Perennial Flowers like roses are starting to break dormancy and grow. Now is a good time to select rose varieties to plant around the homescape. Roses planted in Wyoming are generally hybrid teas, miniatures, floribundas, climbers, polyanthas and shrubs. The hybrid tea, originally a cross between a tea rose and a hybrid perpetual is the most popular garden rose. They produce large blooms on long stems.
Information on recommended varieties for the inter-mountain region is available at your nearest Extension Office. Properly planting the rose is just as important as selecting a variety which will do well in the area. Dig a hole about twelve inches deep and eighteen inches wide to plant a potted or bare root rose. Never let the roots of the rose dry out before it is planted.
Before setting the plant in the hole, make sure the roots are not inter-tangled and prune back excessive root growth. Spread the root system out evenly over the center of the hole and add richly enhanced organically mulched soil back into the hole over the roots. Make sure the bud union remains level or just above the soil line on the rose being planted. The trick is not to bury this too deeply. Soak the hole generously with water while backfilling with soil. Do not overly compress the wet soil. The backfill must be firm enough to retain oxygen but not so firm as to repel water.
Recently some local master rose growers e-mailed me that the rose should be planted with the union bud buried a couple of inches below soil line in this part of the country. It will winter better I’m told. Believe me, I don’t argue with experience.
