Pub 1587 Rose Slow Res 1
Pub 1587 Rose Slow Res 1
Pub 1587 Rose Slow Res 1
Roses
Selection, Planting and Care
It would be hard to find a flower more universally loved than the rose. Over
humanity’s long history with this plant, the rose has found its way into our gardens,
cuisine, medicine, art and cultures. It is easier than ever to find undemanding, reli-
able roses that will enhance your landscape. The following information will help you
decide what types of roses to grow and explain how to plant and take care of them.
Landscape Planning
When choosing roses, consider how you want to use them in your landscape and
why you intend to grow them. Although traditionally they were grown together in
their own beds (the classic rose garden), roses today are often incorporated into
landscapes just like any other shrub. Old garden roses, shrub roses, landscape roses,
polyanthas and floribundas are particularly suitable for this.
Hybrid teas and grandifloras are what you should choose if you want to grow
roses with perfect flowers on long stems for cutting (although other groups of roses
also produce excellent cut flowers). The long stems so great for cutting, however,
make these rose bushes rather tall and awkward, and their shape does not combine
easily with other plants. That, along with their exacting cultural requirements, is why
these roses are often grown in separate beds.
When training roses on a trellis, arbor or fence, choose rose cultivars from the
climbers, ramblers and old garden roses that produce long vigorous canes, such as
the noisettes.
Maintenance is also an issue when deciding where and how many roses you want
to include in your landscape. Generally, hybrid teas, grandifloras and floribundas,
traditionally the most popular and widely available groups of roses, are relatively
high-maintenance plants due to their susceptibility to black spot disease.
Proven Cultivars
Recent trends in what roses people grow show a move away from traditional
hybrid teas and grandifloras. Instead, there is increasing interest in old garden roses
and landscape/shrub roses that are more disease resistant, easier to care for and fit
well into landscape beds like other shrubs.
Many roses on the market have undergone extensive testing evaluation in
Louisiana and across the country. Respected organizations offer recommendations
based on their studies. The following roses are reliable and relatively carefree, but
represent only a small fraction of the roses available.
Cultivar evaluations of David Austin roses conducted between 2003 and 2006
at the American Rose Center in Shreveport were based on flowering, growth habit,
fragrance and disease resistance.
Outstanding performers included Tess of the d’Urbervilles, Benjamin Britten, Jude
the Obscure, Heritage, Charlotte and Molineaux.
Above-average performers included Abraham Darby, Eglantyne, A Shropshire Lad,
Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Winchester Cathedral.
EarthKind Roses
EarthKind is a designation given to select roses by the Texas A&M University
Agriculture program. EarthKind Roses have been through rigorous Texas statewide
testing and evaluation by a team of horticultural experts. Each selected cultivar was
found to possess the high level of landscape performance and outstanding disease
and insect tolerance/resistance required for this special designation. Some of these
roses may not perform as well in Louisiana as in Texas.
Currently, the EarthKind list of cultivars include Marie Daly, The Fairy, Knock Out,
Caldwell Pink, Perle d’Or, Belinda’s Dream, Else Poulson, Carefree Beauty (Katy Road
Pink), Duchesse de Brabant, Spice, Mutabilis, Climbing Pinkie, Seafoam.
Tea Roses. These are outstanding everblooming roses for Louisiana and
produce relatively large flowers in pastel shades and light reds. The fragrant flowers
are produced continuously on robust bushes that are rugged and disease resistant.
These roses were used to develop the hybrid teas popular today. Cultivars include
Bon Silene (dark pink), Duchesse de Brabant (light pink), Mrs. B. R. Cant (red), Mrs.
Dudley Cross (yellow blend), Sombreuil (white, climber).
Noisette Roses. This category was developed in America and contains mostly
well-behaved climbers, although a few are robust shrubs. These everblooming
roses thrive in Louisiana. The pastel flowers are fragrant and grow in clusters that
hang down from the canes. Cultivars include Champney’s Pink Cluster (light pink),
Lamarque (white), Mme. Alfred Carriere (white), Natchitoches Noisette (light pink),
Reve d’ Or (pale gold).
Bourbon Roses. Though more susceptible to black spot than the previously
mentioned old garden roses, many of the Bourbons thrive in the Louisiana climate.
Flowers are usually quite fragrant and produced on everblooming, large, robust
shrubs or climbers. Cultivars include Maggie (red), Souvenir de la Malmaison (pink),
Zephirine Drouhin (pink), Boule de Neige (white), Mme. Isaac Pereire (dark pink).
