A Rose is a Rose - Unless It's a Dogwood
Maud Kane

June 19, 2002

It has long been an American myth that gardeners are divided into two groups: those who grow roses and those who don't. I grew up thinking this was the way life was, and overheard a relative in conversation saying: "No, I don't grow roses." But is it "I don't " or "I can't" or "I Won't?" Heck, I figured, why not? Ok, maybe it's the potential need for maintenance. In the 50's I remember my mom "dusting" rose bushes. That was enough to turn me off for life. Then there were the scratches on her hands- ungrateful weeds!

Bugs ate them, mowers bashed them, storms smushed them. But they kept coming back. The roses I mean. Must be something magic about them. And so, not wanting to rush into unknown waters, or be saddled with a large investment contingent on a complicated maintenance program, I waited. Sure enough, forty years later, the time was right. I went to a new garden store and bought a couple of climbing roses. Wrapped like two little sticky mummies, they cost a phenomenal $1.84 each.

Not knowing varieties, I chose them by color. Surely they would be a romantic addition to the split-rail fence on the north side of the property. Yes, I'm afraid it really was NORTH. And in the shadow of a Mountain Ash tree to boot! Why didn't I read the instructions which said "full SUN?" But, years later, without any care, one persistent prickly still resumes its challenge to creep along the fence. The point? If I can grow 'em- anyone can! With that in mind, I sprang for an upright variety of "Peace" rose to further my experiment. I saw at once why this was my mother's favorite type of rose. The subtle halo of pink around the top of the creamy yellowish bud is quite striking. As I just read, it is also considered the "rose of the century" winning numerous medals and awards from 1944 through 1965 across Europe and America. (My friend Tom even told me a story of it being smuggled out of Europe, like Anastasia's jewels. See next week's column.) The words " disease resistant and winter hardy" are what sunk the hook for me. At the same garden store, bareroot and wrapped, it was a hefty $3.95. But it was a sacrifice in the interest of science.

Someone told me to plant onions around its base, so I did. Two years ago, like everyone else's bushes in the neighborhood, Japanese Beetles came and pruned all the buds for me. *Expletive*! So, I started asking questions at the Cooperative Extension Office, and got some great insights. Even a chart of the life-cycle of the little buggers. I later became acquainted with "Doctor Howard's Systemic Fertilizer "(brand name changed to protect the innocent). It did, unlike a certain highly touted white bread commercial product, build strong bodies in a number of ways. The rose thrived with almost no care. Even mom was impressed. When the Kamikazes (Japanese Beetles) returned in the summer of 2001 with reinforcements, they were observed spitting out rose parts after their initial sampling. They retreated to the backyard where they dive-bombed my canna blooms. Oh well.

The Peace rose kept blooming well into last October, and what a treat that was. My mom said to drop banana peels around its roots, and I do, another home recipe that apparently works. Someone told me this month not to plant a new rose bush on the same site where a previous rose has died. That may have some practical explanations that are obvious. Or, it could be voodoo. Anyway, this year I am trying to nudge along a bargain basement white climbing rose. It was one of those end of the season specials that had to be wintered over 'til this spring. I found an information sheet on winter protection for roses and it mentioned several ways to mulch/cover them to ensure survival. Some of my friends use those white protective cones, but not being into stalagmites, I choose to bundle and mulch these shrubs instead. Since we seem to have eluded winter for the last two years, the lack of insulation from the snow-mass is a problem. I used a tomato stake cage around the tall rose and made walls of mulch in and around and over it. I think that straw really helped as well when I wanted to lessen the blasts of cold wind hitting the plants. This shelter probably could be made to look less messy than mine did, but hey, it did the job. The funniest thing that I saw in the article on wintering over roses was a tree rose, lying on its side in a trench, completely buried under soil. Hey, whatever works. Egyptology anyone?

The arbor for my "new" climbing rose does not yet exist in this dimension, but I just couldn't wait. It's still a little nipper, so I've got time to plan. A trip to Geneva late in April yielded another upright rose; this time I went for a name brand, and paid a whopping $13.99. Just think of Jack Benny shopping for plants. The variety I chose was "Lagerfeld", and hopefully it will be the lovely lavender hue pictured on its tag. I picked it because its leaf growth and stems had good even texture and it looked like a vigorous example of a tight budding shrub. Ok, and of course, because of the color. The scattered frosts that hit us so late this spring had me scurrying to cover plants at night. The yard looked like a tag sale gone bad- but the roses got through it.

I realize now that there are as many types and colors of roses as stars in the sky, and some flower repeatedly, and some don't. Some have a single bloom like the Rosa rugosa alba, (which has five white petals, and when open, reminds me of a Dogwood bloom). My friend used these as hedges at her old house, and I saw them produce rosehips- that funny little fruit after the blooms are gone.

The books I've looked through mention formal gardens, chosen for fragrance or color, as well as those which are casual. Some roses have that classic oval, slow-opening swirl of a bloom that's so fancy. The red one that really turned my head in that style was called "Don Juan" and was a breathtakingly deep shade. Like it's human counterpart, however, it has a strong fragrance, but it's not winter-hardy. That sort of reminds me that I saw this dainty, light, Japanese-bred hybrid called "Nozomi" which has a "prostate habit." It can be " trained" to grow upright, but then again, so could that lazy.........never mind.

Long story short- if you think you can't grow these critters-you might just be surprised. I've seen videos of folks who have dozens of types of roses, all in the same yard. That may be too over the top. Sometimes just one select tree rose might better suit your yard. I like the article which mentioned using climbers in a small space to create a barrier, a conversation piece or, in the case of apartment living, a much needed view. But rarely do they mention the direction north. I now understand that roses like sun. They also want good drainage and don't like "wet feet." Rich, well-composted humus for the soil structure, and a pH of between 6.0 and 7.5 seems to be the consensus for success from what I've read. Whether the petals are Gardenia-like and floribunda or tightly curled or pixie-sized, there seems to be a color and variety that can appeal to almost anyone. And because I'm lazy, I'll keep looking for varieties that are "worry free" if anything these days can be worry free.

Cornell Cooperative Extension Yates Association
Last updated: 6/18/02

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