Wild Roses in New Orleans' French Quarter. By Sharon Mollerus, via Wikimedia Commons
Several years ago, while chatting with someone about native landscaping, the topic of roses came up; you'd have thought we were discussing the devil.
While I will always be a booster for Plants of Merit, my heart is in the same place as Edward Abbey's when he said he aspired to be "a reluctant enthusiast... a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic." Gardeners who despise roses on a prescriptive basis remind me an awful lot of the sour, joyless Puritans who marched through Hawthorne's novels. (In fact, in The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne places a wild rosebush outside the prison where Hester Prynne is held, using it as as a symbol of beauty and wildness, even speculating it sprang up under the footsteps of Anne Hutchinson, who dared preach in Boston, even though she was - gasp! - a woman!)
The truth is, yeah, fussier rose cultivars require gallons of water and gallons of pesticides to keep them bug- and disease-free, but there are environmentally friendly options. The first, of course, is wild roses, which are wildflowers, i.e. native plants (But note! Please! That Japanese Multiflora Roses, while wild, is considered a noxious/invasive by the State of Missouri.) On the other end of the spectrum, Texas A&M has developed several new "Earth-Kind," rose cultivars, including Seafoam, New Dawn, and the ubiquitous, blowsy, lipstick-pink Knock Out. In the middle of that wide spectrum are heirloom roses (click here for a list of sustainable, old-fashioned varieties).
Really, it all boils down to common sense. Is the plant drought-resistant? Bug resistant? A tough little guy? Noninvasive? Appropriate for our climate? If you have questions about whether or not the rose you plan to plant in your yard meets this criteria, the St. Louis Rose Society has a network of "Rosarians," in Missouri and Illinois, who can help you pick out an approrpriate cultivar.
Roses are also the Herb Society of America's herb of the year, which might help one think about this plant in a different way (that is, not just as an ornamental. Roses have also been used in cooking for ages; here are some recipes from the HSA). If you're itching to put a rosebush in the corner of your yard, here are some "Essential Facts for Roses," from The Herb Society of America’s Essential Guide: Roses, 2012 Herb of the Year:
- Most roses do best on deep, fertile, moist but well-drained soils with a pH of 5.5 to 6.5; a position that provides full sun and good air circulation helps reduce disease and insects.
- Do not fertilize newly planted roses; wait four to six weeks for the plants to become established. Authorities do not agree on the type of fertilizer or the rate, only that roses are heavy feeders. Try yearly feedings of about a cupful of 5-10-5 fertilizer per established rose bush, sprinkled in a circle around the base, supplemented with monthly feedings of fish emulsion, manure tea, or other organic sources of nutrients for maximum growth.
- Do not expect typical blossoms of a species or cultivar until the second year after planting. The blooms of the first year are smaller and sparser than are typical.
- When roses are first planted they require minimal pruning. Once established, try to keep three different years of growth—current, 1-year old, 2-year old branches.
- To prune: first, determine if the rose blooms on old or on new wood. Roses that bloom on old wood include many of the species roses and the old European roses. These are pruned more lightly in late winter. Roses such as teas, chinas, and some new shrub roses, bloom on new growth and can therefore tolerate a harder prune.
- Prune all dead, diseased, crossing and weak branches first and then step back to see what remain.
- The best time to prune is in late winter just when the buds are beginning to swell, but at least one month prior to the last fros
- Cut on an angle, just above the buds that face the direction of desired growth (usually away from the plant). Do the same when deadheading.
And if you really, really do not want to suffer a rose to grow in your yard, the Herb Society of America's native of the year is Lindera benzoin, or spicebush, which produces both blossoms and ornamental berries. As its common name implies, spicebush has also been used to flavor food, everything from bundt cake to rice pudding to tea. It's probably an acquired taste for modern humans, which is fine, because its more important role is as food source for wildlife -- dozens of species eat it, from racoons to butterfly larvae.
