Site Selection:
Site selection is critical to successful rose growing; in fact, it is the key to growing healthy, happy roses. Just like Real Estate, it's all about "location, location, location". It is important to choose a site that has a minimum of 6 to 8 hours exposure to full sunlight and good soil drainage. Some roses will perform well in less sunlight, but these are the exception and will not perform as well as they would with more sunlight. 'Tolerating' is not the same as 'thriving'. No roses grow well in deep shade. Slightly acid, sandy loam soils are excellent for rose growing (pH 5.5-6.5 is best). Amending the soil with lots of organic matter (i.e. compost, pine bark mulch, peat moss, composted leaves, manure, etc.) will improve the texture of virtually every soil. Many people have found that raised beds create an ideal environment for roses as you are able to start with soil that is close to ideal.

Soil Preparation:
Old Garden Roses (many roses, if fact, especially when grown on their own roots) will grow in relatively poor conditions, but they will perform best if planted in a favorable situation with rich, well-drained soil. The best place to locate a rose bed is in an open area that receives at least six hours of direct sun daily (preferably in the morning) and allows good healthy air movement around each bush. Roses prefer a well-drained soil that is slightly acidic and well supplied with organic matter. Soil preparation will make a great difference in the health and long term vigor of your roses. Adding a quantity of organic material to the bed before planting will both enrich a sandy soil and break up a heavy soil to allow proper drainage.  Adjustments to soil pH should be made at this time (check with your local Ag-Extension office for recommendations). Remember that this will very likely be the only time that you will be able to work with the soil extensively in your new rose bed. Putting forth the extra effort now to create a good soil environment for rose roots may be the difference between good roses and mediocre ones.

Planting the Roses
Upon receipt, roses need only to be potted up (give them some root room!), kept watered and held in a bright, sheltered area until the local climate allows planting to take place. They can be held in their container for months if the site is not ready or transplanted into larger containers and grown indefinitely until you choose a permanent location. Remember to use a high quality potting soil (one that drains well) for potted roses - do not use garden soil. Also remember that roses growing in containers will need more frequent fertilization and watering than those planted in the ground. Once a site is chosen, knock the plant out of the container and place directly into the prepared hole. There is no need to spread out the roots (unless they are circling the pot) or add any soil additives - only water.

Feeding
Healthy soil grows healthy roses, so feed your soil! Organic mulches will break down and enrich your soil while improving the texture. Granular fertilizers with organic ingredients, fish fertilizer, compost, manure, alfalfa ¿ all are good. Most commercial rose food and organic fertilizers produce good results. Like most living things, a varied, balanced diet promotes good health. Rotate your fertilizers to ensure a balanced diet. Chemical fertilizers such as Miracle-Gro are fine once in a while ¿ I equate them to fast food, which is fine on occasion but unhealthy as a staple diet. It is very important to water your roses well before and after feeding. Chemical fertilizers can burn or even kill a plant if over-used. Read the label, and when in doubt, use less fertilizer rather than more. For container roses, organic fertilizer can be combined with slow-release pellets (such as Osmocote). If you simply want to keep your roses healthy and vigorous, one feeding in spring and early fall should suffice. For maximum performance, begin feeding about 2 weeks before the last frost date for your area and continue at 4 to 6 week intervals until 6 weeks before the earliest frost date for your area. For the last feeding of the year, you might want to use a high phosphorus compound (12-24-12) so that your plant will shift to a slower, tougher growth in preparation for cold weather.

Mulching and Watering
I sincerely believe that mulch is the key to happiness - at least in the garden! A several inch thick layer of mulch applied 2 or 3 times a year means fewer weeds, less water stress, less heat stress, richer soil and healthier plants. Rose varieties that have survived for many years are usually drought tolerant, but your plants will look much better in your garden if they get a good deep soaking every 7 to 10 days (possibly more often in really hot weather.) This is much better than frequent light watering which encourages the roots to grow near the surface where they are vulnerable. Deep watering will encourage your roses to hold their foliage and bloom better in the summer months. A soaker hose or a form of drip irrigation works especially well to minimize water waste through evaporation and to keep the rose leaves dry. I suggest soaking the ground until saturated (several hours or overnight).

