Spring in the Rose Garden

Finally Spring is Here!

by Diane Brueckman

Winter started out slow and mild then turned brutal in February. Like most of you, I ‘Belinda’s Blush’ don’t know what to expect when I open my garden later this month. There are lots of black canes sticking out above the cover on my roses. Black canes are not a good sign, but I will not give up on my roses just yet. Many of the hardiest will be fine and others that are less hardy will surprise me by sending up new basil canes. We need to be patient and give them a bit more time to get going. This is not the year to uncover early. The Antique Rose Emporium Roses that have died back to the bud union and are sending up those precious new canes will not recover easily from a late freeze. If you have uncovered watch the weather forecast and recover if a freeze is expected. Give the roses a couple of weeks, and if nothing happens shovel prune. You do need to watch those new shoots on budded roses to be sure they are coming from the bud union and not the root stock. You should look for own-root roses when shopping for replacements. Roses on their own roots are not guaranteed to flourish but they have a better chance to survive the cold, and when new shoots come up, they will be the rose you planted, not root stock. More and more roses are being sold on their own roots. There was a time when suppliers only sold budded roses. The thinking was the modern hybrid teas, grandifloras and floribundas were not vigorous enough on their own-roots. Companies like Meilland International now test all their new roses as budded and own-root. If own-root roses are strong they sell them as ownroot. One of the best from Meilland is ‘Francis Meilland’, sold own-root. You might consider replacing the winter casualties with Easy Elegance Roses by Ping Lim. These roses were bred to survive in the upper Midwest. ‘Kiss Me’ and ‘Sweet Fragrance’ from that series have proved to be less vigorous for me than some of the others in that series. Some of the best in that group are ‘Yellow Brick Road’, ‘Kashmir’, ‘My Girl’ and ‘Calypso’. All of these roses are sold as own-root roses, which gives them an advantage over budded roses. The good news is there are some beautiful new roses coming out this year, and many are reportedly not only hardy but also disease resistant. You might look for these roses: A new rose developed by Dr. Pottschmidt, a retired OB-GYN, ‘White Lies’ is truly unique. Dr.Pottschmidt who hybridized the 2008 AARS winner ‘Dream Come True’ has out done himself with ’White Lies’. This rose starts out white and turns dark red to maroon as it ages. The color is not the only attribute of this stunning bush, it is also disease resistant with great habit, shape, and vigor. The tea fragrance is slight but that is a small price to pay for a glorious bush. Another interesting new rose is ‘Belinda’s Blush’ a sport of ‘Belinda’s Dream’. Many of you are familiar with ‘Belinda’s Dream’, an EarthKindtm rose. ‘Belinda’s Dream’ is hardy to zone 5 and very clean. ‘Belinda’s Blush’ has the characteristics of the parent but is a softer creamy white with a light pink blush. It is classed as a shrub but has a hybrid tea-like bloom with a moderate fragrance. The habit is a medium sized upright, bushy plant. Tom Carruth’s genius for hybridizing is apparent in one of the latest roses from Weeks Roses. ‘Golden Opportunity’ has in its DNA ‘Autumn Sunset’ a fabulous climber. ‘Golden Opportunity’ is a vigorous climber with deep green glossy foliage on 10-12 foot canes. The large, fragrant blooms are full (35-45 petals) spiraled and formal. All this comes with very good disease resistance.

Diane Brueckman is a retired rosarian with Missouri Botanical Garden, and currently owns Rosey Acres in Baldwin, Illinois. You can reach her at (618) 785-3011 or droseyacres@ egyptian.net.