How to Grow Roses: The Complete Rose Flower Guide (2024)

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When to PlantRoses

If you order bare-root roses from a mail-order company, order with your planting date in mind. Bare-root roses should be planted soon after theyarrive.

In North America, roses are usually shipped in the early spring, well before leafing out, when plants are fully dormant. They’ll look like a bundle of sticks on arrival. Note that they are not dead—simply dormant!Check that the packing material is moist and keep them in a cool, dark place until ready toplant.

• In colder regions, plant bare-root rosesas soon as the soil is workable in thespring.
• In warmer regions, you may plant bare-root roses in the early spring or in late fall as long as the plant isdormant.

If you are buying potted roses, it’sbest to plant them by late spring for best results. However, you may plant them almost any time during the growing season—just be sure to keep them well-watered, especially duringsummer!

Selecting and Preparing aPlantingSite

• Plant roses where they will receive a minimum of 5 to 6 hours of sun per day. Morning sun is especially important because it dries dew from the leaves, which helps prevent diseases. Roses grown in the partial sun may not die at once, but they weaken gradually, producing subpar blooms and overwintering poorly.
  • Remember that light changes as the angle of the sun shifts throughout the season. If you live in the northern half of the U.S., choose a site that will offer full sun year-round. The more sun you have, the more flowers your plants will produce. In the southern half of the U.S., choose spots with a little bit of afternoon shade. This protects blossoms from the scorching sun and helps your flowers lastlonger.
• If you live in a colder climate, consider growing roses close to the foundation of your home. This provides plants with some degree of winter protection. Walkways are also good spots, provided there is fullsun.
• If you’re planning for multiple roses, be sure not to crowd. Good air circulation helps prevent fungal diseases such as powdery and downymildew.
• Roses need soil that drains wellbut holds onto moisture long enough for the roots to absorb some.One of the worst mistakes you can make is to not provide adequate drainage. Rosesdo not like wet, coldfeet.
• Roses like loose, loamy soil leaning more toward sandy.Too much clay and the roots can become waterlogged. If you are not starting out with loose, loamy soil, you will need to do someamending.
• Roses prefer a slightly acidic soil pH between 5.5 and 7.0. A pH of 6.5 is just about right for most home gardens.
  • An accurate soil test will tell you where your pH currently stands. Acidic (sour) soil is counteracted by applying finely ground limestone; alkaline (sweet) soil is treated with ground sulfur.Learn more about soil amendments.

PlantingRoses

• Wear sturdy gloves to protect your hands from prickly thorns. Have a hose or bucket of water and all your planting toolsnearby.
• Soak bare-root roses in a bucket of water for 8 to 12 hours beforeplanting.
• Prune each cane back to 3 to 5 buds per cane. Any cane thinner than a pencil should beremoved.
• If planting container-grown roses, loosen the roots beforeplanting.
• When you plant the rose, be sure to dig a much bigger hole than you think you need (for most types, the planting hole should be about 15 to 18 inches wide) and add plenty of organic matter, such as compost or agedmanure.
• Water liberally afterplanting.
• Mound up loose soil around the canes to protect the rose while it acclimates to its newsite.
• Some old-timers recommend placing a 4-inch square of gypsum wallboard and a 16-penny nail in the hole to provide calcium and iron, both appreciated byroses.
• Don’t crowd the roses if you plan to plant more than one rose bush. Roses should be planted about two-thirds of the expected height apart. Old garden roses will need more space, while miniature roses can be plantedcloser.

PropagatingRoses

To root a rose cutting, insert it into a potato, then plant both asone.

DeadheadingRoses

After roses bloom, be sure to deadhead religiously to prolong flowering.Every leaf has a growth bud, so removing old flower blossoms encourages the plant to make more flowers instead of using the energy to make seeds. In addition, you always want to snip offany soggy rose flowers to prevent rot from settingin.

