Hardy Roses

 

Who doesn't love the sight of roses?  And the fragrance - oh, my, it's like a little bit of heaven on earth!  But the pain of growing them, well, that's not always so special.

 

My philosophy of gardening is that if a plant requires more care to thrive than my children did, it doesn’t belong in my garden.  So, that has eliminated a lot of roses from Wiese Acres.  There are some roses that are bred to be hardy and care-free, however, and more and more of these are showing up at Wiese Acres.



Easy Elegance "Music Box"

This year’s addition will be the shrub rose “Music Box”, which will go in The Music Garden (you probably guessed that, huh?)  Music Box is a 2012 introduction from Easy Elegance roses, a line of hardy, disease resistant, own-root roses that bloom all season long.  It will join other Easy Elegance roses in my garden, such as “All the Rage”, “Paint the Town”, “Sunrise Sunset” and “Yellow Submarine”. 



Easy Elegance "Yellow Submarine"

 

Easy Elegance is a hybridizer from Newport, Minnesota, so they fully understand the challenges of a zone 4 winter and summer.  That is why all their roses are on their own roots rather than grafted to another hardy rose root.  This is a good thing in areas that have harsh winters.  With grafted roses, all parts of the desirable rose are above ground while what is planted below the ground is a non-descript, often non-blooming rose root.  Unfortunately, in many winters, what is above ground doesn’t survive, leaving you without that beautiful rose you so highly prized last summer and with something that slightly resembles a rose - maybe.   In addition to being own-root, the Easy Elegance roses are resistant to the most common diseases that affect roses -  black spot and powdery mildew.  They need very little pruning to keep a nice shape and are nearly continuous blooming.  Most of them are fragrant, which is a plus for hardy roses.  Another beauty about Easy Elegance roses - the breeders are so confident of their product, they offer a two year guarantee.  That's a plus, but even with several Easy Elegance cultivars in my gardens, I've not ever had to test that promise.



William Baffin rose in Wiese Acres Memorial Garden

 Another great group of hardy roses is the Canadian Explorer series, about 22 cultivars bred in Ontario and Quebec.  Canadian Explorer roses are mostly available in pinks and reds, but there are a few yellow cultivars.  While they don't bloom continuously, they do have a long initial bloom period and most will provide a repeat bloom later in the season if they are deadheaded.  They are reliably hardy, even in zones 2 and 3.



I have a few favorites from the Explorer series, because they have done well in my garden with very little help from me.  “William Baffin”, is one of them.  Baffin is a long-cane rose that climbs beautifully in the Memorial Garden, providing a lovely backdrop for the memorial bench. 

 

“J.P. Connell” is a lovely light yellow and when it is in full bloom, it perfumes nearly the entire area of Wiese Acres. 

 

“Champlain” is a dependable, rock solid shrub rose that provides dark, velvety red clusters of flowers with a light fragrance.  The Canadian Explorer series are all bred to survive not only the cold winters of the north country, but also the hot summers.  They are resistant to diseases, as well.  It doesn’t get any better than that!

 

Morden roses are another series of winter hardy, own root roses.  Bred in Morden, Manitoba, they are reliably hardy to zone 3.  Many of the Morden series have the look of a tea rose and are nicely fragrant.  The downside of the Mordens is their susceptibility to disease, particularly black spot.  Some of the newer cultivars, like “Morden Sunset” and “Morden Snowbeauty” have had stronger resistance to black spot bred into them.  “Morden Centennial” is a gorgeous pink, and “Morden Ruby” is a deep red.   Both are almost pretty enough to make up for the fact that they require almost constant attention in hot, humid weather to keep from being decimated by black spot disease. 

Morden’s “Hope for Humanity”, part of its Parkland shrub rose series, is noticeably more resistant to black spot than earlier introductions and with its deep wine-colored, double flowers, it is definitely worth the little extra care it requires during periods of high heat and humidity.


Many of these are hardy to warm zones as high as 9, so they are versatile, easy to grow, long lasting beauties.

Tomorrow we'll discuss planting and caring for hardy roses.