"The American Rose Society Needs Smacking Around"

by Susan, with Guest Expert Barrie Collins of GardenMob
In recent years, many gardeners have ejected roses from their gardens because they require waaay more spraying than they're willing to do - at least those hideous hybrid teas that produce the biggest flowers.  And with all the concern about eco-friendliness and low maintenance, ya gotta wonder how the rose world is adapting.  Um, not so good.

THE EXPERT
"Serious rose gardeners are among the worst offenders when it comes to inundating their gardens with all manners of sprays and chemicals," says rose expert Barrie Collins.  And he takes on the big guns:  "If one travels over to the American Rose Society website, there is an entire section dedicated to teaching us which sprays are dangerous.  Interestingly, it's all about how these chemicals affect humans.  What I want is information about what other species of insects or animals are affected.  Somebody over there should be throttled (metaphorically of course)."   And Barrie notes the statement on their website that "spraying is often essential for the control of insects and mites and for the prevention of diseases that attack roses. As a consequence, most devoted rosarians accept the need to spray their roses."  And his reaction: "Besides my general feeling that anyone that identifies themselves as a ‘rosarian' needs a smack in the nose , sorry, but I've got to take issue with this statement, especially since it might give new gardeners the wrong-headed idea that this kind of behavior is acceptable."

I got to know Barrie recently as a Rant reader and he's a very cool guy - a landscape architect and researcher for the Institute of Ecology at U.of Georgia.  He even looks like a rapper and would be perfect as the poster boy for our Gardening-is-Cool campaign.  Let's flaunt him! Anyway, seven years ago he started his site about roses and unknowing web-surfers must be surprised to find such heresy.  So I enlisted Barrie to help me understand what's right and wrong about roses today. If you don't already know why you shouldn't be doing all that spraying, Barrie explains it all for you here.

THE INDUSTRY 
Despite the general public's growing interest in tougher plants, both the ARS and All-American Rose Selections continue to push a "simply irresponsible ideal for roses" - the hybrid teas and other "modern roses" that require chemical intervention.  This then influences what large sellers like Jackson & Perkins offer and what rosarians buy, no matter how poorly the damn plants perform.  More from Barrie: "Oh yes, I realize the American Rose Society has done some good, and certainly they are an admirable bunch (if one's value system is circa 1920).  Another mint julep, Jeeves."

BETTER ROSES FOR ROSE-LOVERS
Now being practically a rose ignoramus myself, I had to consult the expert to learn that there are many OLD ROSES that are easy to grow, disease resistant, and graceful in form (not lanky, scraggly-looking hybrid teas).  Many will have 2 or 3 flushes 6 weeks apart, some only one flush. Barrie suggests buying from breeders that value toughness and disease resistance, like the "awesome" Antique Rose Emporium, with a selection that will take our breath away.  He then couldn't resist recommending just two: Gruss an Aachen and Souvenir de la Malmaison.   

One kinda bright spot has been the huge popularity of David Austin and Griffin Buck roses, breeders with a cult-like following among rosarians.  Though many of their roses have better than traditional resistance, their performance in nonEnglish climates is spotty, as evidenced by the failure of the two Davis Austins tried in my Maryland garden.   

GREAT ROSES FOR THE REST OF US
I've always figured I couldn't be a serious rose-grower because I loathe spraying. Even if it were harmless it would rival tax preparation for my least fun thing to do.  And maybe that's why rose gardens are pretty rare in this country compared to countries with more avid gardening cultures, like England, because they take dedication.  I do like shrubs though - no surprise there! - and while technically roses are all shrubs, the hybrid teas would stand out in my garden as the pitiful-looking plants they really are.  But in the last few years mass marketers have begun leaving the old-school rosarians at the country club door and are making big bucks off "landscape" or "modern shrub" roses that are first and foremost, good-looking plants (screw the flowers; give me a good looking plant), are truly disease-resistant, and will play well with other plants in the garden.

