Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteers of Buncombe County

Roses

Gardening Video: Great Roses for Western North Carolina

Gardening in the Mountain presents:
Great Roses for WNC—Roses from The Learning Garden

Presenter: Judy Deutsch, Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteer

In 2018, the first roses were planted in the Learning Rose Garden.  This garden is part of a group of gardens on the Buncombe County Cooperative Extension campus known collectively as The Learning Garden.  Today, the Learning Rose Garden has 51 different roses, representing over 20 varieties.

One objective of this garden was to determine which roses, particularly new roses, grow well in Western North Carolina.  In this program, Judy covers some basics of rose care and selection but focuses on 14 roses that have performed particularly well in the garden.   Color, size, fragrance, disease resistance, and vase-life are factors considered in selection.  This talk has something for everyone, no matter if your garden is large or small, if you want one rose or a bed of roses.  You will also learn where you can obtain these and other roses not available at your local nurseries.

To access this video on the Buncombe County Master Gardener website, click on the link below:

Great Roses for Western North Carolina

Or go to www.buncombemastergardener.org, click on the ‘Gardening Videos’ tab at the top of the page and select the video from the list provided.

How to Choose Roses

Choosing roses can be easier than you think. You need to decide three things: Which types of roses you like, where they will grow, and how much time you want to devote to them. Then the fun begins!

Roses_CarefreeBeauty_Fragrant
‘Carefree Beauty’ Fragrant Rose

Select roses for their color, fragrance, and use
Questions to ask yourself include: What colors do you like, do your roses have to have a fragrance, and what you will use the roses for? Rose colors include white, pink, purple, red, orange, and yellow. Many start out dark and fade to lighter shades, some have colored stripes, and others are a mixture of colors. There are roses that have strong scents and others with no scent at all. Do you want roses for color in the garden, to grow on a structure, to cut for indoor arrangements, or for fragrance?

Roses_Pinkie_ClimbingPolyantha
‘Pinkie’ Climbing Polyantha Rose

Know the growing and care requirements
Start by knowing your frost hardiness zone and sun requirements. Much of Buncombe County is classified USDA Zone 7 for frost hardiness. Most roses require 6 to 8 hours of sun, although some are more shade tolerant. How much space do you have? Some roses require large areas to grow, while others take up only a little space. Some roses will grow in containers.

Roses_Belinda_HybridMusk
‘Belinda’ Hybrid Musk Rose

Decide how much time you have to care for your roses. Roses need an inch of water a week and as much as twice that in hotter months. They are heavy feeders, so perform best when fertilized during the growing season. Many suffer from pests and funguses, although some roses were developed to be disease resistant and need little spraying.

 Information sources
Places to learn about roses include books, websites, rose societies, and the Cooperative Extension service, along with many reputable growers who offer information about the roses they sell. The American Rose Society has an easy-to-navigate website that offers answers to your rose queries at www.rose.org. The Asheville Blue Ridge Rose Society website is www.ashevillerosesociety.org. The Buncombe County Extension Master Gardener Volunteers can also answer questions about types of roses, suggest good varieties for our area, and offer planting and care instructions.

Article written by Donna Sapp, Extension Master Gardener Volunteer.

New Disease-Resistant Garden Roses Growing in Popularity

While European gardeners planted roses in beds with other plants and expected them to thrive without special attention, serious American rose gardeners focused on producing a few perfect flowers each season so they could win competitions. Fragrances, hardiness, and resistance to diseases such as black spot—a common fungal infection of roses—were cast aside for bigger, better-formed blooms. 

Roses_Tiffany_HybridTea_DiseaseResistant
‘Tiffany’ Disease-Resistant Hybrid Tea Rose

From disfavor to rose revolution
By the 1990s, American gardeners were no longer willing to take on these divas! For many of us, gardens were smaller and schedules busier. We had discovered organic gardening and pollinators and did not want to use toxic sprays. 

Then in the 1990s, David Austin roses reached the U.S. market, reintroducing easier-care garden roses with fragrance. In 2000, Knock Out® roses took the industry by storm. Their even easier care, long bloom season, and black-spot resistance appealed to yet more gardeners. Other rose hybridizers saw the huge market for disease-resistant roses, and began to create their own. Developing a new rose takes about ten years and a bit of luck. We are just now beginning to reap the benefits of the hybridizers’ efforts.

Roses_MotherOfPearl_Grandiflora_DiseaseResistant
‘Mother of Pearl’ Disease-Resistant Grandiflora Rose

Newer hybrids meet no-spray standard
American rose distributors have begun importing disease-resistant roses from Europe where there have been no-spray rose trials for years—many pesticides are banned in Europe. No-spray trials are now happening in the United States. ‘Sunshine Daydream’, a yellow grandiflora, was the first rose to win the All-America Rose Selection rose of the year under no-spray conditions. ‘Francis Meilland’, ‘Beverly’, and ‘Savannah’—all fragrant hybrid teas—have won awards in the Biltmore (no-spray) International Rose Trials here in Asheville.

Learn more
To learn more about roses, contact your local rose society. The Asheville Blue Ridge Rose Society serves Western North Carolina. Visit their website at www.ashevillerosesociety.org or contact them by email at rosesocietywnc@gmail.com.

The Buncombe County Extension Master Gardener Volunteers’ “Gardening in the Mountains” lecture series will present a talk on rose care and disease resistant roses at the County Extension office, 49 Mt. Carmel Rd., on Thursday, July 21, 11:30 to 1. Call 828-255-5522 to reserve a seat. 

Article written by Judy Deutsch, Extension Master Gardener Volunteer.

Contact Us

Buncombe County Extension Office
49 Mount Carmel Road
Asheville, NC 28806
Helpline 828-255-5522

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