Rose Report

mulch rose beds, consider membership(s), and learn which roses perform well in the Midwest, and those new on the scene

Hey John, “Am I done with my roses for the year?”

You are if your rose beds look like the rose bed pictured at the right. The long canes are cut to a sturdy length so they should not be damaged by the wind and any ice. The roses are mulched with shredded leaves or other organic material a foot or more deep.

Hey John, “What else can I be doing in December?”

December is the time to rest and to plan for your rose garden next year. It is the time to select roses to order on-line from nurseries or visit your local nurseries to see what they plan to have available next season. A starting place for on-line ordering is to go to the website helpmefind. com. Search for the rose you want and there will be a tab “buy from” listing several nurseries.

Here is a tip. There is a way to get discounts up to 15% at some of these nurseries. These discounts are available to American Rose Society (ARS) members. The ARS annual dues for an individual are only $49, so it would not take too many rose purchases to pay for your membership. There are other ARS benefits as well, such as a great bi-monthly magazine and discounted garden admissions around the country. Go to rose.org to check it out. If you are not ready to join the American Rose Society, you may join the Kansas City Rose Society and get a 4-month free trial ARS membership.

When you order your roses, the nursery may ask when you would like them delivered. Some will automatically ship to you based on your location. If not, you will want to tell them March for bare root roses (when it becomes warm enough to work the soil) and early May for roses in containers (when the risk of a hard freeze has passed). Rose bed ready for winter.

Hey John, “How do I know what roses to put in my garden?”

First, start with roses that have done well in the rose garden in Loose Park. Some of my favorites are shrub roses like Paloma Blanca, Quietness, and Heritage. There are some great floribundas like Julia Child, Europeana, and Day Breaker. If you want a hybrid tea, my picks would be Elina, Chrysler Imperial and Golden Fairy Tale. You can see these roses and learn about them by visiting the KCRS Rose Library www.kcrsroselibrary.com.

The American Rose Society has a program called Roses in Review. Any rose grower may submit a review indicating how well the rose performed for them, such as whether it is winter hardy, disease resistant, and how fragrant.

The new roses on the market that have been reviewed by Midwest gardeners with top ratings are as follows:

Shrubs: Canadian Shield, Crazy Love, Pinktopia, and The Mill on the Floss

Floribundas: Celestine and Dancing Pink

Miniatures: Little Grey Pearl and Vernon’s Laugh.

To see the nationwide ratings for all roses in commerce, get the Handbook for Selecting Roses from ARS.

For more information on any of these topics, go to the Kansas City Rose Society webpage https:// www.kansascityrosesociety.org/ growing-roses.html.

The Ask-a-Rosarian hotline is always available for your specific rose questions at kcrosehelp@ gmail.com. One of the Kansas City Rose Society Consulting Rosarians will send an answer, usually by the next day.

‘Quietness’ is a favorite shrub rose.

JOHN RILEY Consulting Rosarian

John Riley is an American Rose Society Master Consulting Rosarian and is Secretary of the Kansas City Rose Society. He is a past president of the Johnson County Rose Society and is on the American Rose Society Board of Directors representing the Central District. John is a retired mechanical engineer who is an opera fan and goes to a lot of soccer games.