says it would take a few nights below 28 degrees in a row to seriously damage a rose. “Roses are hard to kill,” says Farmer. Once spring rolls around again, the time to prune will be upon rose growers. Hobson recommends pruning the rose bush to five to eight canes at 18-to-24 inches tall, every year.
Farmer says typical guidance is that anything smaller than a No. 2 pencil will not be strong enough to support a bloom. He also says to remove dead rose canes, which will be hard and will show no signs of new growth.
To tackle pruning and rose maintenance Farmer recommends a good set of pruners, a saw (folding offers good protection when not in use), and long-handled loppers.
Don’t bug us
Roses in Albuquerque can fall prey to the pests aphids and thrips. “Anybody growing anything are familiar with aphids,” says Hobson. “They come in every color, shape and size.”
But Hobson says black spot, a fungal disease that can be found on roses, is almost nonexistent here.
Elias recommends applying dormant oil in late winter to suffocate overwintering eggs.
“There are some roses that have disease issues,” says Elias. “The beauty of growing in a dry environment, we avoid most of that.”
“Don’t give up and don’t be afraid to ask questions,” says Farmer. He recommends contacting the Albuquerque Rose Society through email or Facebook with rose-related questions. The Albuquerque Rose Society also has a booklet for sale on its website, “Growing Roses in Albuquerque,” that offers guidance.
“For what they give you, there is nothing like that,” says Hobson. “Rose enthusiasts know that.”