GROWING ROSES
PART 1 OF A SERIES ON GROWING THESE REGAL BLOOMS
“I don’t know if nice people tend to grow roses, or growing roses tends to make people nice.” Roland A Browne, author of For Better Gardens and The Rose Lover’s Guide: A
Practical Handbook On Rose Growing.
AS PROMISED last week, today’s article will be on the topic of growing roses.
Now, I’m the first to confess that I’m not a rose growing expert and that I have been avoiding compiling an article on these revered flowers since I started writing in November 2013 (today’s article is my 400th for The Chronicle).
I have been inspired by my recent visit to The Queensland State Rose Garden (see last week’s article on this special place) and the enthusiasm of the members of the Darling Downs Rose Society, in particular society president Leo Cooper, who has provided some local growing notes.
Some information has also been supplied by John and Sylvia Gray of Brindabella Country Gardens, Highfields, and Paul Hains, a well-respected rose breeder and grower in Brisbane, and author of Growing Roses.
Let’s look at the basic requirements to grow healthy roses.
The first is location. Roses need a sunny, open location in your garden, in an area where the plants are protected from strong winds.
“Sunny” means that plants receive at least six hours of direct sunlight a day, preferably morning sun, and are best sited on the northern side of a property.
Less sunlight will result in a reduction of flower numbers and plant vigour, however there are a few rose varieties which are more shade tolerant than others.
It’s best to position a windbreak (hedges, structures) around rose gardens ensuring they don’t cast shade on the plants and that there is still good air circulation, essential for reducing disease.
If planting roses in an existing garden, make sure they are positioned well away from the driplines of trees and shrubs, as competition for water and nutrients will be much less for your new roses.
If planting many roses in a dedicated garden bed, ensure there is adequate spacing between plants to allow good air circulation.
Around 80cm to 100cm apart is considered ideal for densely planted beds.
As for any plant, knowing your soil and how to prepare it for planting is an imperative for roses.
Simply digging a hole and whacking in a plant is a recipe for unhealthy growth and ultimate disaster.
It’s important to do a few basic tests to determine soil properties such as texture, structure, drainage and pH before planting anything.
Roses prefer a well-structured, free draining soil with a pH of around 6.5 to 7.0.
All soils benefit from the addition of organic matter such as quality compost or well-rotted cow manure to improve structure, with heavier clays also responding to the incorporation of gypsum.
High pH (alkaline) soils need sulphur to bring the pH down, and low pH (acidic) soils will respond to the addition of lime to raise the pH to an acceptable level.
Once you have prepared your planting area, it’s time to get your roses into the ground.
Roses are usually purchased as either bare rooted plants in winter, or as potted plants throughout the year.
Bare root plants are usually cheaper to purchase than potted specimens.
It’s best to plant your bare root roses within a day or so after they arrive.
Remove them from the wrapping, wash all material from the roots, trim off any dead or broken roots, and soak in a weak seaweed solution for at least 24 hours.
Dig the planting hole wide and deep enough to contain the roots (about 30-40cm wide and 20-30cm deep), and form a mound in the centre, over which the roots are arranged before backfilling.
You could add some simple fertiliser like blood and bone under the central mound but make sure it will not come into contact with the roots as they will burn.
Do not add any fertiliser to the planting hole when backfilling apart from the low analysis blood and bone under the planting mound.
Most roses are grafted, so make sure the bud union is 25 to 50mm above soil level when planted.
Once in the ground, water in well to settle the soil around the roots and mulch to around 50cm diameter, making sure the mulch is kept away from the stem.
Organic mulches can be laid to a depth of around 75mm or 3”.
Best organic mulches to use are sugar cane, lucerne or pea straw, as they will break down to provide nutrients slowly to your plants.
This means that may need renewing every 6 to 12 months.
Newly planted roses, whether bare root or potted, will need consistent moisture in order to survive and thrive.
It’s recommended that roses planted in winter will need 10 litres of water (a bucket) once a week until the warmer days of late spring and summer, when they will need watering twice a week with 10 litres each time (20L a week).
Next week’s article will concentrate on fertilising and pruning and cover a few pests and diseases to watch out for.
GARDEN CUTTINGS
Today the Queensland State Rose Garden at Newtown Park celebrates its 21st birthday.
Get along to festivities which begin at 10am. There’ll be a guard of honour by the 11th Light Horse Darling Downs Troop, flag raising and national anthem, rose and bonsai displays in the Rose Cottage, rose garden tours and the unveiling of the 21st celebration sculpture by Mayor Paul Antonio.
10am to 3pm.