• It’s worth deadheadingat least once a week and even dailyinmidsummer.
• To deadhead, cut back to the first leaf below the spent flower. A new shoot will then grow from thispoint.
• As well as deadheading religiously,keep the beds clean. Remove any debris around the rose bush that can harbordisease and insects.

In late summer and early fall: If your rose produces good hips (rugosas),remove only the petals, so the hips can continue developing. Hipscan be harvested and dried on screens, away from sunlight, then stored in an airtightcontainer.

Stop deadheading all your rose bushes 3 to 4 weeks before the first hard frost so as not to encourage new growth at a time when the cold may damage newshoots.

WateringRoses

• Diligently water your roses. Soak the entire root zone at least twice weekly in dry summer weather.Avoid frequent shallow sprinklings, which won’t reach the deeper roots and may encourage fungus. In the fall reduce the amount of water, but do not allow roses to completely dryout.
• Roses love water—but don’t drown them. That is, they don’t like to sit in water, and they’ll die if the soil is too wet in winter. The ideal soil is rich and loose, with good drainage. One of the worst mistakes you can make is to not provide adequatedrainage.
• Use mulch around your roses. To help conserve water, reduce stress, and encourage healthy growth, apply a 2- to 4-inch layer of chopped and shredded leaves, grass clippings, or shredded bark around the base of your roses. Allow about 1inch of space between the mulch and the base stem of the plant. See our Mulching Guide for moreinformation.

Feeding and FertilizingRoses

• Artificial liquid fertilizers tend to promote plant growth that is soft and tender, and this type of foliage can attract aphids and other pests. Instead, rely on compost and natural fertilizers to feed your plants before and throughout the bloomingcycle.
• Once a month between April and July, you could apply a balanced granular fertilizer (5-10-5 or 5-10-10). Allow 3/4 to 1 cup for each bush, and sprinkle it around the drip line, not against the stem. See our fertilizer guide for more information.
• In May and June, you could scratch in an additional tablespoon of Epsom salts along with the fertilizer; the magnesium sulfate will encourage new growth from the bottom of the bush and make flower colors moreintense.
• Fertilize with rabbit food; it contains alfalfa meal, which supplies a growth stimulant, nitrogen, and trace elements. Scratch 1/2 cup of pellets into the soil around a rosebush, then waterwell.
• Banana peels are a good source of calcium, sulfur, magnesium, and phosphates—all things that roses like. (Note that it will take longer for your roses to reap the benefits from bananas than it would with pure soil amendments.) Here are three ways to serve them up:
  1. Laya strip of peel at the base of eachbush.
  2. Bury a black, mushy banana next to eachbush.
  3. Chop up the peels, let them sit for two weeks in a sealed jar of water, and pour the mixture under eachbush.

PruningRoses

• In North America, repeat blooming roses such as floribunda and hybrid tea roses need heavy annual pruning, which is done in the springwhen plants begin to leaf out for the new season. (Roses are often not the earliest plants in the garden to respond to spring’s warming temperatures, so be patient.) Give the plant time to show its leaf buds, then prune above that level.
  
• But do not prune old-fashioned roses and climbers in spring.they bloom on wood from the previous year’s growth. Prunein the late summer immediately after flowering.
  
• At any time of the year, remove dead, diseased, or damaged wood and remove diseased foliage. Learn more about common rose diseases.
  
• When you prune, wear elbow-length gloves that are thick enough to protect your hands from thorns or a clumsy slip but flexible enough to allow you to hold your tools. Always wear safety goggles; branches can whip back when released.
  
• Use sharp pruning shears for smaller growth. For growth more than half an inch thick, use loppers, which look like giant, long-handle shears. A small pruning saw is handy for large and heavy, old stems, as it cuts on both the push and the pull.
  
• As much as two-thirds can cut back large rose canes and smaller ones to within 6 to 12 inches of the ground. In general, cutting back hard promotes stronger growth.
  
