The Best Location for Your Rose Garden

You’ve decided to start a rose garden but, of course, before you begin, you have to decide where to plant it — one of the most important decisions you’ll make regarding the beautifel rose bed you expect to grow. One major consideration is the weather conditions in your area because this will have a huge effect on whether or not you end up with well formed roses or wilting, weepy ones. If you’re really hoping for gorgeous roses that will make everyone stare at them with awe, then make sure you carefully consider the location of your rose grade.

This may take some thought. So where do you think the best place to plant your future prize winning roses should be? Regardless of whether you have a big, beautiful yard or a little nook in the corner of a big city, whatever the space available, you should be able to find a suitable location for your rose garden.

The first step in choosing the location is critical. You need to find a bright, open area of your yard, since roses generally need a lot of sunlight. Don’t plant your roses somewhere that is shaded most of the day, but an area that receives many hours of sunshine. However, keep in mind there may be areas where the roses will bake, so try to find a happy medium — ample sunlight without having your roses fry.

Now that you have a good spot to plant your roses, get rid of any turf and take a few soil samples to determine the grade of soil, making note of the acidity. Soil with a high level of acidity is drained of nitrogen making it unsuitable for growing roses.

You don’t need the help of a biologist to determine the pH balance of you soil because testing the level of acidity is quite easy. Just dig 3-4 inches into the soil and gather a few small samples. Then buy yourself a soil evaluation kit from a gardening store or nursery, however, if you don’t understand how to interpret the results, a knowledgeable nursery attendant should be able to help you translate them.

With the pH balance of your soil in hand, you’ll know whether you’ll have to add dolomite lime or not. A pH balance of 6.0 to 6.5 is excellent for growing roses, so check another area of your yard if the first area isn’t favorable.

Once you have your rose garden going, you’ll discover that roses aren’t big on sharing, but rather, they need room to grow and thrive in their own space. You do, of course, want your rose bed separate from your other plants anyway, so this shouldn’t be a problem. Just steer clear of tall buildings and shrubs.

Be wary of black spot and other diseases because they can happen when there isn’t proper air circulation through the rose plants. The amount of space needed between each plant will depend on the type of rose you’ve planted. Hybrids need about 5 feet while miniatures need 6 – 12 inches and Floribunda’s need about 2 to 3 feet.

So remember, your roses will be growing and you should take into account what their mature size will be. Try to projecyt what height and width your roses will reach. Have you chosen small roses that won’t take up more space than they do now? Or have you planted larger roses that will burst out of their space?

Climbing roses are one of the few that work well with other plants. Roses will thrive with other roses, but keep in mind that they must be planted at the same time. Don’t try to plant a new rose in the same soil your old roses are using, rather, begin fresh and start growing a new rose bed.

Another mistake new gardeners often make is planting too many rose bushes. If you’re new to gardening, then slow down, there’s no need to become an instant master gardener. Take your time and get acquainted with the intricacies of your rose bed first. You can start out small and learn all of the responsibilities of caring for roses as you go along.

Finally, make sure the location you planted your roses is open and easily accessible because you’ll need to water the bed deeply 2-3 times a week. You’ll also have to ensure you have proper drainage, so make sure other plants don’t get in the way of you easily maneuvering around your rose bed.

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Glenn Cutforth is a writer, eBook publisher and graphic designer. For more information

on the growing and care of roses in your garden, visit his website Lawn and Garden Magic/Rose-Gardening

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