A Rose Is A Rose

I guess I am a rose person because I have many.  The roses I grow are mostly shrub roses with only one hybrid tea that I have struggled with over the past few years.  It was the Rose of the Year so I figured I had better keep it and try to work it into the garden.

Pink Promise had a little frost bite this year but overall rewarded me with some beautiful fragrant blooms poking through the Becky Shasta Daisies.

Carefree Beauty is a favorite, loose and casual with very large flowers.  It can get a little floppy and I have seen this variety tied to a trellis.

Mary Rose is from David Austin beautiful and fragrant with peony like flowers.

Roses do require pruning and fertilizing if they are going to look their best.  I know they say the shrub roses do not need to be pruned, but I find they sometimes need it the most to remain controlled and to produce multiple flowers.

Carefree Delight is a taller rose that blooms in clusters, great for peeking out over lower growing plants.

Roses look good in the border together and with other green plantings.  Mary Rose, All The Rage  and Carefree Delight are intermingled.

Rainbow Knockout in the back perennial border, the best performing shrub rose ever.  It is the first to bloom in the spring and the last to bloom in the fall.

Rainbow Knockout

You won't see Rainbow Knockout at the shopping malls, although it would have been a great choice.  It has now become difficult to find in my area because the public didn't think it was eye popping enough in the containers.

Double Knockout does better in my area than the single but I grow both.  I prefer the shape of the single one.  You don't have to deadhead but I usually snip off the wilted flowers like the ones in the photo!

Sunny Knockout is the only fragrant Knockout Rose.  However, this one has not been a great performer for me.  It may not like being in the border peeking out.

I have all of the Knockout roses, including Blush, Single Pink, Double Pink and Single Red.

Knockout Blush is a light pink with the petal structure of Rainbow.  I have not seen this one on the market for a few years.

Knockout Double Pink

Single Red Knockout

It is important to note that not all Knockout roses perform the same depending upon the zone in which you live.  The original single red is a beauty but did not do as well in the colder climates as the double red.  The double is more upright and in my opinion does not have as pleasing a shape as the single.

Pink Meidiland is a wonderful rose, tall, light, a free spirit

This rose is difficult to find and I have ordered it from California bare root, has never been a problem.

Cinco de Mayo

This is also a Rose of the Year winner, shrub rose, and looks better this year than ever, subtle smokey tones.

This is Home Run Red, one of roses I trialed last year and so far it is a winner.

Home Run Pink

I think this is my favorite because I like pink!

Roses in the border mixed with later flowering perennials are a great pop of color when the spring perennials are done.  They also help cover up the foliage of the Bleeding Hearts, Daffodils, Tulips, Iris and Allium.

Try some roses in your border!