To recommend some great-looking and easy-care landscape or modern shrub roses, I consulted Angela Treadwell-Palmer, rose expert with the National Arboretum.  She's on a mission is to "Free the Roses - From the Rose Garden."  Yeah, it's those miserable-looking rose gardens we want to leave to the history books!  For roses that fit into the rest of your garden, try her favorites: The Fairy, Meidilands, Knockouts, Simple Gifts, Polar Ice, Carefree Wonder, Carefree Delight.  On the whole she believes that Knockouts perform better than the Carefree group and the public must agree because Knockouts are outselling hotcakes.

And surprise - there are some that can take "heaps of shade."  They won't bloom as profusely  but they're such prolific bloomers that even in shade there's still plenty of flowers.  Angela recommends Meidiland roses (especially fuschia), Polar Ice and Double Knockout for shady spots.

Washington Post writer Adrien Higgins has a few of favorites to add to this list: Carefree Beauty, Bonica, and Sunrise Sunset.  And I hasten to include the 18-inch-tall Flower Carpet, which is the single most popular rose variety in history (now comprising 10 percent of the market).  Here it is in mid-August, still blooming its heart out, and its disease- and drought-resistance are amazing.  It sold 12.5 million in first year on the market. 

Finally, let's never forget the fabulous rugosa roses, which thrive in cold and hot climates alike, need only ½-day sun, and tolerate salt.  It's the only rose seen regularly on plant lists for xeriscapes, which speaks volumes, and unlike the landscape roses listed above, it's powerfully fragrant.  The only drawback (to some) is their limited repeat and their less-than-delicate appearance.

So the really good news is that the general gardening public is finally being offered good-looking, problem-free roses, and they're snatching them up by the millions.  For serious rosegrowers, on the other hand, not so much.  Still with the spraying, American Rose Society?  Let's follow Barrie's suggestion and give them a good smacking around.

Comments

[Heather]

Oh, a hottie gardener for the Gen X set! Lovely! And yes, Antique Rose Emporium is the stuff of legends around these parts, so it's nice to see that it applies nationally. Great post from one rose skeptic to probably many others.

[angela]

Roses constantly surprise me. My heirlooms and hybrid teas are not nearly as thirsty or hungry as they're rumored to be. Nor are they as sickly, but perhaps that's because I live in a dry-summer region where rust and black spot aren't a big deal.

If we have a wet late spring, I'll see spots and rust on only the most vulnerable varieties. But then I forget about the problem, nature does its thing, new leaves emerge and life goes on, sans spray can.

My one indulgence? Alfalfa and epsom salts once a year.

If I lived in a rainy region, however, I would seek help from the local rose society since they often provide local lists of strong-performing rose varieties and species.

I could never give up roses. In fact, they're quite habit-forming-- and forgiving-- and not really any harder to take care of than any other plant.

---------------------------------

"The sweetest flower that blows, I give you as we part. For you it is a Rose, For me it is my heart." -- Frederick Peterson

[firefly]

Interestingly, I've been reading Peter Thompson's "The Self-Sustaining Garden" and in the chapter on mixed borders he mentions that roses "are trail-blazing species that invade meadows in the first stages of progression to scrub. Their thorns ... deter grazing animals ...; their roots are long, thongy and deeply penetrating, ... to draw water and nutrients from the lower levels of soil. Yet gardeners prefer to grow their roses apart from other plants, in the belief that they do better without competition -- a belief which leads to rose beds being treated with pre-emergence weed killers as a drastic recourse ..., even though the sight of rose bushes emerging from beds filled with hardy geraniums, violas, euphorbias, crucianellas, pinks and other perennials is much prettier."

I have a Virginia rose on order, and I'm really looking forward to seeing it bloom in among other plants!

[Pam/Digging]

I second the "awesome" comment about Antique Rose Emporium! In fact, awesome doesn't even cover what they are. If you live anywhere within driving distance, you MUST visit their nursery. They have two: one in Brenham (you can visit the Blue Bell ice cream factory while you're there), and one in NW San Antonio. Their gardens are astonishing, with antique roses planted among native perennials and a wonderful selection of garden ornament. If you email them about your growing conditions and the color rose you want, they'll tell you which roses will ones to try. I've had great success here in Austin with 'Carefree Beauty,' 'Belinda's Dream,' 'The Fairy,' and 'Valentine.' None require more water than my other xeric perennials once they're established. They look great with prickly pear and salvias.

