On a recent visit to Lowe’s, I encountered a whole shelf
of bagged roses. Then the following
week, a whole shipment of container roses appeared on the display areas. If you
are a novice rose gardeners, you’ll wonder which roses to buy.
Buying nursery roses should not be a great challenge. You can purchase roses through the mail-order
companies or buy at your local nursery stores or even discount
stores and groceries. However, not all
roses have the same quality. Your best
option is to buy from reliable sources which can guarantee their quality.
Roses are graded according to a uniform standard. Some plants will be better than others due to
variances with rootstocks and bud eyes and placement in growing fields. Number
1’s grade is the best and obviously cost more.
Some nurseries will order a mix of 1’s, 1 ½’s and some will even order 2’s. That’s one reason for the variations in vigor
and cost of retail plants. Patented
varieties also cost more than those older and out of patent, another reason for
variation. A 3rd reason for
both variations is who grew each plant when and where.
The original grower was the wholesaler, who might have
been located in California, Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania or wherever. They grow the roses, generally for 2 years,
and harvest them for sale. Now, there
are few rose growers due to bad economy and lack of immigrant workers. Be careful what you wish for! Roses may then be sold directly to the
nursery, or may be sold to a forcing house which will pot up their roses, grow
them for an unspecified time, and sell them in bud and bloom to the local
nursery. Bud and bloom roses sell a lot
faster for the locals who have insufficient space to get them started on their
own, and there is no risk of frost damage or cold weather setback for the
retailer. This is a more prevalent practice
in colder regions of the country.
When shopping at local nursery or box stores, look for
plants with abundant, healthy foliage arising from at least 3 strong
canes. While the bagged roses as shown
above is cheaper, most experienced gardeners avoid them. Some people use them as annuals. Roses
in containers are more expensive but they are not necessarily all good
quality. Try lifting the plant from the
container. A gentle pull will be
enough. A plant that offers no
resistance often means little or no root growth and should be avoided. A well rooted plant should offer a great deal
of resistance to this procedure, but still seem to want to be removed. Any plant that comes out with the soil ball
completely intact is probably pot bound, but you’ll be able to see that right
away. Not that this is necessarily a bad
thing, as roots can easily be loosened at planting time.
Here at Rose Gardening World, we’ll educate you about the Rose - our National Floral Emblem and the state flower of several states. Welcome to the World of Rose Gardening or Rose Gardening World where Rose Gardening Tips, Rose Growing Advice, Planting a Rose Garden, Rose Descriptions, Where to Buy Roses, Where to see Rose Gardens, Rose Culture, Rose History, Rose Events, Rose Verses are all here in one place.
We are constantly updating our contents so visit Rose Gardening World often. We want to help you grow Beautiful Roses and we welcome comments. Take time and smell the roses. Happy Rose Gardening!
Check my other blogs:
- YES, YOU CAN GROW BEAUTIFUL ROSES
- BARE-ROOT OR CONTAINER-GROWN
- KNOCK OUT ROSES
- EARTHKIND ROSES
- OSO EASY ROSES
- OSO HAPPY ROSES
- ROSE SUPPLIERS
- WILL THERE BE A SHORTAGE OF ROSES IN 2012?
- PLANTING BARE-ROOT ROSES
- CLEANING ROSE PRUNERS BLADES
- PRUNING YOUR ROSES
- AARS WINNER FOR 2012
- DAVID AUSTIN ROSES
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