Roses

By Kathy Stoner, U. C. Master Gardener

My first house came with an established rose garden of sorts, although the previous homeowners had combined their roses with vegetables. It seemed an odd juxtaposition to me at the time: 'Mr. Lincoln' underplanted with bell peppers and eggplant; a neat circle of scallions at the base of 'Double Delight.'

It's clear to me now that these gardeners were ahead of their time, using design elements that would come into vogue 20 years hence with the revival of the classic French potager, or kitchen garden. My non-gardening spouse, who grew up on a steady diet of canned green beans, Miracle Whip and limp Iceberg lettuce shrouded in Thousand Island dressing, would have nothing to do with anything as exotic as fresh eggplant or bell peppers in any form.

Out came the vegetables, opening up space for more roses. Thus the stage was set for what was to become a pleasant obsession.

I was immediately overwhelmed with choices. There were and still are literally thousands of rose varieties available to the home gardener. Making an intelligent selection (or any selection for that matter) is not always easy.

Your chances of success increase with a little research. Many of the roses I grew in my novice days would not be invited into my garden today. My standards have risen along with my education. Does this make me an elitist rose snob? So be it.

Ask yourself a few questions before you head for the garden center in the coming winter's bare-root season. Are you looking for an easy-care landscape rose, or roses for the vase? Is fragrance important to you? Perhaps you want to cover a fence or a wall. How much time do you realistically have to devote to your garden roses?

Not all roses are fussy prima donnas demanding constant attention and pampering. Probably the number-one trait to look for is disease resistance. There is nothing more pathetic than a rose bush defoliated by blackspot.

Some rose gardeners are slaves to an expensive and time-consuming spraying regimen. Planting varieties such as 'Iceberg' or 'Sun Sprite,' which seem just about impervious to any rose affliction, would allow that spray-happy gardener to spend more time smelling the roses instead of chemical fumes.

And remember that roses do not always perform the same in all regions of our nation, or even our state. I had never even seen blackspot until I moved from Southern to Northern California. The more localized your advice is, the better. Ask your nursery professional to assist you in selecting disease-resistant varieties.

The classification of a rose can be a clue as to how it will perform for you. There are about 35 classes known today. The ubiquitous hybrid tea with its beautiful, classic, high- centered blooms can be a gawky bush with unattractive legs and inconsistent fragrance. If you know upfront what to expect when you see "hybrid tea" on a label, you can often site that plant where its defects are less obvious.

There are some hybrid teas I must have. How could I not grow 'Double Delight' or 'Peace?'

Floribundas are great landscape plants. The roses tend to appear in clusters or trusses of five to seven or more, and bloom often over the course of the season. Polyanthas are similar to floribundas, but both the plant and the flowers tend to be smaller. A grandiflora is a cross between a hybrid tea and a floribunda, theoretically producing hybrid tea-like flowers in clusters. The bushes tend to be quite tall.

The shrub-rose classification is a bit ambiguous. David Austin's English roses get dumped into this category along with landscape roses like 'Bonica' and the 'Simplicity' series. Just about the only thing "shrub" tells you is that the rose is not any other class. Don't assume a well-mannered plant. Some of the Austin roses are famous for growing into behemoths, with long, arching canes of 10 feet or more.

Another arena for your rose researching are the old garden roses, loosely defined as roses developed before 1847 when the first hybrid tea ('La France') was introduced. These include Portlands, Centifolias, Damasks and Gallicas among many others. Some nurseries specialize in these charming roses, and more of them are being found in the local garden center as well. An Internet search for heirloom or old garden roses will direct you to a number of informative sites, and a good reference book, such as the American Horticultural Society's Encyclopedia of Roses, provides a starting point to search for roses of all kinds.

Napa County Master Gardeners are hosting an informative series of free workshops on rose topics. The first workshop, on choosing and planting roses, is scheduled for November 6, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., at Napa Valley College's Upper Valley Campus in St. Helena. Join us to learn more about the plant that has captivated people for centuries.