Shrub Roses - The Right Choice for a Profusion of Beautiful Blooms

Who doesn't love roses? Unfortunately they have a reputation for being persnickety and difficult to grow. But I'm here to tell you that this reputation is oftentimes undeserved and isn't always true.

Shrub Roses

Shrub roses are one of the easiest types of roses to care for. Though it's true that their flowers are borne on shorter stems and they aren't necessarily the best choice for a cutting rose, they put on a spectacular display in your landscape and their beauty is hard to beat. They also have the added benefit of some highly desirable traits that are hard to find in other types of traditional roses.

Growing Requirements

Most roses need at least 8 hours of sunlight to grow and bloom well, so the site you choose for planting is one of the most important factors in determining how well your shrub rose will perform. So naturally, this is one area you'll want to give some careful consideration to.

Feeding requirements for shrub roses aren't much different from any other type of roses. You'll need to supplement them approximately every two weeks during the growing season with a good all-purpose fertilizer like Miracle-gro. Or if you prefer, a time release fertilizer like Osmocote works well too.

Shrub roses have the added benefit of being more resistant to insects fungal diseases like blackspot and powdery mildew. Still, it's good to check them periodically and apply a good fungicide like Orthenex or an insecticide like Orthene whenever it lookslike it might be necessary.

Another big plus for shrub roses is their increased winter hardiness. They seldom need additional protection during the winter as do some of the other types of roses.

A Couple of Excellent Choices

There are many varieties of shrub roses on the market to choose from. Some old and some much newer to the rose-growing market.A couple of excellent choices to consider when choosing your shrub rose are the Carefree Series and the Meidiland Series.

The Carefree Series produces a smaller flower on a smaller shrub and is excellent as a foundation planting or planted directly in your flower bed.

The Meidiland Series produces a profusion of colorful blooms in white, pink, red and coral in both single and double blooms. They both have excellent disease resistance and good winterhardiness and you can't go wrong with either of them. They are both star performers.

Bottom Line? No matter which shrub rose you choose to plant, you're sure to be rewarded with a profusion of blooms that takes your breath away and is sure to delight you, your friends and your family for many, many years to come.

Happy Growing!