Growing and Caring for a Rose Garden

I like roses for more than one reason. They smell good,and they offer a colorful way of making a hedge to keep intruders out,both big and small. There's an enormous selection of roses that you can grow in your home garden. With such a large selection to choose from, your decision may seem more like a difficult task than the fun that it should be. In order to make this process easier, there are a few important factors that you should consider prior to choosing your roses.

Color

How will the color of your roses effect your garden? Look at different catalogs, as well as your neighbors' gardens, to get an idea of the colors you like best. While the color of your roses might not seem very significant, you should consider the colors of other plants and flowers that your roses will share the garden with. Will the assortment of colors look nice, or will they clash? For some, color-arrangement is a priority; while for others, it's no big deal.

Size

In addition to color, the size of the roses you choose is very important. Consider the height of your roses at full-growth. If the roses grow fifteen feet in height, will they look unattractive in your garden? Remember, the size of roses vary. While some roses may grow up until eight feet, others can grow up to twenty feet in height. Measure the area of your garden prior to choosing the roses you want to plant. Compare your width and height measurements with roses you're looking to purchase. Your roses should have an ample amount of space to grow as well as plenty of exposure to the air. If you only have a small amount of space to dedicate to roses, you may want to consider growing miniature roses. These roses do not take up a lot of space and are easy to plant and care for.

Climate

Although height is an important factor in your rose garden planning, choosing the right roses for your particular climate zone is just as important. In order for your roses to grow healthy and mature, they have to be adjusted to your climate. For example, if you live in an area where it snows six months out of the year, you'll want to make sure you purchase roses that can withstand cold temperatures.

Maintenance

How much time are you willing to spend maintaining your roses? Do you live to be in the garden, or are you more of a low-maintenance type? There are several types of roses which are very high-maintenance. Although they will look beautiful in your garden, they will require a lot of your time. The classification known as "Modern Roses" are very beautiful, long blooming, and highly fragrant, however they are very high maintenance and are prone to disease. The rose classification known as "Old Garden Roses", on the other hand, have been bred to be very disease-resistant and require less maintenance.

"Old Garden Roses" blooms for several months at a time, and have a strong and beautiful scent. The bad news is that people with strong allergies to fragrances will have a terrible time around them. If that seems like it will be a problem for you then consider any of the variety known as "shrub roses". They are also disease-resistant and long blooming, but do not produce as strong a scent. If you're new to gardening and want to try your hand at growing roses, landscape roses may be your best option. These roses are easy to care for and disease-resistant. They'll look stunning just about anywhere. If your garden has trellises, you can add several climbing roses as well.

Although climbing roses look very similar to landscape roses, climbing roses have been trained to grow upward like vines. They're a beautiful touch to any home. Plant from Seed Cut the rose hips off when they are red and ripe but not wrinkled. Plant the hip in a pot that has damp peat moss in it( or seed growing soil). Place outside to allow to freeze. In around the begining of May bring the pot inside and extract the seeds and place them in a dish of water. Seeds that float will not be fertile so choose only the ones that sink to the bottom.

Start these seeds like any other seeds by planting them in a sterile seedling type mix. Keep damp but not wet. When the seeds have their second set of leaves then use a mild fertilzer at half strength weekly. Many will be wild type single pink roses but others may be very interesting and worth saving.

 Now is the time of year to start pruning the rose bush back and cut the rose hips off.

You can save the hips for eating or making perfumes from.

In colder climates place straw or other protective items around roses

Do not put wood chips around plants in real cold weather,as wood will freeze as hard as dirt and will not protect your rose bushes.