Modern Roses, Dan Turner's Personal Garden, 6th and Pine. 6/30/00

In general, Hybrid Tea roses are difficult to grow here in Elko.  Very cold winter periods and spring freezes after the roses come out of dormancy are hard on them, and me for that matter.  Some years they die back nearly to the ground and some years they only dieback 1/3 of their height or so.  Some tricks I have learned to improve their winter hardiness arelisted here.  Buy healthy roses from good suppliers.  Roses that have rose mosaic virus (more common than you would like to believe to be true) or plants that are stressed by lack of care do not do as well as a healthy rose.  When planted - dig a big hole (this gives the roots an easier time to spread).  Put a couple of handfuls of bone-meal in the bottom of the hole when you plant them - they like it.  I dig the hole at least 3' x 2' (diameter x depth).  Through time I have started adding a  1/2 cup of  B-1 to a newly planted rose.  It seems to reduce the transplant shock.  This helps more than I realized at first.  Add a handful of Epsom salt around the drip line in the spring.  I do not add any nitrogen fertilizers after approximately August 1st,  to minimize new growth, going into winter, that will freeze and die.  Around the first or second week in August, I stop deadheading the roses (pruning off the old blooms) and let them go to seed.  It helps prepare them for winter naturally.  I still take the dried up petals off.  It looks nicer.  In mid-September, I add a handful of 'Muriate of Potash' (0-0-60) around the drip-line of each rose.  It helps the roses not to die back as much in the winter.  I prune the roses back near the end of March and during April, instead of the fall.  They seem to winter better if not pruned in the fall.   For roses that have yellowish leaves,  I add a handful of 'Copperas', containing Sulfur and Iron, derived from ferrous sulphate.  A healthy rose winters better than a stressed or sick one.  I have a 2" layer of fine bark 'Soil Pep' over the rose beds all the time.  It conserves water in the summer and helps protect them in the winter.  After the roses have gone completely dormant, sometime after Thanksgiving, I make a 1 foot high mound of fine bark around most of the Hybrid Tea and Floribunda roses, to protect the bud union, especially during hard winters.  If there is not a lot of snow during a winter, I water the roses about once per month.   After all this said, the number one trick to get Hybrid Teas to grow in the Elko garden is to select the hardier varieties.  Some roses like and thrive in Elko's climate - some would rather die than live here.  I love the roses 'Just Joey' and 'Angel Face'.  They are absolutely beautiful.  They are also pretty much annuals for me here.  I guess I could pot them up and take them in during the winter, after they go dormant.  I'll just try to convince my wife to keep her car out of the garage this winter so I can put the roses in it - maybe not.  Modern varieties that seem to tolerate our winter better than others, and are currently alive and well in my garden are listed below.  These roses are by no means the only hardier ones, they are just the ones that have done well here for me. The modern roses marked with an (*) have not required any special winter protection here.

Hybrid Tea

Admiral Rodney, Belami, Blue Girl, Brigadoon, Broadway, Chicago Peace, Chrysler Imperial, Dainty Bess, Die Welt, Double Delight, Elmhurst, Folklore, Fortune Teller, Fragrant Cloud, Frosinn '82, Garden Party, Heirloom*, Helen Hayes, Ingrid Bergman, Keepsake, Marijke Koopman, Midas Touch, Miss All American Beauty, Mister Lincoln, Mojave, Mullard Jubilee (Electron), New Zealand, Orange Ruffles, Oregold, Paradise, Pascali,  Royal Amethyst, Shades of Autumn, Sheer Bliss, Signature, Smooth Lady, Smooth Velvet, St. Patrick, Taboo, Tiffany, Touch of Class, Tropicana, and "V" for Victory.

Floribunda

Amber Queen, Betty Boop, Betty Prior*, Class Act, Chuckles, Escapade*, Europeana, Eutin*, Eyepaint*, Friesia (Sunsprite), Gene Boerner, Gruss an Aachen, H. C. Anderson, Iceberg, Kathleen Ferrier, Livin' Easy, Love Potion, Matador, Mirabella, Nearly Wild*, Neon Lights*, Orange Triumph*, Origami, Purple Tiger, Regensberg, Sexy Rexy, Simplicity, Singin' in the Rain.

