This summer, two great rose minds met in the test fields at our headquarters. Listen in as Steve Hutton, president of Conard-Pyle/Star® Roses & Plants, and Alain Meilland, head of Meilland International, discuss our favorite flower.
Tag Archives: buying roses
Fall is a Great Time for Planting Roses
Fall is not just a time to plant your spring bulbs and enjoy colorful foliage, it is also an excellent time to plant roses.
The Knock Out® Family of Roses and Drift® Roses are perfect for fall planting. The sun is still able to nurture a newly planted rose and the cool nights are perfect for keeping new plants moist.
Pick a sunny spot, with at least six hours of sunlight, and space your roses about two to three feet apart. Dig a hole that is about twice as wide as the pot, and a little bit deeper than the height of the pot. When planting Knock Out® or Drift® Roses, you do not need to add fertilizer. You should also use your hand to gently loosen the roots before putting the rose in the hole and filling in with dirt. Watering is important – about one to two gallons per plant is good.
In most climates, as the days grow darker, your rose will get ready for winter.
Click here to see what rosarian Paul Zimmerman, contributor to Fine Gardening magazine, has to say about planting roses in the fall – and how to find some bargains at your local garden center.
Bareroot vs. Container Roses
By Kristen Smith
So you are perusing the selection at a garden center and you see some twigs wrapped in attractive packaging with colorful pictures of rose blooms promising that someday this back of twigs will one day look so beautiful. Really? What is a bareroot rose and what are the advantages of purchasing it over a container rose and vice versa?
A bareroot rose is typically harvested from a production field in late fall; stored in wet, cold storage over the winter, and shipped out to garden centers in January, February, March and April, depending on your area of the country. A bareroot rose is pretty much what the name implies – a rose without any soil around the root and leafless.
Bareroot roses can be planted very early in the season.
Purchasing a bareroot rose has many advantages to the consumer.
- Cost – it is typically much less expensive to purchase a bareroot rose vs. a container rose since it is cheaper to ship, does not have to be sold in a costly pot, and overall has had much less resources put into growing it – think about all the time, labor, fertilizer, and chemicals that go into growing a rose in container production.
- Availability – typically a consumer has a much wider selection to choose from when purchasing bareroot – particularly if you choose to purchase from an online retailer.
- Easier transplant to the garden – Bareroot roses can be planted early in the season, and may even be able to withstand a few frosts if planted before the buds begin to break. It is wise not to purchase a bareroot rose too late in the season – the general rule is if it two weeks past your last frost free date –it is too late to purchase and plant bareroot. The reason being, at this point the bareroot rose has probably already started sending out leaves and has likely been stressed at the garden center. This foliage will likely “burn off” upon transplanting, setting the rose up for delay and disaster in the ground.
Container roses are of course lovely to look at when they are in full bloom at the garden center, and a lot are probably purchased out of impulse because they look just so darn good!
Who can resist a blooming container beauty?
One of the best advantages to buying a container is because if it has blooms on it, you will know exactly what to expect without having to rely on the picture which may not always be an exact indication of size, color, or possible fragrance. It is best to be advised that these fully leafed out, blooming plants may need a bit more pampering when making the transition to the garden. Be sure to water in well especially if you experience a stretch of warm weather around the time of transplant. It may be best to deadhead the rose upon transplant so the plant can put more energy into its roots establishment in the soil. The faster the roots grow out and establish, the less you will have to rely on watering. Also, be a smart consumer – be sure to look the plant up, down, left, and right before purchasing to ensure you are bringing home a healthy plant. Take a glance at the root system. The roots should be to the base of the pot and be easy to remove from the pot without crumbling or falling apart. Conversely the roots shouldn’t be growing out of the pot or so dense in the pot that you can barely tell there is soil. Also be sure the top growth looks nice, lush and green and that the there are no obvious pests or diseases. Starting with a strong healthy plant will ensure you rose will make the best transition to your garden site.
Whether you purchase a bareroot or container rose, you should expect many years of enjoyment out of your new rose!
Getting Your New Roses – Online or In Person?
Everyone loves heading to the local garden center on that first nice day of spring and picking out a beautiful new rose from among the rows and rows of choices. But what if the store doesn’t have the exact variety you want? Do you order it? Make a second choice? Try another retailer?
Maybe the answer is: shop online. A simple Google search will turn up several websites that will allow you to order the roses you want, and have them delivered right to your door at precisely the time when they should be planted. Many of these will be bare root roses, which bear little resemblance to the beauties they will become but are an affordable alternative and allow you to get a jump start on the planting season. Ordering online may be a better option if you are trying to track down or want to discover a new or hard-to-find variety.
Of course, shopping in person offers advantages as well. While early in the growing season, you may see bare root roses in the stores, as it gets later, you will see more container roses. These have already leafed out and most will be in boom, so you can see how the finished product looks. You may decide, for example, that even though you had your heart set on a red rose, you can’t stop staring at the pink one. You can also inspect the plant for general health, size and other important characteristics, to make sure you are buying a rose that will perform.
As for me, I purchase most of my new additions in person, but I supplement that by ordering a few special or hard-to-find items online.
So, how do you get most of your new roses – online or in person?
If you answered “in person,” start here to find out where to buy Knock Out®, Drift®, and Star® Roses near you.
