IN SPITE OF 

 what you have 

 heard, roses grow 

 and flourish in 

 New England. 



There are just different techniques 

 that rose growers in this part of the 

 world have to use because of the 

 cold winters and hot, humid 

 summers. 



Let's start with planting your 

 roses after you have purchased 

 them from your local garden center. 

 Most likely the rose plant will come 

 in a two-gallon plastic container 

 and already be leafed-out or in 

 bloom. Some garden centers use a 

 plantable container, which is also 

 fine. 



The correct planting time for 

 Northern Vermont, New Hamp- 

 shire and Maine is from mid-May 

 until early fall. In the rest of North- 

 em New England you can plant 

 from early May until early fall. You 

 should select an area in your garden 

 that receives good early morning 

 sun. Roses need about six hours of 

 sunlight daily. You should not put 

 your roses too close to larger plants 

 that will compete for water and 

 food. 



Begin by digging a hole about 

 one-and-a-half times the size of the 

 container, and then put the plant 

 and the soil from the container into 

 the hole. Fill around the plant with 

 one-third sand, one-third soil, and 

 one-third peat (you want to have 

 the budding eye two inches below 

 the soil level) and then water in 

 well. Come back the next day and 

 again water heavily; then don't 

 water for two to four weeks. On 

 very warm days, mist the rose plant 

 a couple of times early in the day. 



After the rose plant is estab- 

 lished in two to four weeks, you can 

 start to water once a week and also 

 begin feeding every couple of weeks 

 with any of the rose foods that are 

 available on the market. On very 

 warm days, 1 would recommend 

 misting your rose plants early in 

 the morning. 1 say early because 

 you want your plants to dry off 

 before sunset or you will get mildew 

 or black spot. Usually (because of 



our short season and the rain 

 during the warmest time of year,) 

 we don't see too much blackspot or 

 mildew in Northern New England, 

 but if you do have this problem, 

 spray with flowable maneb. 



The most blackspot-resistant 

 Hybrid Tea varieties are Tropicana, 

 First Prize, Mister Lincoln, Tiffany, 

 Pristine, Pink Peace, Proud Land, 

 Peace, Sheer Elegance and All 

 That Jazz. In Floribundas and 

 Grandifloras, they are Queen 

 Elizabeth, Gene Boriner, 

 Europeana, First Edition, Sonia, 

 Angel Face, Betty Prior and The 

 Fairy. These same varieties are also 

 the most disease mildew resistant. 

 Some others that are good are 

 Double Delight, Fragrant Cloud, 

 Red Gold, Pascali and Electron. 



Keeping your rose plants free of 

 weeds, fallen diseased leaves, and 

 away from other infected or dis- 

 eased plants will help keep your 

 plants healthy. Two of the biggest 

 problems in Northern New Eng- 

 land are aphids and Japanese 

 beetles. A good spray program, 

 along with Japanese beetle traps, 

 will control these pests. Spray every 

 two to four weeks depending on the 

 infestation of your plants. You can 

 use Sevin, Ortiiene or any of the 

 products your local garden center 

 recommends. If you follow these 

 programs you will have beautiful 

 flowers from late spring until early 

 fall. 



In early October, it is time to 

 get your rose plants ready for win- 

 ter. The first procedure is to cut 

 back on watering and don't fertilize 

 with any nitrogen. I would recom- 

 mend you use a 0-20-20 with potas- 

 sium and phosphorus to keep the 

 plant hardy going into winter. Do 

 not cut any flowers; you want to let 

 the plant set seed hips at this time 

 of year. If you cut the roses, the 

 young growth will come out and be 

 killed by the cold weather. 



In early November, it is time to 

 protect your rose plants. Prune your 

 plant back to about 28 inches and 

 leave the foliage on. This will feed 

 your rose plant's roots and be put- 

 ting starch back into the base of the 

 plant for next spring's growth. Now 

 it is time to cover your plants and 

 there are many ways to do it. If 

 continued on next page 



GROWING 



ROSES 



m 

 Northern 



Afeiv 

 England 



George Mardel 



April/May 1992 15 



