This Latin name translates as “many flowered” or “abundance of flowers” and the Floribunda rose surely lives up to its name. These roses are among the most colorful of the modern roses. Their blooms are arranged in low-growing large clusters.

Many consider the Floribunda a better variety than the Hybrid Tea, their ancestor, largely because of its capacity to continue producing blooms over an extended period of time. Furthermore, they are much more hearty and resilient than Hybrid Tea roses.

Floribundas are available in a vast array of colors and styles and can grow as high as 4 feet. They are often grown for display rather than as a cut flower. Planted as an elegant landscape bush, they can produce abundant color for many seasons.

The Rob Roy has become very popular in recent years. It blooms in a deep red color and proffers a sweet soft scent. As long as there aren’t any severe frosts, they will bloom continually from spring until late fall. They produce an extremely bold showing when planted in large clusters.

Planting New Roses

Select an ideal sunny garden location and get your soil ready. Active blooming roses flourish best in a few inches of organic mulch. For best results, enhance it with a rich compost of manure or other organic matter.

You should provide generous spacing in which they can grow. Arrange your bushes from 18 to 24 inches apart from one another.

Dig a hole that will be deep enough for roots to spread without any restriction, about 8 to 10 inches deep. Adding bone meal to the soil is another good idea, as it is high in phosphates.

Now you’re ready to plant. Remove each rose bush from its container and place gently into the ground. Backfill the hole with loose soil. Then, using your palm, pack any loose soil firmly. Repeat this process for every plant.

When you’re done, water every new plant thoroughly. Continue watering your new roses on a daily basis for the first 2 weeks. After that, a weekly irrigation is usually enough.

Maintaining Healthy Roses

Late winter is the best time to prune. Most gardeners prune in January or February, depending on their local climate. Remove all debris first, and dead foliage from the plants and around their bedding. Clip off all dead bark-like canes. In order to promote new growth for the next season, remember to remove all the old flowers.

If it’s warm enough, it’s a good idea to fertilize the ground with organic matter at this time.

Although you should try to maintain some shape to your rose bushes, be gentle with the cuts. Many horticulturists say that Floribundas, in their first year, flourish with a cane 6 inches long.

Now, just sit back, relax and watch your flowers bloom beautifully for many months, and years, to come.

Shrub roses are an easy, colorful choice to use anywhere you would plant a shrub.

Sturdy and Plant-Friendly

Unlike many roses, Shrub Roses are perfect for planting anywhere. They’re “plant-friendly” and are good neighbors in any collection of flowers. Shrub Roses are also very winter-hardy, and they are highly disease-resistant.

These round, easily-maintained bushes are not small, either. Many older Shrub Roses can grow up to 6 feet in height. If desired, Shrub Roses can be trained to grow like tall hedges.

Privacy Screen or Hedge

Shrub roses are great as a screen or hedge plant for privacy, as a border, or a background. Although the flowers from Shrub Roses have little fragrance, they come in a wide assortment of vivid colors. Vibrant pinks, reds, whites, and yellows are all common for a shrub rose’s abundant flowers.

Ground Cover or Hanging Basket

Several modern shrub roses have been popularized in recent years. Ground covers such as Cliffs of Dover, Flower Carpet and Jeepers Creepers have been treasured by homeowners with sloped or uneven lawns.

They also grow wonderfully in hanging baskets and containers. Regardless which variety you choose, Shrub Roses can be a wonderful feature at the entrance to your home.

How to Plant

Make sure the plant is in a very sunny location. Most Shrub Roses require a minimum of 8 hours of full sun on a daily basis. The direct light combined with moist soil ensures maximum flower production.

Dig a hole that is double the width and depth of the pot your shrub comes in. Use a sharp instrument to cut the plant away from the sides of the pot. Disturb the roots as little as possible. Once you have the plant free from its container, place it in the hole. Fill in the remaining space with loose soil and soak the plant with water.

Practically Maintenance-Free

Fortunately, Shrub Roses require very little maintenance. During the summer months, you’ll probably need to water your shrubs twice a week. Keep the soil moist and you’re done.

For gorgeous results and optimal growth, use organic fertilizer on your roses in the spring and fall. Pruning is not necessary, because it is basically self-cleaning. Shrub roses release their own dead foliage, creating a neat appearance through every season.

Some of the prettiest roses are “ever blooming.” Purchase this type of shrub rose, and you�ll have a recurrent bloomer that will flower profusely several times a year.

Before you plant another green shrub, consider planting a Shrub Rose instead. The most difficulty you’ll have with this plant is deciding which one to buy!

