“The rose speaks of love silently, in a language known only to the heart.” Author Unknown
Now is the time to bring the romance of roses into your garden. Buy a bare-root rose and experience the reward of a thorny cane becoming a regal blooming wonder. January and early February are the best months in mild climates to plant roses. With Spring, soils warm, roots anchor, and the rose gets a good start. Now is the time to prune your existing roses, to revive and reshape them for the year.
Buy bare-root roses as soon as they get to the nursery. Avoid purchasing them at drugstores or buying sale plants. Purchase only Grade One roses for a vigorous, quality plant. Try to get your rose into the ground as soon as possible! Carefully pick new roses by noting fragrance, color, size, disease resistance, and necessary care. Taking your time and evaluating a rose will save you trouble and prickly problems later.
This is a great time to boost soil quality with a rich soil amendment, particularly important in Southern California where organic matter is practically non existent. There are many excellent soil amendments specifically for roses to try, Kellogg's has one, and a local favorite is Ada Perry’s Magic Formula for roses. This formula combines bone meal, blood meal, and Epson salts to stimulate your rose without harsh fertilizers.
Plant bare-root roses in a hole large enough to contain the roots without bending them. Thoroughly mix amendments into the soil. Set your rose over a cone of soil in the center of the hole with it’s roots splayed over the cone. Then, firmly backfill the hole. Create a watering trough by digging an inch wide trench in a circle around your rose. Water often until your rose is growing and established.
Nurseries now are full of fantastic bare-root roses. This year there is a dazzling rainbow of rose colors to choose from in our local nurseries. A fairly new rose getting rave reviews is the ‘Honey Dijon’ hybrid tea rose. It’s flower is a nice burnt mustard color. This rose is reported to do particularly well in Southern California.
Also, look for the rare rose with reddish black blooms, ‘Black Baccara’. This is said to be the darkest of the reds yet.
Don’t miss shopping in January for the best selection of new roses and of old favorites.
Now is the time to prune the roses you already have. Pruning seems complicated, but it is a process of simple evaluation. If you think of it as “whacking back” and try to not feel as if you need a Ph.D. in pruning. People whack back plants in their garden, yet when the time comes to shaping roses people become afraid. As the Nike slogan says, “Just do it!”.
When you start pruning plan from the ground up, aiming for an urn shaped rose. A good rule of thumb is to cut off 1/2 to 1/3 of each cane. Remove canes which cross or block the rose’s center, and use good quality sharp pruners. Look for the cane’s bud-eye which resembles a small smile or frown. New growth emerges from this area. Prune above an outward eye to direct growth away from the rose’s center. Remember to remove all leaves left on the plant or on the ground after you prune roses, as these can host pests and diseases. Keep in mind, it is not brain surgery, and a panel of experts will not critique your job.
If this sounds too confusing, don't fret, all local nurseries have free instruction sheets on pruning and often offer classes. They can provide information if you have a climber, English or another type of rose. Go ahead and prune, even if your rose has buds and leaves. You will get better and more confident each year you prune.
