Welcome to the Rose Forum. You will be so happy with the helpful information and encouragement you will receive here. I am a novice, so I spend most of my time reading and learning here. That said, do not listen to others about H.T roses being awful or too much work. Some are, most are not. If you love that form of rose, you should grow it!! Learn all you can here and ask many questions. Everyone is so helpful. I love my H. Tea roses and find them to be worth every minute I spend on them.I am so glad that you have chosen to grow roses and I know you will enjoy every minute of this wonderful passion! Lesley

If you like the roses you bought, you should go for it! Nomatter what other people say. Comments like "hybrid roses suck" has to be ignored. It doens't say anything. Just try and learn. Do what you like to do.

Myspace has a gardening forum? Thing 2 I learned today...

Hybrid tea roses are prone to fungal diseases in many parts of the US. Doesn't stop us from growing them, we just have to learn about treatment using fungicides and which fungicides are the most effective. If you do not want to use a fungicide, then you'll have to learn about disease resistant roses, and which of those can be grown successfully in your zone and are suitable for cutting.

Do not panic. There are a lot of successful HT growers here who live in zone 5, they will give great information.

One thing I learnt early on in gardening is never to believe totally in statements which are based on generalisation. "Hybrid tea sucks!" is a good example. The other thing I have learnt is that "it's a good thing" to make mistakes, as long as I learn from them.

There are tens of thousands of varieties of hybrid teas out there, and some are tough plants. You just have to try them out and see which one works well in your area. You can also look at roses in other gardens around you and see which ones look good. And don't hesitate to knock on the door of a house with great roses in its gardens to ask the owner/owners which varieties they are, and what their "secrets are". More than 90% of the gardeners will go out of their way to show their handiwork to anyone who shows interest.

The great thing about growing roses is that you can pull them and throw away any variety that does not perform for you, and put in new ones. It is actually exciting to try something new each year.

Like the others have said, grow what you like. Maybe some day you will want to branch out into other kinds of roses, but don't worry about that for now. Right now, you are into those gorgeous long-stemmed beauties. Go for it.

Why don't you list the 8 roses you bought. Maybe we can give you some feedback on them and some tips what to do with them.

In the future, you might want to check with this forum before you buy your roses. Some are much more disease-prone than others are. We can probably help you there.

Basicially, the complaint some have against hybrid teas is that they suffer from blackspot disease. You need to visit your local garden center (Home Depot, Wal-mart, etc.) and get a bottle of Bayer Advanced Garden Disease Control. It is a fungicide and might need to be sprayed on your roses every couple weeks, with perhaps a break in mid-summer if your area gets hot and dry. I adore my hybrid tea Double Delight, but spring and fall I have to spray it several times or it suffers from blackspot. That's what those other posters from the other forum were referring to--but many other roses besides hybrid teas have the same problem, so you would have to spray them also. That is why some of us spend a lot of time searching for disease-resistant roses, whether hybrid tea or other type.

By the way, don't confuse Bayer Advanced Garden Disease Control with some of the other Bayer products featured at your local garden center. I'm not recommending them--just the Bayer Advanced Garden Disease Control.

As spring approaches, there will be lots of questions about spraying fungicides, so you will learn a lot if you visit this forum regularly. Hope we see more of you.

Kate

There are some good roses in every class, including hybrid-teas.
In fact, some of the very early introduction hybrid-teas are very tempting even to me, an afficionado of old garden roses.
Grow what you love, and ignore people who try to bring you down.

Randy

Also if you are really having buyer's remorse about some of the roses you chose you may have the option of modifying it. May I ask who you ordered them through? I have made a few changes already to my order with Roses Unlimited and they were predictably gracious about it. So you might evaluate that if you find some roses you might prefer to have for your climate/situation.

On the topic of any rose being 'a lot of work' that is what my husband says about our whole yard! But to me it feels like a labor of love (mostly) so that's just a question of perspective.

Good luck and welcome.

Kate

I was under the impression from my reading (I have no experience, so until I found this forum, reading was all I had) that you can prevent a lot of molding or other problems by pruning the roses so that they don't touch each other or criss cross while they grow.

I couldn't find the names of the roses I ordered, unless some of them are just named for their color:
-Peace rose
-"Almost Black" hybrid tea rose
-"Victory" yellow rose
-Maria Stern

I don't really have any buyer's remorse. I am very, very excited to grow my roses. I was just hoping that I didn't buy something that was sure to die under my inexperienced care.

Thank you all so much.

