Growing Roses Organically - Choose Your Rose Carefully
Growing roses organically is certainly not going to be the easy option, simply because roses are prone to attacks from so many pests and diseases.
I’m sure many people are concerned about the levels of chemical usage in our environment today. We’re most of us aware of the difficult times that honey bees are currently experiencing. Their plight has been in the news a lot recently. Bee colonies in many parts of the world are suffering from a phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). It’s thought that the navigation system of the bees is being impaired, and evidence is starting to suggest that it’s a cocktail of the chemicals that are being used in agriculture and horticulture that may be to blame. Whatever the final verdict, it’s apparent that chemicals are at least partially responsible and as such anything we as individuals can do to reduce the quantities in the environment the better.
As rose growers, we can do a little to help redress the balance by reducing or even eliminating chemicals from our gardens altogether. It’s logical that, if we’re determined to grow roses organically, then to start with, we’ll have to accept a much narrower range of roses from which we can make our selections.
The first step towards chemical free rose growing must be to reconsider the types and varieties of rose we intend growing in our garden. Unfortunately many of the more modern roses are simply not suitable for growing organically, mostly because they haven’t inherited the disease resistance enjoyed by their forbears. It seems the further removed any modern rose is from its species ancestors, the lower its inherited resistance to the myriad of pests and diseases that naturally afflict the rose.
The older types of roses such as the species, the bourbons, the damask and the hybrid perpetuals, are probably going to be the roses to go for, although there are some of the hybrid teas and floribunda roses that have a certain amount of inbred disease resistance that may make them possible candidates.
Unfortunately, despite the ‘Old Wives Tales’ about some herbs being effective as pest repellents, many of them, such as garlic for instance, are not as helpful as some would have us believe. Although there may still be a place for companion planting, with plants such as tansy and French marigolds to attract hoverflies (natural predators of the aphid).
Having made the decision to eschew the use of chemicals in our garden, it makes more sense to concentrate on preventing pests and diseases from getting a foothold, rather than trying to find a cure after the fact.
Once we’ve made our choice and selected roses renowned for their resistance to pests and diseases, the next step is to make sure the conditions at the proposed planting site are optimal. Any stress suffered by a plant will naturally make it weaker and more susceptible to diseases; therefore by providing near ideal growing conditions for our roses they’ll naturally be stronger and more resilient.
This will mean:
• Providing a site with a minimum of six hours of sunlight each day.
• Maintaining the correct pH balance of the soil - between 6.0 and 6.9
• Prior to planting the roses, digging in plenty of well rotted cow manure to ensure the soil is very well nourished.
Finally, be vigilant! Check regularly for any signs of trouble, so should the need arise any potential problems can be dealt with swiftly before they get out of hand.
Keith Berwick is a rose growing enthusiast who has been growing roses both professionally and for pleasure for over 40 years and enjoys helping others to get started in this rewarding hobby. For more great information on the organic rose gardening, visit www.rosecaretoptips.com
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