• When you prune, start by removing all stems that are crossing, rubbing against each other, damaged, discolored, or competingfor space. Leave only the most vigorous, healthy canes.When pruning, check to make sure the stems show no sign of discoloration.
  
• Prune 1/4-inch above an outward-facing bud to prevent compacted growth. Cut at an angle.Any cuts you make that are greater than the thickness of a pencil should be sealed with nail polish or wood glue to prevent cane borers from entering.
  
• Not all types of roses are pruned the same way or at the same time of year. Learn more here: How to Prune Roses.

WinterizingRoses

• In the fall, shorten the extra-tall canes to 30 inches to reduce damage from winter winds (which can loosen and damageroots).
• Clean up the rose beds to prevent overwintering of diseases. Collect any infected leaves that have fallen to the ground. One last spray for fungus with a dormant spray is a good idea,too.
• Stop fertilizing 6 weeks before the first fall frost, but continue watering during dry fall weather to help keep plants healthy during a drywinter.
• Add mulch or compost around the roses after a few frosts but before the ground freezes. Where temperatures stay below freezing during winter, enclose the plant with a sturdy mesh cylinder, filling the enclosure with compost, mulch, dry wood chips, pine needles, or chopped leaves (don’t use maple leaves for mulch, as they can promote moldgrowth).

Container roses acquired in late summer or fall can be overwintered aboveground.

In northern zones, expose the plant to the first deep freeze (this helps with dormancy). Put it in a dark, unheated room, basem*nt, or garage. Water occasionally, only enough to moisten the soil. Bring the plant outdoors when it shows signs of coming back to life. Plant when the soilwarms.

In tropical climate areas (where it’s never below 20°F), container roses can remain outdoors. Water regularly to keep rootsalive.

Some classes of roses bloom only once a year in spring, but flowers can cover plants for more than a month. Remontant roses bloom a second time in a season, generally 50 to 60 days after the first flush offlowers.

Traditionally, roses were notoriously challenging to grow. However, roses have changed. There are now many modern easy-to-grow types of roses available. Here are some of ourfavorites:

These three are considered to be the easiest roses to grow:

• Knock Out shrub roses: continuous blooms; high disease resistance; require no spraying, dusting, pruning, deadheading; hardy to Zone5
• Flower Carpet ground cover roses: continuous blooms; require no deadheading; drought-tolerant once established; minimal pruning; hardy in Zones 4 to11
• David Austin climbers (to 6 feet), including ‘Gertrude Jekyll’: continuous pink blooms; strong fragrance; hardy in Zones 4 to11
• See 3 easy roses for beginners!

Rugosa roses include a 5-foot-tall/-wide shrub, ‘Jens Munk’: pink blooms in June through August; disease-resistant; hardy to Zone2

“Bests” are highly subjective. These roses tend to be crowd-pleasers, but choose a rose that pleasesyou:

• Best pink rose—‘New Dawn’ (the first U.S.-patented plant): blush-pink hybrid climber (15+ feet); sweet fragrance; disease-resistant; good cut flower; hardy in Zones 5 to9
• Best red rose—‘Don Juan’: hybrid climber (up to 12 feet); sweet fragrance; good cut flower; spiny stems; hardy in Zones 6 to9
• Best white rose—‘Iceberg’: hybrid climber (up to 12 feet); honey scent; disease-resistant; heat-/humidity-tolerant; good cut flower; hardy in Zones 4 to9
• Best yellow rose—‘Sunsprite’ (aka ‘KORresia’): 3-foot bush floribunda hybrid; fragrant; disease-resistant; good cut flower; hardy in Zones 5 to9
• Best rose for fragrance—‘Pink Peace’: vigorous hybrid bush; sweet scent; large (6-inch), continuous double blooms; good cut flower; hardy in Zones 5 to10

See also our list ofdisease-resistantrose varieties.

Catherine Boeckmann