Planting Bare Root Roses

Before planting, the plants must be prepared. The following suggestions will help insure that your roses grow into healthy bushes, trees, etc.:

1. Your new roses have probably dried out during shipping or storage, therefore before planting, either bury the roots in wet saw dust or peat moss for several days or soak them overnight in water. Keep the roots wet when planting, do not let them dry out.

2. Prune damaged and broken roots.

3. Prune main roots just enough to reveal white healthy tissue. This will help more roots grow.

4. Prune the plant back to three or four healthy canes. Try to keep the center of the plant empty. Prune the healthy canes back to about six (6) inches using sharp pruning shears. Keep the cutting blade on the lower side. Cut at a 45 to 60 degree angle. Cut about one fourth inch above an outside bud union.

5. In order to prevent infection, treat the cuts with some type of sealent or sealing paint.

6. Make sure that you have removed any suckers that may have started growing during shipping or storage.

The following should be taken into consideration when selecting where to plant your roses.:

1. Roses are susceptible to mildew and funguses, therefore plant where there is good air movement in order to help the foliage stay dry.

2. Plant where the bushes will get at least six hours of sun a day with as much morning sun as possible.

3. Try to plant away from large trees and shrubs as they will compete for food, moisture and sunlight.

4. Find an area with soil that drains well or add gravel or cinder below the prepared soil. Poor drainage may cause root rot.

5. Try not to plant on a steep slope. Soil erosion can cause the root structure to become exposed.

6. Plant the bushes at least two feet apart, two and one half feet is better.

Digging and preparing the hole:

1. Dig your hole twelve to sixteen inches deep and fifteen to seventeen inches wide.

2. Work compost or planters soil (not potting soil) into the loose dirt.

3. Make a cone of the prepared soil in the center of the hole in order to support the spread out roots and to hold the bush at the proper height. In cold winter areas the bud or graft union should be between one and two inches below the soil level. In mild climates the union should be an inch or so above the soil level. Planting the union below soil level helps protect from the cold and planting the union above soil level makes it easier to detect and remove suckers.

4. Place the plant over the cone, spreading the roots and then fill the hole with soil mix untill it is about two thirds full. Now fill the hole with water, let it soak in and then fill with water again.

5. After the second fill with water has soaked in fill the hole to the proper level with the remaining prepared soil. Now gently firm the soil around the plant.

After planting the roses it helps to add an organic mulch.:

1. Organic mulches can help rebuild the humus content of the soil, retain soil moisture, encorage root growth, controll weeds, prevent soil crusting and erosion, help even out soil temperature, add helpful bacteria, etc..

2. There are numerous types of organic mulch, such as bark, pecan hulls, peat moss and buckwheat hulls.

3. Contrary to old beliefs, mulch can and should be left on all year long.

Rose Gifts

Planting roses isn’t actually complicated, as long as you have some good advice and tips to start with…

1. Check with your local gardening center or florist for the best type of roses to grow in you climate. If you are a novice, you should look fo? disease resistant types of roses because they require a lot less maintenance.

2. When planting roses, you want to pick a spot that is well lit in the morning. You also want an area that is sunlit for at least 6 hours a day. Roses need a great deal of light if they are to grow properly. If you live in a really hot climate though, you’ll probably get the best results by not planting your roses in direct sunlight.

3. Pick an area that has plenty of well drained soil. Great soil has a PH level where the amount of acid in the soil is at about 5.5-7.0. You can get a testing kit for your soil at any garden center.

4. Organic matter like manure or lime helps to nourish the roots of your roses. You should soak the roots in water or puddle clay for many minutes, and cut off any root’s ends that are broken.

5. The first 3-4 weeks after planting your roses, you should water them often. Usually this is when the top 2 inches of soil is dry. Roses need a lot of hydration and food to remain healthy.

6. Four weeks after planting, you should start soaking the bed every 2 weeks or so. You should do this in the morning for the best results

7. Begin fertilization approximately 3 months after planting. Use 3-6 inches of mulch to control the moisture, temperature, and to stops weeds from coming up. Mulch also helps to lock in the vital nutrients your roses need in order to remain healthy.

8. Planting in the Spring is the best.

9. You want to plant your roses in an area that is well circulated with air. Your roses will not grow in an enclosed or tight area.

10. Dig a hole that is two times bigger than the amount of space that your roses take up. It makes it easier to plant them and creates a spaced area for them to grow with freedom. Poor circulation for your roses can cause fungal diseases. Using a larger hole also makes it easier for you to pull them up later and pot them if you’d like.
Rose Varieties

� 2004, Kathy Burns-Millyard and Garden-Source.com