Hybrid Tea Roses

Snowfire

Right now, you are heading out to the retail gardening stores and seeing lots and lots of bareroot roses on the shelves.  You see the varieties and all the exotic looking names and get excited about what would happen if you planted a rose garden.  At 2-5 bucks a pop, why not?  So you start choosing those bare thorny stems with their colorful pictures that have names like Blue Girl, Perfume Delight, Olympiad, Garden Party, Mon Cheri, Snowfire, Moonlight Magic, and a New Day........and several more that you forgot about putting in your cart......and your final bill comes out to around 150 bucks minus the soil needed to plant these guys!:) 

New Day

Well this story is my story and I have learned a lot from these guys this year and they haven't disappointed, but I may have been a disappointment to them.  The simple fact is that they were super easy to care for and also very easy to grow.  They have survived extremely cold nights here, severe cuts, overwatering, and an infestation of bugs in Spring.....yet they still grow and flower in January!!!  Here's the skinny on these guys....fertilize in Spring and in September or October before they start to bloom.  I have been finding that in Tucson not all roses bloom together in our diverse microclimate neighborhoods. Feed with a season long balanced fertilizer once leaves start to show.



Moonlight Magic

Mulch with organic matter to conserve water, improve soil and reduce weeds.  Prune to remove dead canes and blooms.  Each spring cut rose bush cane back to approximately 8". Water daily twice each week until established then water as needed.  For me this was my error as I had the roses on a drip line system and overwatered the poor guys.  They enjoy full light but some protection from the afternoon sun is required.  In Spring, they begin to leaf out and soon afterwards, they'll flower.  Make sure you cut spent blooms to encourage newer roses to grow on your plants.  During the summer, they get a little battered and the leaves will burn a bit, but that's okay, they'll recover again in fall and begin flowering around October or November.  Whatever you do, keep them out of the strong wind areas of your garden.  These roses hate strong wind and will look terrible after the wind has left.



Mon Cheri

So what do I need to do with them this winter? There are a couple that I messed up on and need to replace.  I'll pull the ones that haven't recovered from the overwatering incident and put them in the "hospital" to heal and grow strong again.  I've moved the dripline so that they won't be overwatered and I am going to reapply some more soil into the garden.  Overall, these roses performed beyond my expectations.  They are worth the wait and people absolutely love them.  Now is the best time for choosing from an amazing selection of bareroot roses at your local garden center.  Remember to soak your bareroot roses in a bucket overnight before putting them into the ground....then water twice daily and wean the water slowly from them as they get established into the soil.  The smell, the color, and the smiles are worth the time and money.  You won't be disappointed.  Until next time, happy gardening!!

PS.  I am embarrassed to put these pics up as they were from my beginning days blogging this last year.  I had a poor camera and the shots are a bit blurry, but I am ready, this year, for the new blossoms when they arrive!!