People ask me every year if I find the winter season depressing because theres nothing much to do in the garden. My response is generally a good old belly laugh, and a hearty, resounding, Nope! Roses need their dormant period to perform well in the upcoming season, and so do their caretakers! Here in Southern New England, our rose gardening season generally begins sometime in April, and in a normal year, we bed the gardens down in the end of November. I always think our season is rather short, but now that I actually think about it, eight months is really nothing to sneeze at! No wonder I enjoy our winters (and February) so much! Nice, warm fires, my hubby close by, maybe a glass of wine and a good moviemmmm!

February Planning

Winter is a great time to give some serious thought to the previous summer. How was the weather? How did it affect our growing season? What did well, and what didnt? Is there anything in the garden that needs replacing? Its also a great time to go over all the photographs you took last summer, because now you have the time to look at them objectively and probably appreciate them more than you did the first time you looked at them.

The rose catalogs are in the magazine basket. This time of year, I look at them again and again! I have been falling in love with rose pictures in catalogs for over thirty years. Of course, that means I need to put in a few more every year! Its been my privilege for some years now to be an All America Rose Selections (AARS) judge, so Ive had the honor to know some of these roses before they hit the market. I have evaluated them while they were still identified by a number, and its always a treat to find out what the hybridizers name them.

Growing Roses

There has never been a better time to grow roses. The hybridizers in the rose industry are listening to the public, and in recent years have introduced roses that thrive at shopping malls with little care. Imagine planting rosebushes in the landscape and having them not only survive but grow and bloom all season! These are the new shrub roses. Most people are familiar with Bill Radlers Knockout series of roses, and these plants always go flying out of garden centers almost as quickly as they arrive! They are very winter hardy, and, as shrub roses, grow and thrive very quickly on their own roots.

The original Knockout rose is a deep magenta. There are also Pink Knockout, Blushing Knockout,Rainbow Knockout, Double Knock Out,and now, Sunny Knockout. These roses range from hot pink all the way to yellow. The bushes generally grow large and have excellent disease resistance, and the blooms are generally from 5-10 petals. They are also bred to be mostly sterile, which means that they do not set seed (hips). This means, in most cases, as the blooms fade, the petals fall away and the plant pumps up more new growth immediately so that these roses are almost always in bloom.

More Rose Varieties

Another great modern rose hybridizer is Ping Lim. Pings mission in life has been to create roses that are as carefree as possible for everyone who embraces the rose family. He breeds his roses for exceptional disease resistance and winter hardiness, but also to have lovely blossom form. While he has some roses that look very much like the Knockout series, he also has developed roses with beautiful, classic blossoms. Check out Macys Pride, a sweet, fragrant white rose that blooms in large clusters. Grandmas Blessing is a hot pink grandiflora; classic single blooms on long stems. Yellow Submarine is a floribunda-sized shrub that is constantly covered with bright sunshiny blooms.

My favorite is Centennial, a pale yellow grandiflora with fantastic bloom form and the most beautiful foliage I have ever seen on a modern rose. Shiny, deep green, spotless leaves with new growth that is a lovely bronzy color. The combination of the blooms and the foliage is just stunning. Pings roses are distributed through Baileys in Minnesota, and thats where his roses have been tested for years. He planted them out in the middle of the prairie for their trials. They were only irrigated during drought conditions, received no fertilizer, spraying or winter protection. Any rose that didnt thrive was thrown out of the program! Pings roses are hard as nails, but soft as a feather, and in every color you can imagine.

What’s Next for February?

So, if youre just getting started with roses, there are a few examples for you. All of these varieties are easy to find on the web, and easy to grow in your garden. Over the next year, well explore all the different types of roses you can plant and enjoy in your own garden. Some, like these, are really disease resistant, and others (like my favorites, the Hybrid Teas) really need spraying in order to thrive. Next month, well talk about selecting a sight for your rose garden, and what youll need to provide for your beauties.

Meanwhile, enjoy this late February, as the days grow longer and the shadows grow shorter day by day, sharpen up your bypass pruners and shovels, and get in your last minute rose orders for bare-root planting. Check out your local garden center to find out what theyve ordered this year. The dream is about to become a reality! See you in March!