FAQs About Roses

Here are a few answers to some FAQs about roses.

Question: "Winter Hardy", what does it mean?

Answer: There are three categories of winter hardiness.

1. Hardy to the tip: A rose that is hardy to its tip means that its canes did not die back at all during the winter.

2. Hardy to the snow line: A rose that is hardy to the snow line means the canes are dead at the average snow depth between ten and twenty inches and anything below the snow line is alive.

3. Hardy to the crown: A rose that is hardy to the crown means that its canes will die all the way to the ground, but the crown and roots are hardy and grows back in Spring.

Question: What do I do to get roses ready for winter?

Answer: Roses that are healthy and have been well watered you do not have to do anything, if the rose is hardy to your Zone. Tender roses on the other hand need complete protection in the winter. Any rose will benefit from a shovel full of some type of compost placed around the base of the plant. The compost should be placed after the first hard frost, so no new growth starts. Also stop feeding roses six weeks before the first frost. Water well, it is the best fertilizer, make sure roses are not standing in water and they are well drained.

Question: How much, how often and what type of fertilizer should be used?

Answer: There are many techniques and recipes for feeding roses. For roses to produce blooms, they need to be fed. The food can come in a bag or a bottle of ready to use or by compost. Your roses will benefit by using both. Use a shovel full of compost per rose in early Spring and late Fall. Applying a well balanced organic fertilizer one time a month to roses in early Spring and ending six weeks before the first frost.

Question: When watering, how much does a rose plant need a week?

Answer: Roses need about an inch of rainfall per week, that is about one gallon of water. Roses are hungry plants and love the water, but do not like to have their roots standing in it. Water is your best fertilizer, it moves nutrients through soil and into the plant. Roses need consistent moisture. Water roses deeply one time a week, if there is no rainfall and place three or four inches of mulch around the base to hold in moisture.

Question: What things should be added to a new garden bed?

Answer: First thing to do is get rid of any and all weeds and grass in your rose garden. Doing this now maybe hard work and time consuming, but it will be a lot harder after you have planted.

Second test the soil for pH levels in your rose garden site. Your soil should be around 6.5 to 7.0. Acidic soil is less than 6.0 and lime needs to be added. Alkaline soil is above 7.0 and needs sulfur. Follow the directions on the lime and sulfur packages carefully.

Third add organic matter and lots of it. Apply it to any type of soil. It makes the soil healthy and your roses will be well fed. Compost is the best source for organic matter. It loosens, aerates, drains and provides food for organisms that live in the soil.

Fourth if you live in an area that has clay soil, gypsum, sand and organic matter needs to be added. This will help to loosen soil. If the soil in your area is sandy add more organic matter or black topsoil to make the soil increase its water holding capacity and fertility.

Proper preparation of soil is the key to growing beautiful and healthy roses.

Question: How can I find the perfect color of rose?

Answer: Finding the perfect color rose can be difficult. The color of roses can vary depending on the temperature of the air and the blooms age. The American Rose Society has standardize rose colors and identified eighteen official rose classes. Below is a list of colors and their abbreviations that may help in choosing a color:

* w- white, near white or white blend
* ly- light yellow
* my- medium yellow
* dy- deep yellow
* yb- yellow blend
* ab-apricot and apricot blend
* ob- orange and orange blend
* or- orange red and orange red blend
* lp- light pink
* mp- medium pink
* dp- deep pink
* mr- medium red
* dr- dark red
* rb- red blend
* m- mauve and mauve blend
* r- russet

Question: How much sun should roses get?

Answer: Roses prefer a full day of sun. They need 6 hours of direct sunlight a day. Morning sun is the best and is important, it dries the leaves and prevents rose disease.

For more FAQ's about roses visit: http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/roses

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