Rose is a rose, with tricks it better grows

Roses are beautiful and are the most popular flower in America. However, gardeners shy away from them because they require too much maintenance throughout the year.

But new trends are developing to make the experience easier, said rosarians Lyn and John Vinson of the Las Vegas Valley Rose Society. Here are some:

Bush roses: At one time, the only roses available were hybrid teas, grandifloras and floribundas, but now bush roses are taking over. They bloom longer, require very little pruning or fertilizer, and hide their faded flowers. Gardeners really want carefree roses.

"We toured back East and bush roses are all people are growing now," John said.

Bush roses come in a rainbow of colors. Some of the most popular bush roses are Knockout, Simplicity, Carefree and Charity. Lyn said because of this trend, many rose breeding nurseries have gone out of business.

Fragrance: In the past, it seemed newer roses were coming out with less fragrance. Not so, Lyn said.

"One rose breeder wears a rosebud in his cap's bill while working and the rose's fragrance really becomes significant. This is because of the added humidity coming from him."

Lyn said our valley's lack of humidity might be the reason for the reduced fragrance.

There is another possible reason for the lack of fragrance. Powdery mildew was the first thing rose breeders tested for. If powdery mildew expressed itself in early testing, breeders discarded the roses, never giving them a chance to develop a fragrance, John said.

Rootstock: All roses produced for this climate were once grown on Dr Huey's rootstock. The reason was breeders could produce roses faster, but the trend has shifted.

"Roses grown on their own roots take longer to produce, but here's the great news, these new roses are showing resistance to powdery mildew. At this time, it's only an observation," Lyn said.

As an added bonus, the new roses can't revert back to Dr Huey's rootstock to develop those undesirable roses.

John told of visiting a nursery in Phoenix and found a variety called Lasting Love completely circled by powdery mildew-infested roses. He took it home and it never had mildew.

Fertilizing: Rose enthusiasts feed their plants a full plate of fertilizers. Gardeners don't like this hassle. John tells people to use Miracle Gro because "it's widely available, easy to use and produces beautiful roses."

Lyn quickly added: "You still need to use soil sulfur. It lowers the pH of our soils to free up nutrients your roses need." She also adds Epsom salts or magnesium sulfate.

"If you have a sick rose, add a little CPR (Epsom salts) to get it going again."

She adds a fourth of a cup to each plant and waters it in.

Irrigating: "There are three things you must do to encourage new growth of your roses. They are water, water and water. That's how important water is to growing beautiful roses," Lyn said.

If your roses are small, she said to increase the water.

John added, "Water also flushes away the salts and frees up the essential nutrients to keep your roses happy."

And whenever you fertilize, water first and after each application.

Pruning: The Vinsons make pruning roses easy. They simply remove the top half of the bush and get rid of any crisscrossing canes and dead, diseased wood. They remove the dead stubs as they groom plants through the season.

"It doesn't really matter how bad you prune roses, they'll always bounce back," Lyn said. Nor do they worry about cutting back to a five-petal leaf. John said, "If branches are weak, the roses break off and die." End of story.

Pests: John said we don't have many disease and insect problems in the desert. He did note lush growth attracts aphids so wash them off.

Growing roses is excellent exercise for the Vinsons. Lyn has arthritis and working her roses suppresses its effect.

She concluded by noting, "We are in partnership with God" producing their beautiful roses. John told of a troubled boy working with their roses. He found roses brought peace to his soul.

Rose societies: There are two rose societies in the valley. The Las Vegas Valley Rose Society meets the second Sunday of the month at Nevada Energy, and the South Valley Roses Society meets every fourth Thursday at University of Nevada Cooperative Extension. For more information, call 646-6048 or 435-8923.

Linn Mills' garden column appears on Sundays. You can reach him at linnmillslv@gmail.com or call him at 526-1495.