Every gardener knows that roses and heat do not mix—at least not to the advantage of the roses… sure the South has roses!
Winter visitors to the Southeastern and Gulf states return with tales of Banksui and Cherokee roses forming veritable hanging gardens on walls and in the treetops.
Tyler, in Texas, challenges the claim of California’s Pasadena as the Rose Capital of the United States.
From Virginia to Florida, to eastern Texas and Missouri, exceeded in profusion and variety nowhere in this country, roses burst forth in beauty and fragrance every year. Still, tradition says that roses can’t be grown in hot weather.
Well, if one can have Banksia and Cherokee roses in dance when the Northern states are still having snow and zero weather if one can grow the classic tea roses and a host of old-fashioned varieties without fear of winter mortality, who wants to cope with the difficulty of having hybrid teas and floribundas in bloom all summer?
Desire For Summer-Blooming Roses
The fact is that many residents of the Deep South are beginning to want roses that will bloom in summer. Is this desire being heeded by rose breeders?
It would appear, at least, that it has not been properly appreciated if one takes as evidence the contributors’ comments to the American Rose Annual’s “Proof of the Pudding” concerning most of the recent rose introductions.
In the 1954 Annual, 153 rose varieties were introduced within the last five years. are evaluated. Only sixteen are rated as satisfactory in the Southeastern and Gulf states.
Seven others received somewhat more praise than censure for their performance in that area. In addition, nine older varieties are mentioned as standards of comparison to the disadvantages of many newer ones.
Of the entire group of acceptable varieties, twenty-one are hybrid teas, nine are floribundas, and two are recurrent-blooming climbers.
Fourteen varieties are some shade of red, twelve are pink or pink blends, and five are yellow or yellow blends; there is only one white variety, and it is rated as merely the best of the whites.
Although nine of these thirty-two varieties have received the All-America Rose Selection Awards, some of the others were introduced before this competition was initiated.
Of the fifteen all-time All-America roses illustrated in the June 1954 FLOWER GROWER, ten are in the preferred group for the South, so it would appear that the selection of rose varieties for this region is improving.
Analysis of Recent Rose Introductions
A list of recent rose introductions most highly rated by Southern growers will be found on this page. The class, color, and national rating (on a scale of 10 equalling hest) by the American Rose Society are indicated.
Abbreviations: mr, medium red; dr, dark red; lr, light red; similarly for pink (p) and yellow (y); PB, pink blend; yb, yellow blend; w, white.
The conclusion may be drawn that, to provide Southern rosarians with varieties better adapted to warm climates, rose breeders and nurserymen must give more attention to characteristics such as heat endurance, disease resistance, and better retention of form and color when the flowers open in warm weather.
While Southern rose lovers are waiting for the rose breeders to catch up with these specifications, there is much they can do to improve their success.
Tips For Successful Rose Gardening in The South
The generally stated rule is that roses should have 20 inches of rainfall, or one inch each week, during the active growth season from March to October.
It takes 50 gallons of water to equal an inch of rain on a rose bed 25 by 3 feet, or 2 gallons per plant.
It is important to provide a continuous level of mineral plant food throughout the growth period to counteract the tendency of the plants to go dormant after the spring flush of growth and as spring rains leach the soil.
Two or three applications of a complete fertilizer, such as 6-10-4 or its equivalent, at the rate of 1 tablespoonful per plant, should be given to supplement.
44659 by Freeman A. Weiss