Disease and Insects
If your old roses seem to be unduly affected by blackspot or powdery mildew, they are possibly planted in the wrong spot; too much shade, too little air circulation, poorly drained soil, etc. A properly situated old rose should give years of virtually trouble-free beauty. This is not to say that the Old Garden Roses never get blackspot or other foliar diseases. They are disease resistant, but rarely completely disease free. The difference is that none of the fungus diseases really debilitates them. They will generally shed infected leaves, continuing to grow and bloom with healthy vigor. If you choose to spray in an attempt to keep the foliage perfect, I recommend using the mildest, broad spectrum fungicide that is effective in your climate. Aphids, thrips, and other insect pests rarely affect a healthy rosebush severely, but they can damage and disfigure the tender new growth, buds, and flowers. There are many products available that, used according to label instructions, should control infestations. Miticide, or a vigorous hosing with water, controls spider mites. If you are worried about toxicity, Safer products are very mild, or, in a small garden, you may enjoy squashing by hand. Ladybugs and praying mantises are easily available from many garden supply catalogs. For the health of your roses, your environment and yourself, please seek advice from knowledgeable rose growers in your area before adopting a chemical spray program.

There seems to be a certain mystique surrounding the pruning of roses. It is approached as some sort of divine ritual and can be extremely intimidating to inexperienced growers. In fact, there are very few hard and fast rules when it comes to pruning roses - the type of rose and personal preference are the main deciding factors.

A few general guidelines:

• Young roses are best left unpruned for their first three years (remove only dead/damaged wood) in order to assess their natural shape and growth habits
• Use sharp pruning shears - bypass pruners are best
• Use sharp loppers for removing thick canes
• Remove any wood that crosses through the center and/or rubs against other canes
• When in doubt, go easy - you can always cut more later
• Cut to a growth eye that faces in the direction you want new growth
• Avoid leaving long stubs above growth eyes, as they tend to die back and look yucky (approx/ 1/4" above is ideal)
• Wear gloves - roses don't thank us at pruning time. In fact, they tend to bite back!
• Don't worry, it will grow back!

Pruning Old Garden Roses

Old Garden Roses don't require the stringent and careful pruning that is needed by many modern sorts - in fact, they can sulk and refuse to bloom if pruned too hard. Just a light touch of sharp pruning shears is all that is needed for them to respond beautifully. Some large rose gardens are, in fact, pruned with hedge clippers!

A good rule of thumb is to remove all dead or diseased canes and clip back no more than 1/3 of the remaining bush to encourage full foliage and heavy bloom without destroying the vigor and natural attractive form of the plant.

When a rose bush is cut back it responds by putting on a spurt of growth. This tender new growth can get frost or heat-burned, so you may want to avoid mid-summer and late fall pruning in more severe climates.

Everblooming varieties can be lightly trimmed several times a year since they flower on new growth.

Roses that bloom but once annually are best pruned right after they have bloomed. Their flowers come from wood that has hardened over a winter, so early spring pruning will reduce their display. Spring pruning is best limited to removing only dead/damaged wood and perhaps thinning overcrowded bushes. Early spring is a good time to dig any errant suckers - they are easier to see before the plants leaf out and can be replanted or potted up safely while dormant.

Rose hedges can be shaped easily with hedge shears.

Roses in a natural or wild setting can be left completely alone unless a hard winter produces some unsightly dead canes.

If left unpruned, many varieties of old roses will produce attractive hips to brighten the winter garden.

Pruning Modern Roses

Most shrub roses (hybrid musks, polyanthas, English Roses) are best pruned lightly, in the manner of Old Garden Roses.

Hybrid Teas will produce more, but smaller, flowers if pruned lightly. Fewer but larger flowers will be produced if the plants are cut back hard each spring. Personally, I prune lightly and only cut back hard every three years or so if the plant becomes leggy.

Floribundas are generally pruned lightly. I give mine a "hybrid tea haircut" (hard pruning) every three years or so if the plant becomes ungainly.

