Rose Growing For Beginners

Although growing roses successfully can be a demanding pastime, there really is no reason why anyone should be put off this rewarding hobby just because of a reputation for being difficult to grow. Even novice gardeners can grow roses successfully if they learn a few basic facts about their charges. If the novice rose grower can make the effort to do this little bit of study and research, he will doubtless be growing better roses than some gardeners who have been failing with their roses for years just through lack of basic knowledge.

If people are failing at growing these magnificent blooms, usually we don’t have to look far for the reasons. Although it’s been in cultivation for centuries, many are unaware of the treatment roses require and, indeed, deserve to thrive. Once the needs of the rose are understood, and we lavish on them the proper care and attention they need, even beginners can grow superior roses, but not until then.

The rose is known for being the flower of romance and sentiment, wherever it’s grown, but for all that, it’s a vegetative gastronome. There’s nothing sentimental about its appetite, it thrives on rich food and plenty of it. Unless its hunger is satisfied, it will never give you those wonderful flowers you crave. Feed it well and it will give you, year after year, all the blooms that it’s capable of.

Unlike the more modern Hybrid Teas and Floribundas, the older types of roses can often struggle on for many years, under even the most unfavorable of conditions. But once these neglected bushes are given the nutrition and attention they so badly need, even these can be returned from the brink. The modern rose will never accept this level of neglect.

A rose will only perform when it’s in a soil that’s substantial in structure, either a good friable loam or well dug clay. Some varieties of rose are also at home, in clay with a substantial amount of gravel mixed in, as this will provide the density as well as adequate drainage. Roses won’t tolerate having their feet in soggy soil for long. A very heavy soil is next to ideal, as it can be opened up and made to suit using gravel or sharp sand.

The best fertilizer for any rose is well rotted cow manure; the older the better, but never consider using fresh manure, because this will be too acidic and will burn the roots. A good alternative to manure is finely ground bonemeal that is well hoed into the soil.

When considering any potential sites for our rose, we need to remember that it must have direct sunlight for a minimum of six hours a day. If the soil is of the heavier type of structure as indicated, a soil that is well manured and finally is open to at least six hours of sunlight a day, it should suit the rose.

The last thing to check is the acidity of the soil. This can be done with the aid of an inexpensive soil testing kit that will be available from any good garden shop.

In summary, your rose will thrive if it has the following:
• Lots of food, roses are greedy feeders
• Plenty of water as they have a great thirst too.
• A soil with a pH balance of between 6.0 and 6.9
• A minimum of 6 hours direct sunlight a day
• Free draining soil, roses don’t like being in soil that retains too much water.

This is the essence of successfully growing roses, for both beginners and seasoned gardeners alike.

By: Keith Berwick

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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 rose growing for beginners, visit www.rosecaretoptips.com