WHY DO WE GROW ROSES?

Why do you want to grow roses?  We grow them because of their beauty and their fragrance.  Florist roses for the most part do not have fragrance.  We also like to grow roses because it is our national flower.  In good times and bad times, roses are always around us.  Roses are used to comfort us in our sorrow and cheer us in happy times.  On Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Graduation, Funeral, bouquets and wreaths of roses are to be found. 

 Growing roses as a hobby dates back from the Victorian times and it cut across the various classes in any society.  You can see housewives, gardeners, doctors, lawyers, engineers, accountants, white collar workers and blue collar workers growing roses.  You can grow one rose bush or 1000 rose bushes.  You grow them in a formal bed or in a cottage garden with annuals and perennials.   

Roses come in a variety of forms, sizes and colors.  Not all roses have prickles (thorns) and some have no fragrance at all.  Some displayed a colorful fruit called hip for autumn display.  Some grow close to the ground and some grow to a towering height of 20 ft. tall clambering up to the highest branches of trees.  Some are pruned in the spring and some after flowering.  Some are pruned low and some are pruned high.  Some grow from seed, from cuttings, and others are budded or grafted.  Some are very susceptible to pests and diseases.  Luckily, most breeders now are hybridizing disease resistant roses like Knock Out Roses, Earth-kind Roses and Oso Easy Roses. 

With or without problems, roses are very forgiving plant.  They always come back to life.  They have the same basic needs as human.  They need food, water and sunlight.  If you supply them with these things, they will reward you with the most beautiful blooms.  

People claim roses take lots of work.  So does your lawn.  Your lawn probably has higher maintenance than a rose garden.  You feed your lawn constantly, spread weed and pest control substance, water them and mow them every week.  Think about it.  Would you rather have a bouquet of roses than a bouquet of grasses?  There is no comparison. 

Join Charleston Lowcountry Rose Society and learn how to grow roses.