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Roses have been a part of human history for thousands of years. For all this time, people have been discussing and describing their theories on how to make these beautiful plants prosper. Chemicals have been only a brief blip on the timeline of these ancient beauties.
Growing roses organically for the first time can feel scary. We've been conditioned to believe that they can't grow on their own. In truth, they just need the right conditions and a little attention. If you choose varieties adapted to your climate, plant them where they get lots of sun and plenty of air circulation, and treat them only when there's a problem, you'll be rewarded with gorgeous, fragrant, long-lived, romantic roses.
Rose Terminology
Bareroot: A common method of shipping roses. Dormant roses are dug out of the ground and packed for shipment without soil around their roots.
Climber: A tall rose that can be trained to grow on a trellis, arbor, pergola, or wall.
Continuous-flowering: Roses that begin blooming in early summer and continue blooming through early fall.
Double flowers: Blooms with multiple rows of up to 40 or more petals.
Hips: The fruit or seedpod of the rose. Roses with showy hips can add color and beauty to winter landscapes.
Old roses: Roses that were bred before 1867, the year the modern hybrid tea rose was first introduced.
Once-blooming: Roses that bloom heavily in early summer and do not repeat bloom.
Rambler: Similar to climbing roses, ramblers are trained to grow on a fence. They are once-blooming.
Remontant: Roses that bloom heavily in early summer and then have a second, lighter flowering in early fall.
Single flowers: Five to seven petals in a single row.
Shrub: Hardy, easy-to-grow roses for low-maintenance landscaping with other shrubs and perennial flowers.