Purchasing Guidelines
Regardless of the type or cultivar you choose, buy the highest quality bushes
available. It is well worth the extra cost for a healthy, vigorous plant that will produce
lots of flowers. Choose bushes that have at least three to five canes about the diam-
eter of your fingers (although some types of roses, such as miniatures and Chinas,
typically have smaller canes). Avoid bushes that show signs of damage or disease
on the canes. Also, it’s best if the canes radiate out away from the center in several
directions, since that pattern will produce a more shapely bush.
Roses planted during the intense heat of summer must deal with stressful
weather conditions while trying to get established in the landscape. Generally
speaking, refrain from planting roses in June, July, August and early September.
Proper Planting
Take some time and care when planting rose bushes, and make sure you do it
properly.
• For bare root roses, remove the roots from the wrapper and put the roots
down in a bucket of water. Dig a hole in a well-prepared bed as deep and wide
as the root system. Place a cone-shaped mound of soil in the hole, position the
plant over the cone and spread the roots out over it. Hold the plant in place so
the graft union (large knob on lower part of plant) is about 2 inches higher than
the soil of the bed. Use your other hand to push and firm soil into the hole to
cover the roots. Make sure the graft union is above soil level when you finish.
• For container roses, dig a hole in the bed about the same size as the root ball
in the container. Slide the plant out of the container. Don’t worry if the soil falls
away from the root system. Sometimes roses have not been potted up long
enough for their roots to fill the container and hold together the soil. If the soil
falls away when you take the rose out of the container, just follow the proce-
dure for bare root roses. Otherwise, put the rootball in the hole. Its top should
be level with the soil of the bed. Make sure the graft union is above soil level. Fill
in around the rootball and firm with your hand.
• Water plants thoroughly to finish settling the soil, and mulch.
It is very important not to plant the bush too After planting, apply 1 or 2 inches of
deep.The top of the rootball should be level with mulch (such as chopped leaves used here)
or slightly above the soil of the bed. Sometimes it around the bush.
helps to lay a stick across the hole to check this.
Watering Guidelines
Established roses are relatively drought tolerant, but there will be times when
hot, dry weather lasts long enough that you need to irrigate. When the soil is dry
enough to require irrigation, it is best to water your roses thoroughly and deeply
once or twice a week than to water lightly frequently. Apply enough water to
penetrate at least 4 to 6 inches into the soil.
It’s a good idea to water your roses in a way that keeps the water off the
foliage. This will help minimize fungal leaf diseases. Soaker hoses work well for this.
Otherwise, water roses during the early morning or during the day when the sun
will dry the foliage rapidly.
Fertilizer Recommendations
A general-purpose fertilizer appropriate for the soil in your area can be applied
to roses in early March in South Louisiana and late March in North Louisiana. Follow
label directions carefully. Fertilize again at the time interval indicated on the label.
Slow-release fertilizers are recommended since they fertilize for an extended period,
save effort and reduce fertilizer runoff.
Different fertilizers will provide nutrients for different lengths of time. When to
apply fertilizer again depends on the fertilizer you are using and how long it lasts.
Apply fertilizer at the intervals recommended on the package. Generally, do not
fertilize roses after early September to avoid encouraging them to grow in winter.
If your soil is low in magnesium and calcium and the pH is below 5.5, adding
dolomitic lime may be necessary. Foliar sprays of Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate)
at 1 teaspoon/gallon of water will enhance the green color of the foliage without
changing the pH if it is already high enough.
Pruning
When necessary, major pruning of everblooming roses is best done anytime
from late January (South Louisiana) through mid-February (North Louisiana).
Everblooming roses are those that bloom abundantly in spring and early summer,
moderately through the summer and then produce an outstanding display in the fall.
Once-blooming roses (those that bloom only once a year) should be pruned after
the flowers fade in mid-summer.
Use sharp bypass hand pruners. They make
clean cuts and minimize damage to the stems.
Should you need to cut canes larger than one-half
inch in diameter, use bypass loppers. It’s a good
idea to wear a sturdy pair of leather gloves and
long sleeves to protect your hands and arms from
the thorns.
a second, but not as severe, pruning in late summer – around late August or early
September. Pruning done in late summer shapes them up and prepares the bushes
for outstanding fall bloom.
Cut back hybrid tea and grandiflora roses about 30-36 inches. Prune other types
of everblooming roses as needed, but generally not as much as in late winter.
We also prune when removing faded flowers (deadheading). Cut the faded
flower or flower cluster at least back to the first five leaflet leaf (leaves closest to
the flowers generally have three leaflets). If the shoot that produced the flowers is
especially strong and vigorous, cut it back farther when removing the faded flowers.
With especially fast growing, vigorous rose bushes, cutting back somewhat farther
than the first five leaflet leaf when deadheading will help control the plants between
major prunings.
