Good Roses or Bad RosesI love roses, don;t give up on them!

I love roses, don;t give up on them!
ses and Bad Roses - the root of the matter

by Gardenimport.com

February 14, 2010

New gardeners have this mistaken impression that roses are hard to grow. They think of them as finicky, fragile creatures that demand loads of
chemicals, fertilizers, and pruning. Worst of all, they think that
roses are tender plants, likely to die over the winter. Now I'll admit
that roses appreciate a modicum of attention but this reputation is
unjustified. It's a bad rap that these wonderful plants don't deserve.

BAD ROSES

The problem is not so much in their cultivation but with the plants
themselves. Unsuspecting gardeners are just planting bad roses and it
usually isn't the actual variety of rose but the root stock causing the
difficulty. The vast majority of roses sold in Canada are grafted. In
order to meet demand and to produce plants at a reasonable cost, the
variety of rose you are buying is grafted to the rootstock of a
different rose and herein lies the problem.

Almost all roses grown in the United States are grafted to a rootstock called
'Dr.Huey'. It performs wonderfully PROVIDED YOU GARDEN IN ZONE 7! In
Canada roses grafted to 'Dr.Huey' are only really hardy on the west
coast of BC and the balmy climes of southernmost Ontario. Huge numbers
of American roses are shipped to Canada every year and the majority of
these will either die the first winter or linger on for a season or two
in a weakened state and fall prey to disease. If the people selling the
roses don't or can't tell you the rootstock, DON'T BUY IT, it's
probably on 'Dr.Huey'.

If you learn that it is grafted onto 'Dr. Huey' rootstock and you live in
an area colder than zone 7, DON'T BUY IT! All of this is a shame
because there are perfectly hardy rootstocks for Canada, namely Rosa
multiflora, Rosa laxa or ungrafted roses on their own roots. Some types
and varieties of roses are by their nature less hardy than others but
how ironic it is to find hardy, Canadian-bred Explorer roses grafted on
to 'Dr.Huey' and sold as the hardy plants that they would in fact be,
but for their roots. The root of the matter indeed.

GOOD ROSES

The latest trend in rose breeding is to produce floriferous, vigorous
plants that are so disease resistant that they require no spraying
whatsoever. One of the earliest proponents of this trend was the Kordes
Nursery in Germany, a 4th generation family-run nursery. At a 2008
lecture at the Toronto Botanical Garden, Wilhelm Kordes (the current
director) told us his father thought he was nuts when he decided to
base their selection from their trial fields on unsprayed roses. The
fields that year looked terrible.

There are so many nurseries producing "spray-free" roses that a group of them
got together to do field trials in 9 gardens throughout Germany. The
roses are grown for 3 years and compared on 15 characteristics: form,
colour, fragrance, repeat bloom, hardiness, vigour and disease
resistance are a few of these. The winners are awarded the coveted ADR
(Allegemaine Deutsche Rosenneuheitenprufung) designation. A worthy
award and one held by a number of our roses this year.

HIGHLIGHTS

Having described the ADR designation in such glowing terms I will now
contradict myself to point out that there are many excellent roses that
don't have an ADR. Wilhelm Kordes himself admitted that for fragrance
few roses can beat the David Austin roses and that some of his own
favourites had yet to get an ADR.

BALLERINA

Our best selling rose since 1988, BALLERINA was hybridized in 1934 and has
captivated rose lovers ever since. It doesn't look much like a
traditional garden rose with its small, baby pink flowers borne in
large clusters. It blooms non-stop in flushes from June to October in
my garden. The stems have an elegant, arching habit. A foolproof and
easy rose to grow. Zone 3.

BROTHER'S GRIMM FAIRY TALE - ADR

Abundant, bold orange, fragrant blooms with a creamy-orange reverse on a bushy,
90cm (3') shrub with glossy, dark green foliage. Zone 5.

COMPASSION - ADR

(Climbing Rose) We have a number of rose-mad customers who suggest additions to
our catalogue, and a number of them insisted we offer COMPASSION - the
best climber they've ever grown. Sweetly-scented, pink bloom all season
long with healthy, dark green foliage. Zone 5.

LION'S FAIRY TALE - ADR - New for 2010

Fragrant ivory clusters with a blush of apricot are borne in abundance all
season long on this multiple award winning variety. Zone 5.

QUADRA

(Climbing Rose) Another rosarian recommendation from my friend Mark Disero who
describes it as an "indestructible climber" that will bloom for anyone
and is super hardy. This beauty is from Canada's Explorer Rose program.
Zone 3.

STRAWBERRY HILL

(Ausrimini) Medium-sized, cupped, rose-pink blooms are borne in clusters on a tall
1.2m (4'), healthy shrub. One of David Austin's lesser known roses,
which is a shame because STRAWBERRY HILL was awarded the Prix D'Honneur
from Nantes for fragrance in 2007. Zone 4.

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