Rose gardening tips – joyful fall bloom September

I’ve asked The Gardener to come back to have a chat with us about his rose gardening tips.  He is sharing the big fall bloom of roses at Casa Bouquet. Be sure to check out his rose planting tips and spring advice for roses.

What’s happening in the garden at the end of summer? The blooms start coming back more rapidly. With the summer heat gone, the flower takes longer to mature and open, so you get a bigger and more fragrant flower. The bloom lasts for several days as opposed to one or two days in the summer.

What are some rose gardening care tips for this time? Unlike the summer, when you have to do a lot of watering, less watering is required as temperatures cool off. Other maintenance is primarily deadheading. At the beginning of winter, I cut the roses down to about 3 to 5 feet to prevent damage from snowfall or ice storm. Here in Raleigh (zone 7b) I usually do it in December. Cutting this way still allows leaves to remain on the canes that help give the plant nutrients. To keep the base of the plant from freezing you may want to add mulch up to the graft node (where the hybrid plant is grafted to the root stock.)

If I want to put in a rose garden in the spring, how do I decide where to put it? You have to find a spot that gets 6 to 8 hours of sun in the summertime. Ideally you want to locate it where you have the best soil drainage. And of course, put them where you can see them. I like to put mine out front so people can see them when they are out walking in the neighborhood. At our house the summer sun travels east to west over the south side of the house, so our garden is on the south where it won’t get shaded by the house.

I’m so excited when the roses start blooming vigorously, our fall crop. These blooms have a fruity smell, like apples, oranges, and pears. My favorites at this time are Dolly Parton, Mister Lincoln, Melody Parfumee, and Fragrant Cloud.

The hybrid tea Rio Samba does so well in cooler weather. The buds are a sun-colored yellow and orange. As they open and mature they change to dark pink. And they are fragrant!

Related links for rose gardening

• Background on rose types: http://garden.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Rose_Types
• The American Rose Society has helpful articles on working with roses: http://www.rose.org/rose-care-articles/
• University of Illinois Extension has illustrated information on rose diseases and pests. You can treat with chemicals or use organic or natural methods: http://extension.illinois.edu/roses/disease.cfm

Let’s talk story

Our fall crop of roses is so joyful. The fruity smells go so well with the crisper weather and all the pumpkin goodies! Once I left a vase for an office admin and they stayed in her closed office over night. When she came in next morning she was going around the office asking everyone why her office smelled like cake! It was the fruity roses! The roses keep coming until the first week of December. I’ll cut the remaining buds and rose hips to use for a holiday craft.

What’s your favorite rose? I’ll be looking for your comments!

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