Pruning Climbers & Ramblers

Climbing roses require somewhat more careful pruning than bush roses. I tend to take a somewhat cautious approach, as many varieties bloom on old wood and may take a while to bloom well after a hard pruning.

General Guidelines:

Assess the plant. Consider taking a photo and "prune" on paper first (WhiteOut is good), removing older canes and shortening branches to fit your space. Wear long gloves and body armor when tackling really rampant climbers - they fight back!

Climbers

Main canes:

• If it's old and less productive, remove it to make room for new growth.
• Train new canes into position

Main laterals:

• Remove anything redundant, unproductive or growing in a funky direction
• Train desired growth onto support

Blooming laterals:

• Cut back to sturdy wood that can support the new blooms

Ramblers

Ramblers generally bloom on the previous year's growth, so take care when pruning or you may rob yourself of flowers.

• Whenever possible, prune after blooming
• Remove old, unproductive canes to make room for new canes.
• Train new canes into position
• Cut off any bits that are menacing to passers-by

Don't be intimidated by these thorny monsters! Show them who's boss and remember - it'll grow back!

Roses are a delight to use in the landscape and generally quite easy to train and maintain. Remember to choose roses to fit your space, leaving plenty of elbow room for large varieties. The following tips will help you achieve special effects with your garden roses.

Climbers & Ramblers

Climbing roses need support whether they are placed against a wall, fence, or trellis. On a trellis, this is achieved by attaching the fanned-out canes to the openwork. This both supports the rose and increases the flowering potential, since a rose cane drawn out horizontally will bloom more heavily than one that shoots straight up. The same effect can be created by fastening the canes of a climbing rose to the links of a chain link fence or to staples driven into a wall or privacy fence. I recommend using gardener's stretch ties (or old panty hose) as they expand with the growth of the rose cane.

Another way to train a climbing rose is to wrap or braid it around a tall post, creating a pillar rose. This method is suitable only for roses with flexible canes. Once again, fencing staples or nails can be used with stretch tie to secure the cane. When the rose reaches the top of the post, it can either be trained further along a wire or over an arch, or allowed to cascade outward in an "umbrella" fashion. A true pillar rose is simply a more moderate climber that can be trained up a post, without any loose ends left over the top. Ramblers and climbers with long, whip-like canes can be trained into trees or attached to walls in a back and forth pattern to fill the available space. You are really limited only by your space and imagination!

Arches, pillars, trellises, fences, or gazebos: however a climbing rose is displayed it will add height and depth to the garden and will also soften and decorate the hard angles of walls and buildings.

Pegging

"Pegging" or "pegging down" is a Victorian method of training many bush roses that have long, flexible canes. The purpose is to create a more formal appearance while encouraging maximum bloom - canes that are trained horizontally (the tip lower than the branch) will throw blooming laterals at almost every leaf axil (growth eye) for a much greater impact. The goal is to pull the canes as close to parallel with the ground as possible and fasten them down with ground staples or pegs, or tying them to the base of a neighboring bush. Roses trained in this manner require much more space and are generally suited only to larger gardens. "Self pegging" is the practice of looping the canes around and tying the tip to the base of the plant. This method can make an ungainly bush appear smaller, denser and tidier while maximizing the blooming potential.

Container Roses

Container-planted roses are a versatile and rewarding landscape option, and almost any rose can be grown this way if the container is large enough. A pot about 7 gallons in size will give the rose roots some room and is still fairly easy to lift and move. It's best to match the shape of the rose bush to the shape of the container. Pots of roses can be grouped together or mixed with containers of perennials to provide the colorful effect of a hedge or a flower border. Large containers can be stacked to provide a multi-level effect. Some climbing roses can even be used. They may not reach their full size, but they can still make a graceful accent for a balcony railing or patio wall. Remember to use containers that have proper drainage and a soil mixture that is rich and drains well. Peat moss and composted manure mixed with sand and topsoil or a good potting soil will provide a healthy base. Slow-release fertilizers such as Osmocote can cut down on maintenance. Roses in containers usually need more frequent watering than those in the ground do. Make sure your plants don't get water-stressed.