[Carol]

I only have one rose, a white Flower Carpet. Don't I know how to follow a crowd?

I've always avoided roses because I grew up with hyrbrd teas and they had to be sprayed. And I won't plant something that high maintenance.

Way to go, Barrie, to be a thorn in the side of the American Rose Society. (Sorry, couldn't resist the pun.)

(And, thanks for adding me to the "Friends of Rant", I love this website and the interesting posts.)

[Pam]

I have about 35 heirloom/antique roses in my yard - in the humid south - and love all of them, blackspot and all. Some are completely resistant - Silver Moon (my first rose - purchase in person at the Antique Rose Emporium in Texas, and carried on my lab on the flight back to SC), Cecile Brunner, Mermaid - but these are also crazy, rambly roses that need alot of room (which I give them). My Souvenir de la Malmaison is blooming like crazy right now, happy for the cooler weather...and nothing's easier than Mutabilis. I'll stop now, and not tell little stories about all 35... but to get to the point: I don't spray.

[Kathy Jentz]

I second the votefor Mutabilis - mine gets blackspot each year midseason - but the blooms never stop. I also vote for at least a few climbers - like New Dawn - lt's give our garden borders some height variation!

[Xris (Flatbush Gardener)]

May I say, "Woof!"

Gardening is cool.
gardeners are hot.

[Kim]

I third the vote for Barrie... er, I mean roses? Was this about roses? ;)

Seriously, though, Barrie's site absolutely rocks--he's not just a pretty face. I spent some time going through the posts on roses, even though I can't grow half of what he does in my colder climate and humid summers. Wow.

I've also got a plan now to order from the Antique Rose Emporium if I can't find what I want locally. They have both of the two that I had at the top of my list--Dortmund and Leverkusen. Yay!

[Vanessa]

A great article and interesting posts. I must say that I also agree on the hotness of roses and the rose expert.

A wonderful opportunity to connect with like-minded gardners. Barrie, you are an inspiration---keep on gardening and speaking your mind.

[Candice Haase]

I agree with you post with an enthauastic AMEN! I was sucked into a dream world of perfect roses and then didn't spray and then natural selection did the rest. Non of my orgional 4 rose bushes from 2001 are still alive. I still have 65 though and alot of them are Austins and Bucks and some Earth Kind Roses. I am considering joining their test panel since I don't spray anyway.

Dispite my lack of chemicials I still managed Mini Queen at my local rose show last year. It may have been a fluke but there are some great new miniatures that are nice size and very garden friendly too.

Thanks for a great post!

[Kathy Clark]

When thinking about roses, I always remember my grandmother's garden. She was a rose fanatic and had dozens of varieties. We spent summers in our childhood collecting Japanese beetles by hand and drowning them in kerosene-not politically correct, but it had the advantage of not spraying the plants with chemicals even back then. But for myself, I definately prefer the older varieties that are more self sufficient. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!

[Mike Rose]

Mike Rose, President of Brazos Valley Rose Society, College Station, TX--Great comments! I second all those remarks about using antique(old roses)roses in the garden as much as possible. I do. I get great results from the old stand-bys..."Belinda's Dream", "Carefree Beauty", and "Iceberg". If you can grow roses in South Texas (heavy clay soil with high alkaline ph), you're a highly successful rose grower! However, despite what the Earthkind and no insecticide/fertilizer proponents say, I fertilize my roses. The composted manure, pine needles, spagnum peat moss, humus, and Bayer Complete Rose Care (twice a year)really pays off! I get incredible results..tons of flush! I've seen plenty of backyards with rose growers who don't feed their shrubs..uggggh...no blooms, yellowing foliage, sick! Feed your roses people! Think about how much energy a rose requires to produce blooms year round. They need nitrogen and phosphorus. Just do it! Mike says.