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| Rose in the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, photo by David Gardiner Garcia |
I came across the interesting story in the New York Times the other day about a curator (fancy title!) at the New York Botanical Garden trying to identify and promote tough roses that can grow without herbicides, pesticides and even without much fertilizer or supplemental water!
Here's a link to the story: Leading the Search for a Self-Reliant Bloom
What do you think of the article?
Personally, I don't have any roses in my garden now, but I do aspire to someday plant some and hope to install just these kind of tough-as-nails roses.
But I have noticed that some of the tough (and IMHO overplanted) roses in our neighborhood - the Knockout Roses - don't seem to attract many bees, and I would want a rose I plant to be a pollinator-magnet in addition to being tough and beautiful.
Is it asking too much to want it all? ;-)
When I do buy, I'm thinking of ordering from the High Country Roses catalog, probably one or more of the Species Roses.
ps - Today is the last day to enter the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange sweepstakes. I'll choose and contact a winner tomorrow!
Aaron, I'm no rosarian by any stretch, but I grow several roses, and I'd point you toward a couple I like for their ease and beauty: the colorful cultivar 'Playboy' and the common beach rose (Rosa rugosa) in red or white. These two do well for me up here in Connecticut, as they did when I gardened in Atlanta.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm with you: Why *not* want it all.
Ah, but are you a Rosicrucian, Lee? :) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosicrucian)
DeleteThank you for suggesting the Playboy rose. I was already considering Rosa rugosa and will continue to give it a close look on your recommendation.
As for wanting it all, I think the Rolling Stones may have said it best! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkGrkNu6mDg&feature=related
Have you thought about wild roses? They are tough and beautiful. Carolina Rose is good for full sun, plus Illinois (or Prairie) Rose (Rosa setigera) - if you want a climber and have plenty of space. There are others, but those are the two that I have. They all have single flowers, and some are fragrant.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestions, Jason. I don't really have space for a climbing rose, but the Carolina one sounds intriguing.
DeleteI have several roses in my garden that are pretty tough. High Country Roses sounds like a great company, but they're growing their roses in a high altitude, arid environment. Aren't you in the humid southeast? You need to look for roses that can handle high humidity and amended clay soil. Also, not all roses attract pollinators as frequently as other plants such as coneflowers, etc. Check out the blog Children of the Corm. It's on my blogroll. Jess gardens in Charleston, SC and grows several tough roses. I would also check out http://www.chambleeroses.com/. Chamblee's Roses is out of Texas. The Earthkind roses would probably do very well for you. Chamblee is an excellent company.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recommendations! You're right, it is probably often best to buy from a source that is propagating in a climate similar to one's own. But so many of the best catalogs and nurseries seem to be located in other parts of the country! :P
DeleteCheck out Lazy S's Farm Nursery and Niche Gardens. Lazy S is in central Virginia and Niche is in NC. Both are excellent online nurseries that I use often.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestion. I did order from Lazy S's Farm this past spring. A few of the plants have done well, but I lost some and have to say I was a little disappointed in the size and vigor of most of the ones I received.
DeleteI've thought of ordering from Niche. They've certainly got a great selection, but again I'm wary of the prices and shipping costs of ordering sight-unseen.
Although I definitely I'll use mail order for seeds, I'm a little reluctant to use it for potted plants. I haven't found the perfect local nursery yet and not everything bought locally always survives either, but I do like being able to check out plants in person and sometimes get ones that are a lot larger and more developed than their mail-order brethren.