Beginner’s Guide for Growing and Pruning Roses
Growing and pruning roses can be a very rewarding experience, especially if you take the time to do some research beforehand. In order to successfully grow roses you have to know a little about the type that you plan to grow. There are three main varieties of rose. The first is the hybrid tea—which is the popular bushy type of rose plant. Next is the floribunda, which is much like the hybrid tea only this plant’s flowers are produced in thick clusters. And last is the climbing rose. The climbing rose is still quite bushy and full in appearance however it spreads very well and can easily wind its way up a wall or over a trellis.
Types of Rose Bushes
If you want a rose bush that is a bit cleaner cut or “contained” then the hybrid tea rose will be a great choice! This type of rose is also really good if you want to cut the flowers to use in a bouquet. Some hybrid tea rose varieties are highly productive when it comes to fragrance but there are many varieties that produce a softer scent or even little scent at all. With a bit of research you can easily find a variety of rose that will meet your expectations as far as color, fragrance strength, and overall flower size are concerned.
If you aren’t too fussed about cutting the roses to keep in a vase then you might consider going with the floribunda rose bush. This type of plant produces the flowers in clusters that stem off from a long branch. These bushes are generally much larger in size and spread than the traditional hybrid tea which makes them much more useful to a practical gardener who is looking to fill in a bare corner space in the garden or to spruce up the border space along the house or even a shed.
If your main goal with the rose bush is to cover a flawed wall, produce a privacy barrier, or fill in the gaps in a trellis or on a fence then the climbing rose bush is definitely a good choice for any of these purposes! There is a wide variety for you to choose from including miniature climbing roses, hardy climbers, climbers with small flowers, and of course the common climbing rose bush, just to name a few. If you’re worried that you won’t have as much of a color selection to choose from with a climbing rose plant then put your fears to rest, because this type of rose comes in all sorts of colors from red, yellow, apricot, purple, and even bi-color!
Planting Roses
If you’ve never planted anything in your life, then you might find the idea of planting a rose bush a little off-putting. Planting a rose bush is actually very easy because most of them don’t require you to mess about with fertilizer, compost, etc. As long as the soil in the area where you want to plant the rose bush doesn’t allow water to pool for long periods of time then you shouldn’t have any trouble growing roses there.
To plant your rose bush you will need a garden trowel or a shovel, a watering can, and a pair of gloves. Start by putting on your gloves and use the garden trowel to work the soil in the area where you want to grow your rose bush. The hole that you dig should be about twice the size of the starter plant’s roots. Hold the plant roots-down in the hole so that the roots are about half an inch or two below ground level. Keep the plant held in this position while you fill the rest of the hole with dirt. Be sure to pack the dirt in well around the plant so that the young plant is nice and secure. A loose plant could easily fall over on a windy day or if it is nudged by a person or animal. After you have planted the rose bush you will need to water the area deeply and check back in a few days to ensure that the soil isn’t too dry.
Pruning Roses
The idea of pruning roses can be a little unnerving. You might even be picturing a mangled or severely lopsided rose bush standing out like a sore thumb in your garden. The trick with pruning roses is to not get carried away. The main reason that we prune rose bushes (or any flowering bush) is to encourage more growth. It also keeps the plant from becoming too bushy, which could prevent sunlight and rain from reaching the center of the plant. When dealing with an older existing plant you need to start by removing the dead or diseased branches. These should be snipped off near the base of the branch until the wood looks greenish in color. If it is still white then you should cut as close to the main stem as possible without cutting into the main stem.
If you’re trying to prune a young rose bush then start by removing little “twiggy” branches that make the bush look scraggly and unkempt. The removal of these minor branches will allow the bush to use its energy towards new growth on larger, more productive branches. The general method that is recommended for pruning roses is to cut the branches, or canes, back by about half of its height in the autumn season before frost sets in. The plant should also receive a light pruning in the early spring.