Now Is the Time to Plant Rose Bushes (and There Are More Varieties Than You Realize)

When you think of a rose, the stereotypical red or pink, tightly coiled, long-stemmed (and overpriced) blooms likely come to mind. Roses are your grandma’s flower, right? But there is actually a lot of variety and beauty beyond the standard red rose—and right now is one of the two times of year that are ideal for planting these perennially tough-to-kill and easy-to-adapt plants.

There are more types of roses than you probably realize. Climbing roses seek structure and climb tall, but not necessarily wide. Rambling roses are like hedges, growing enormous both in width and height. There are standard shrub roses, which are what most of us think of, and also tree roses, which are upright bushes on a bare tree trunk. There are also miniature roses. A few of my favorites rose varieties are:

• Armure Blanche Rose: This tea-scented, ice cream cone of a rose is a showstopper. As a shrub rose, you'll be able to use it structurally in any landscape—just imagine the floral arrangements you'll make.

• Earth Angel Parfuma Floribunda Rose: If you love peonies, Earth Angel will win your heart. It smells almost as good and has the same bloom structure, creating these incredibly complicated and frilly centers that will remind you of cupcakes.

• Claire Austin: A classic rambler rose, Claire Austin smells good, but also has that double rose structure I find really interesting, elevating the bloom from pedestrian to unique. As a rambler, this plant will take over any border in your yard.

When (and where) to buy roses

When you buy roses, you are either purchasing them as bare roots or plants that have grown out. It’s easy to tell the difference, because bare root roses aren’t in soil, and plants are. A bare root plant might look dead, but it's not—it’s being kept in a stasis of sorts, with just enough moisture to keep it alive. Once it’s planted, fed, and watered, it will grow into a plant pretty quickly because it is actually already a mature plant.

The appropriate time of year to plant bare root roses is before spring hits in January through May.  The roses that don’t get bought at that time are planted into potting mix and become available as plants through summer and fall. That’s where we find ourselves now: Nurseries and mail-order companies are fully stocked with rose bushes. As long as you get roses into the ground early enough that they have six weeks left before the first frost, they should survive winter just fine. 

The best place to buy roses is still your local garden center, where you’ll get support and plants that are acclimated to your zone. Additionally, there are plenty of online purveyors, and some of them quite popular, like David Austin and Perkins & Jackson.

How to plant roses

Since you’ll be planting grown rose bushes this time of year, you’ll plant them much like any other plant from the nursery.  Chose the location, and dig a hole three times the size of the container the plant comes in. Gently loosen the plant in the container by rolling it (and cut the container away if you need to). Into the hole, add rose fertilizer, which you can get at your garden center. Use your fingers to loosen the root ball of the roses. 

Place the rose bush into the hole and make sure to turn it to face the way you’d like—most plants have a better-looking side. You want to ensure you are not burying the rose any more than it was in the container; roses have a crown, and you need that on the soil surface. Backfill the hole, and then give the plant a really good watering. 

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