Quick Tips for Beautiful RosesChoosing the right rose. While many people are passionate rose gardeners, most of us would like the color of roses without all the maintenance. Carefree Wonder grows quickly with minimal attention, and it produces gorgeous pink blossoms. There are other colors in the Carefree family, too. Landscape roses are for use as a background or color in a flower bed. Flower Carpet roses, for example, are compact, but they'll produce as many as 100 blooms as it spreads. They're great for ground cover on a hillside. The Knock-Out family of roses is virtually indestructible; they grow as tall as five feet.
Location. Roses need air, so don't plant them right against the house. Ideally you'll be able to plant them where they get morning sun, which will dry off the leaves first thing in the morning. That prevents disease. You don't necessarily have to have full sun for roses, either. As long as they get sun in the morning, they can be in shade starting around 1:00 or 2:00 in the afternoon. In fact, that can actually help them.
Planting. Dig a hole that's twice as wide as the rose's roots. You want them to be able to spread out. If your soil has good drainage, make a little hill, set the rose on top of that and fill the hole with soil. If the soil doesn't drain, use vermiculite and perlite to make the hill. Spread the roots out over the hill, and fill it in. You don't have to worry about how deep you plant them. If you live in the North, though, mound the soil up around them to keep those roots warm. Support. Some varietiesof roses grow like beanstalks and have relatively few flowers. For more blooms and a fuller plant, tie the branches to a trellis or use the
pegging technique to control the plant's growth.
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