Pest Control
Different rose groups and cultivars vary tremendously in their susceptibility
to insect and disease problems. The best landscape roses are relatively carefree
and rarely need attention to pest control. Other groups, many of the hybrid teas
for example, require a regular spray program from spring to fall to prevent major
damage from pests, notably black spot.
Pest control needs should certainly be factored in when making choices on
what roses you intend to grow. If you want to minimize spraying, look in particular
for resistance to black spot disease. Relatively carefree roses may not necessarily
be immune to pest problems, but the symptoms are not as severe, and the plants
recover without treatment (although their appearance may suffer for a time).
Diseases
Black spot, a fungal disease (Diplocarpon), is the most widely distributed and
destructive disease of roses in Louisiana. It can be recognized by the nearly circular
black spots with frayed or fringed margins. The spots vary in number and size and
are usually present on the upper surface. Although the spots are unsightly, the more
serious effect is from extensive leaf drop that reduces the vigor of a plant. (The
leaves make food for the plant through photosynthesis. The loss of leaves means
the plant is less able to make the food it needs,
which lowers its vigor.)
To control black spot, a regular, preventa-
tive fungicide spray program must be followed
throughout the growing season. This spray
schedule needs to begin as soon as new leaves
begin after pruning in late winter.You cannot
spray on an as-needed basis when you see
the symptoms, since that will not successfully
control this disease. Fungicides containing Blackspot produces dark spots of
azoxystrobin, benomyl, calcium polysulfide, various sizes on leaves and leads
captan, chlorothalonil, copper hydroxide, copper to yellowing and dropping foliage.
oleate, kresoxim-methyl, mancozeb, maneb,
myclobutanil, potassium bicarbonate, propicon-
azole, sulfur, triforine, thiophanate methyl or thiophanate methyl plus mancozeb are
recommended. Be sure to follow the label recommendations carefully.
Powdery mildew fungus (Sphaerotheca) appears in the spring and fall when days
are warm and humid and the weather is dry. Symptoms include a white, powdery
coating of fungal growth on the young foliage and flower buds, which can result
in deformed leaves and aborted flower buds. Leaves may curl slightly or appear
blistered. In extreme cases, the new growth may be stunted and twisted. Powdery
mildew is generally not as pervasive and damaging as black spot, and you may wait
until you see early symptoms to spray. Recommended fungicides include azoxys-
trobin, calcium calcium polysulfide, copper hydroxide, copper oleate, copper salts,
kresoxim-methyl, myclobutanil, olysulfide, potassium bicarbonate, propiconazole,
sulfur, thiophanate-methyl, thiophanate-methyl/mancozeb, triadimefon and triforine.
Leaf rust, caused by a fungus (Phragmidium), is also seen on roses in Louisiana. It
produces roughly circular bright orange spots on the underside of the leaves and on
stems. Treat with a product containing azoxystrobin, calcium polysulfide, kresoxim-
methyl, mancozeb, maneb, myclobutanil, propiconazole, sulfur or triforine for best
control.
Stem cankers and dieback usually appear as dead or discolored areas on rose
canes and vary in color from light tan to dark, purplish brown. They are caused
by various species of fungi, including Botryosphaeria, Leptosphaeria, Coniothyrium and
Cryptosporella. These fungi enter healthy canes through wounds. Cankers can enlarge
until they entirely surround the cane, and/or reach the base (crown) of the plant
spreading to other canes or killing the plant. They may occur on roses that have
been pruned improperly, weakened by black spot, poor nutrition or poor growing
conditions. No fungicides specifically are available to control stem canker.
Avoid injury to the plant during transplanting, cultivating, pruning and flower-
cutting. Wounds are a major way the fungus enters the plant.
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Prune properly; prune an outward-facing bud. This will help to avoid too many
branches growing into the center of the plant that may cross and rub together.
Remove and destroy all infected or dead portions of canes immediately. Make all
pruning cuts well below the diseased areas, and prune about one-quarter inch above
an outward-facing bud. Disinfect cutting tools after use on a diseased plant in a solu-
tion of 1 part household bleach to 9 parts water.
Crown gall is an infection caused by Agrobacterium tumefaciens, a bacterium that
lives in the soil. Symptoms are knob-like swellings on stems, usually near the soil line
or the graft union. Infected plants may become stunted. There are no treatments.
Remove and dispose of infected plants.
Also see LSU AgCenter publication 2613, Rose Diseases, for more information.
Authors:
Dan Gill, Associate Professor (Horticulture)
Allen Owings, Professor (Horticulture)
This material is based upon work supported by the Cooperative State Research, Education and Ex-
tension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under Award No. 2006-41210-03363. All opinions,
findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s)
and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U. S. Department of Agriculture.
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