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Hybrid roses, the most popular rose grown today. They bloom
from May to frost and range from two to six feet in height.
Hybrid teas are the favorite of rose gardeners who love to cut long
stemmed, large flowers. They have many petals, are usually fairly tall and
upright, some have great fragrance, and they work well in formal gardens
or in informal plantings. They commonly produce one bloom per stem.
Many are semi-hardy and may require winter protection. Come and see our great
selections!
PLANTING HYBRIDS
It is the hybrid tea rose bush
that produces those long stemmed
flowers. Always go for the
top grade, they just seem to
perform better in the garden,
producing more flowers a bit
earlier. Virtually all of
these roses are shipped bare root,
packed in a loose soil. This is
just for shipping, so when you
pull them out of the box and the
soil falls off the roots, don't be
alarmed.
When choosing a location for the plant, make sure it gets at least 6
hours of sunlight and plenty of air circulation. Have your hole
prepared ahead of time because you don't want any of its roots to
dry out from wind or too much sun.
The
positioning of the rose in the hole is critical and it depends on
where you live. The bud union (the swollen area connecting the roots
and the stem) is the most susceptible part of the plant and if you
live in areas where you have extremely cold winters, you'll want to
bury it about 1 to 2 inches below the surface of the ground for
protection. But in milder parts of the country you can actually
plant it with the bud union about 1 inch to 1 1/2 inches above
ground level. With the plant positioned, fill the hole with a
solution of root stimulator and fish emulsion, then fill in the
soil. Now, your end product may not look like much now but just wait until
June. It will be covered with blooms!
PRUNING
ROSES
The best time to do any hard pruning on roses is late winter or very
early spring before the leaf buds begin to open.
Start
with the right tools, a pair of sharp bypass or scissor-type pruners
and at least one glove to help protect your hands from the thorny
stems.
Start
with
any dead or damaged canes and always remove any of the stumps from
previous years. Then take a deep breath, and cut the entire plant
down to about twenty-four inches or roughly knee height. It's
actually good for the plant and it'll make it easier to work.
Identify three to four of the strongest canes, and remove all of the
others and take out any limbs that crisscross, this will help
ventilation, and air circulation is very important. As you prune,
make the cuts at a slight angle, about a quarter of inch above an
outwardly facing bud.
Pruning a rose only takes a few minutes, but the result can be a
much stronger more vigorous plant throughout the year.
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