Hardy Roses
November is the month when gardeners in many of the colder parts of the country start thinking about applying winter protection to their roses. For instructions, click here.
If this chore is starting to get to be too much, consider planting hardier shrub roses. There are many fine choices, including varieties that have survived temperatures below –35 degrees F without protection in test plots at the University of Minnesota. Here are a few of the best.
The Explorer roses were developed at a Canadian Experiment Station in Ottawa and are named after famous Canadian explorers. They include 'Champlain,' 'John Cabot' and 'John Franklin,' all with red flowers.
The Parkland series of roses was developed in western Canada at the Morden Experiment Station. It includes hardy varieties such as 'Morden Amorette' and 'Morden Centennial,' both with pink flowers.
Buck roses were bred by Dr. Griffith Buck at Iowa State University. They include many excellent hardy shrub roses, such as the very popular Carefree roses like pink-flowering 'Carefree Beauty' and 'Carefree Delight.' Others to consider include 'Applejack,' 'Prairie Dawn' and 'Prairie Princess,' again with pink flowers.
If you want more than roses with just red or pink flowers, look to hybrid rugosa roses or try the yellow-flowering shrub 'Golden Wings.' All are very hardy.
Most hardy shrub roses are grown and sold on their own roots. This way when they are frozen to the ground, they will resprout from their roots, true to type, and not as some strange-flowering rootstock. Even though this is how they are almost always sold, double-check with the nursery or nursery person to be sure.
Many nurseries and mail-order catalogs sell hardy roses. Mail-order companies that specialize in hardy varieties include Spring Valley Roses and HardyRoses.net.
Like all roses, hardy types are best planted in full sun and well-drained soil. To get your plants off to a great start, use Bayer Advanced™ All-In-One Rose & Flower Care Concentrate just as the plants start to bud out in spring. One application applied to the roots feeds and protects from insects and disease for up to 6 weeks.
Products Mentioned In This Article
Bayer Advanced
