Bare Root Roses

 Nothing adds more to a garden than beautiful roses. Growing roses is fun and sooo rewarding. January and February are the best times of the year to plant. The best type of rose to plant at this time are the bare root roses. In these two months the roses are in their dormant state.

If you already have roses in your yard, now is the time to prune. If you have hybrid teas, you should cut the number of canes to no more than six, preferably four. Also, the canes should be 8-12 inches long. If you have floribundas or grandifloras, then cut back to about 2-3 feet tall. For English roses, prune for shape.

Do not fertilize at this time. Wait until you see the new buds begin to peek out from the canes.

Laguna Hills Nursery recommends the following hybrid teas. (www.lagunahillsnursery.com). Each of these roses has been grown successfully in Sea Pointe.

The following list is organized according to color. You may view them at http://www.eastbaynursery.com/roseinfo/roseindex.html?c=hybrid_teas.html

Red: Ingrid Bergman, Mister Lincoln, Olympiad, and Veteran’s Honor. My favorite is Mister Lincoln.

Pink: Bewitched, Yves Piaget, and Rina Hugo. My favorite is Bewitched.

Yellow: St. Patrick. Just awesome, awesome.

White: Moonstone, Honor, Full Sail. Moonstone is the favorite.

Orange: Just Joey. Great choice.

Multicolor: Double Delight, Chicago Peace, Chris Evert, Paradise, Brigadoon and Signature. Double Delight and Chicago Peace will delight you all summer long.

Special Rose: Peace. A fantastic yellow rose, trimmed in pink. Every rose garden should have this. You must read the special story of “The Peace Rose” at

http://www.scvrs.homestead.com/Peace.html

Did You Know? The rose is the official flower of the United States.