Grandiflora

Lagerfeld*, Queen Elizabeth, Shreeveport, Sonia.

Climbing

Applejack*, Dortmund*, Henry Kelsey*, Lichtkoenigin Lucia, New Dawn*, Polka, Super Dorothy and William Baffin*.

English Shrub

Abraham Darby*, Belle Story*, Gertrude Jekyll*, Graham Thomas*, Heritage*, L.D. Braithwaite*, Lillian Austin*, Mary Rose*, The Prince*

Shrub

Adelaide Hoodless*, Alexander MacKenzie*, Angela*, Bonica '82*, Carefree Wonder*, Champlain*, Cuthbert Grant*, Delicata*, Erfurt*, F.J. Grootendorst*, Flutterbye*, Fred Loads*, Fritz Nobis*, Golden Wings*, Hansa*, Harison's Yellow*, Henry Hudson*, Jens Munk*, John Cabot*, John Davis*, John Franklin*, Kateryna*, La Sivellana*, Lady of the Dawn, Lambert Closse*, Linda Campbell*, Magenta, Magnicifa*, Marguerite Hilling*, Morden Blush*, Morden Centennial*, Morden Fireglow*, Morden Ruby*, Pink Grootendorst*, Prairie Dawn*, Red Meidiland*, Rosa glauca*, Roseraie de l'Hay*, Royal Bonica*, Scabrosa*, Sir Thomas Lipton*, Therese Bugnet*, Westerland*, White Meidiland*

Well, since I have an unexpected roll going - here are the Species and  Old Roses that have done well for me here.  I am absolutely positive there are more - I just haven't grown them yet.  None of these require winter protection in our zone.

Species

Rosa Rugosa

Alba

Alba-Semi-plena

Bourbon

Kathleen Harrop, Louise Odier, Madame Isaac Pereire, Zephirine Droughin

Centifolia

Fantin Latour

Damask

Ispahan, Kazanlik

Gallica

Apothecary's Rose, Complicata

Hybrid Musk

Ballerina, Buff Beauty, Penelope

Hybrid Perpetual

Baron Prevost, Ferdinand Prichard

Polyantha

Cecile Brunner, China Doll, Margo Koster, Marie Pavie', Red Fairy, The Fairy, Yesterday

Portland

Comte de Chambord, Jacques Cartier, Rose de Rescht

Rambler

Alberic Barbier

Scotch

Stanwell Perpetual

 If you cannot obtain these varieties at your local garden center, try the 'Help Me Find Roses' site.  You may want to order early, in September - December, from most specialty suppliers.   There is a big demand and sometimes limited supply of some of these roses.  If nothing else, request a catalog from mail-order suppliers, usually at a very minimal cost.  The wonderful rose photos help me get through the winter better, too.

Finally, I fertilize the roses about once per month in the summer, to encourage blooms. I use what's on sale or the least expensive (forgive me)..  About a handful on each one at the drip line.  For the stubborn ones that don't want to bloom well, the stinky 'Fish Emulsion' is what the doctor ordered.  If there is a sale on steer manure, less than a buck a bag, I snap it up.  They are more fond of it than I am.  No sales, bummer, they go without.  I add a handful of alfalfa meal around each rose once a year, when I remember, they seem to like it.  I read in some book, a long time ago, that they like the trace minerals and alcohol.  I haven't tried it for myself.  But it does have a nice smell.  Certainly better than the fish puree and manure.  Lastly, for some reason, instead of granular fertilizer, some months I spray 'Miracle Grow'.  Keep in mind that some of the Rugosa roses and their hybrids hate it on their leaves.  It makes their leaves fall off.  Skip these.  All the others that I have grown appear to be fond of it.

Lastly finally, I have a nagging feeling that I have left something out.  If you think of it before I do, please let me know.

OK, one more thing.  Because I like to know which are the more winter hardy varieties, every now and then, I don't winterize them at all (except a few roses that I like and know they will croak if not protected).  Separate the men from the boys, so to speak.  The first time I did this, there were more boys than I thought.  I am trying it again this year ...  good luck guys.