The Month of Roses
They are the flower of the United States and New York as well as a symbol of the eternal feminine, associated with Venus and the Virgin Mary, Marie Antoinette and the Empress Josephine alike and beloved by artists, writers, perfumers and anyone looking to mark a special occasion.
But roses are persnickety, prickly little creatures – the thorns of many species are actually prickles – beautiful but demanding, seductive but elusive. That’s part of their enchantment.
June is known as the month of roses, but they will bloom into the fall. (In the mild winter after 9/11, we ourselves saw December roses at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan, a real delight and source of comfort.)
But because they’ll bloom all season and because those blossoms are so prized and varied – there are some 300 species and thousands of cultivers – maintaining your roses will be a challenge.
The best time to plant rose bushes is in the temperate moments – early spring and fall. If you are looking ahead to becoming a rose parent in the fall season, you’ll want to prepare a sunny, well-drained area (18-by18 inches) that nevertheless has a moist subsoil, broken up to roughly 2-feet deep. Roses need rich, well-packed soil that is slightly acidic – about half garden soil and half compost and peat moss. Some experts recommend bone meal as well, a half-pound to each square yard.
What kind of roses you’ll plant will depend on your tastes really. Do you like that heady fragrance of the classic, hardy blooms? Then go with heirlooms or old roses. But be prepared: They are like meteors that blaze and are gone.
For the continual rebloom throughout the growing season, you’ll need to go modern with such lovelies as the fragrant Danae, the tiny Fairy Moss, the peony-like Graham Thomas, the red, white and true Fourth of July and the orange-pinky hybrid tea rose, appropriately known as Touch of Class.
Even if you pick the low maintenance Carefree Delight, however, you’ll still have your work cut out for you to keep your brood blooming. Deadhead your blooms back to the first cluster of five leaves to keep your bushes producing seeds and thus flowers. (Otherwise they’ll form hips and it’s all over, although rose hips make a nice tea.)
Watch for fungi, treating them appropriately and removing affected leaves. Water your plants at the base and use organic insecticides to control pets. At the end of the season, you’ll have to prepare your plant for dormancy.
So, as you can see, maintaining roses is a full-time job. That’s why we at Morano Landscape and Garden Design are here to help, so you have time to stop and smell the roses.
June 2020
By Georgette Gouveia