Roses for the 21st century - landscape gardening

Sunset, Jan, 2000 by Lauren Bonar Swezey

These new landscaping roses are easy-care, blooming over a long season without fuss

* IMAGINE THE PERFECT ROSE BUSH-GORGEOUS FLOWERS, NONSTOP BLOOM, AND lush, disease-free foliage. Wishful thinking? Happily not. Now on sale at nurseries are carefree landscape roses that perform like the best flowering shrubs, pumping out colorful blooms all season long.

These spectacular roses are the culmination of decades of breeding by the Conard-Pyle Co., the House of Meilland, Weeks Roses, and other rose companies. Pink-flowered 'Bonica' was the first of the modern easy-care roses to storm the market; it won the 1987 All-America Rose Selections (AARS) award, and led to the establishment of a new "shrub rose" class.

Since 'Bonica' arrived on the scene, only six other shrub roses (listed on page 48) have garnered the prestigious AARS award. All are disease-resistant and fantastic bloomers. The latest AARS winner, 'Knock Out', made its debut this season. One of the best, it's nearly everblooming.

Ground cover types, which are also classed as shrub roses but are lower-growing, are best planted en masse. The earliest ground cover roses--such as 'Scarlet Meidiland', for instance--were sprawlers, introduced during the 1970s as no-care plants for commercial use. But the newest ground cover roses created the biggest stir. Flower Carpet roses, Meilland's latest Meidiland roses ('Ice Meidiland', 'Magic Meidiland'), and Poulsen Roser's Towne & Country roses (Aspen') are more restrained in habit and more disease-free and easy-care than their forebears.

These new shrub roses don't require spraying to stay healthy, and they need little or no pruning to remain shapely Because they bloom almost continuously, they make excellent partners for perennials and other shrubs in borders. They're perfectly suited to the demands of busy, no-nonsense gardeners of the 21st century.

Seven winning shrub roses

'All That Jazz' (1992 AARS winner) Large (4 1/2-inch-wide), single deep coral blooms on a 4- to 5-foot-tall shrub.

'Bonica' (1987 AARS winner): Clusters of 2 1/2-inch-wide, double shell pink flowers on a 5-foot-tall shrub.

'Carefree Delight' (1996 AARS winner): Clusters of 2 1/2- to 3-inch-wide single pink flowers, each with a white eye, on a 3 1/2-foot-tall shrub.

'Carefree Wonder' (1991 AARS winner): Large (3-inch-wide), semidouble hot pink and white flowers on a 5-foot-tall shrub.

'First light' (1998 AARS winner): Clusters of 3 1/2- to 4-inch-wide, single soft pink flowers on a 2- to 3-foot-tall shrub.

'Kaleidoscope' (1999 AARS winner): Small (2- to 2 1/2-inch-wide), double flowers are orangy tan with yellow centers on a 2- to 4-foot-tall shrub.

'Knock Out' (2000 AARS winner): Medium (3- to 3 1/2-inch-wide), single raspberry blooms on a 3-foot-tall plant.

Top ground cover roses

All spread wider than they grow tall and have very glossy foliage. Small to medium-size flowers develop in clusters.

Flower Carpet. A low grower 2 to 2 1/2 feet tall; spreads 3 to 3 1/2 feet wide Flowers come in white and shades of pink and red.

Meidiland roses. Low grower 2 feet tall by 4 1/2 to 5 feet wide. Colors: 'Fire Meidiland' (deep red), 'Fuchsia Meidiland' (mauve pink), 'Magic Meidiland' (medium pink). 'Ice Meidiland' (white) is a medium grower, to 3 feet tall by 6 feet wide.

Towne & Country. 'Aspen' grows to 1 1/2 feet tall by 2 1/2 feet wide with yellow flowers; 'Old Charleston' grows 1 foot tall by 4 to 5 feet wide with white flowers; 'Napa Valley' grows 2 feet tall by 2 1/2 feet wide with red flowers.

Rose care

HOW TO PLANT

* Plant in a spot that receives at least six hours of full sun and has well-drained soil.

* Dig a planting hole 15 to 18 inches wide and 15 to 18 inches deep. For heavy soils, mix in one part organic matter, such as compost or peat moss, to two parts soil. Do not add fertilizer.

* In the bottom of the planting hole, form a cone-shaped mound to fit the conical shape of the roots.

* Remove the rose's packaging, then prune the canes back to 6 to 8 inches long. Make each pruning cut above an outward-facing bud. Prune the roots to remove any broken or overly long ones that won't fit in the planting hole.

* Position the rose on the mound so the graft (bump at the base of the canes) sits just above the soil surface. Spread the roots over the cone.

* Fill in the hole to within 2 inches of the soil surface, firming the soil down around the roots.

* Fill the hole with water, then let it drain. If needed, adjust the rose so the graft is still at the right level. Finish filling in the hole and firming down the soil.

* To protect canes from drying out, completely cover the exposed canes with compost, peat moss, or soil. When new shoots appear in two to three weeks (or longer), carefully remove the mounded material (if it's sunny and hot, remove it in stages).

* Water regularly to keep the soil moist. Fertilize when blooms appear.

ONCE ROSES ARE ESTABLISHED

* Water often enough to keep the soil constantly moist, but not soggy, to a depth of 16 to 18 inches (check soil with an auger or trowel).