Um - may I ask where you ordered your plants from?

hi krysten, the only thing that truly DOES suck about roses is that they dont bloom year round in my zone :). What will most likely happen to you is you will plant your new HT's, get a bloom and become immediately addicted to its beauty and scent. Step two of your addiction will be logging onto this site everyday to see what people are saying about other types of roses so you can order them. I started growing roses last year... with two Hybrid Teas (America and Chrystler Imperial). both had beautiful blooms and smelled wonderful. I now have 18 roses.. and more on the way. Its such a wonderful hobby. Good luck and hope you enjoy. i have found roses to be no more maintenance or disease prone than other flowering plants that I have attempted to raise.

What you read was discussing how to attempt to avoid a fungal disease called "powdery mildew" (PM). PM can be a problem, some roses are more prone to it than others, and sometimes it is weather-related.

What you need to know about is the fungal disease that dublinbay (Kate) discussed, and that disease is called blackspot. And Kate described the issue very well, not much more for me to add except that for blackspot prevention/avoidance you have to start treatment early and regularly (as per the directions on the label). Otherwise, the spots will cover your leaves, your leaves will yellow and fall off, and this isn't good for the overall health of the plant.

"Peace" and "Maria Stern" are correct names. "Almost Black" is not a correct name. There isn't a yellow rose named "Victory". If you can find your order, that would help us a lot.

Yes, we are inquisitors, but just to help you grow beautiful roses ("tough love")!

Here is a link that might be useful: Search roses at Helpmefind.com

Krysten, like some who have responded here, I've been growing roses for a number of years. Welcome here. As far as HTs suck, well, to each their own. I grow a variety of different types of roses, HTs included and as you learn about roses and pick up the knack of what to expect, you will end up with a garden full of roses that do well for you and ones you are pleased with. Don't fret or ever think you make a mistake with the roses you pick. They are all a learning experience and even now, after 15 years of growing them, I'm still learning.

In my opinion, HTs are great for cutting roses. They often do need some care, such as spraying for black spot and powdery mildew. These diseases are simple enough to control and your roses could stay healthy and wonderful for years.

Word of Warning: Once your roses get started and the blooms make an appearance, you will be hooked! I was. I started out with six roses one year. I now have over 200 and that's really a small number compared to some of my best friends and especially my mentour who has well over 500 roses. Growing roses is an addiction. But it's an addiction that most of us don't want to try and give up.

We all will have advise for you, but keep in mind that someone with experience from your zone or even your area will probably be the greatest help.

Welcome aboard.

Krysten, It's just so exciting when the first rose of a new plant blooms. And, if you don't love all of the choices in your first order, there's always next year. Hang around and you'll soon have a list of roses you want to try next. After all, you can buy a rose plant for much less than a bouquet of roses that will be dead in a week.

Ok, really sorry about not getting the flower names right. This is the correct list:
-Arctic flame
-Helen Hayes
-Maria Stern
-Lily Pons
-Senior Prom
-Queen oÂthe lakes
-Peace

Does anybody order their flowers from online nurseries? A lady I used to work with ordered all of her spring flowers online and they delivered them to her when it was time to plant them. The place I ordered mine from guarantee them with promise of replacement if they don't survive.

I am loving this forum. Thanks so much for the help.

Krysten,
I think majority of us are ordering roses on-line. All good nurseries have garantee and replace them if something happens and it is not your fault.
Some examples of good places to order roses are:

1. pickeringnurseries.com (my favorite)
2. davidaustinroses.com (different type of roses, prices more expansive)
3. palatineroses.com (good, but poor selection of old roses that I personally love more)

Olga

They all sell very good quality plants.
Olga

krysten, I have much success with Chamblee's, Hortico and Heirloom. Im on www.chambleeroses.com RIGHT NOW ordering Westerland, Julia Child, and Livin' Easy. chamblee's is extremely affordable compared to others, but others may ship larger shrubs in larger containers. If you are open to anything other than HT's, you may want to consider floribundas. Many of them are very fragrant, constantly bloom, and have more blooms at one time than a HT. But its just a matter of preference. I have HT's and Floribundas mixed together. welcome to this fun fun hobby.

Chamblee and Heirloom are wonderful places. I order a lot from them, but because Krysten is from zone 5, I intentionally only recommended her places that sell big plants. Small own root babbies can be a next step, but for beginning she better start with something that is big and easy to survive in zone 5.
Olga

Hi kristen, welcome to the forum. Please don't let people who are jaded and cynical spoil your enjoyment. Roses are not rocket science. Feed them, water them, give them lots of sun and good air circulation and they will thrive for you. Spray or not, chimicals or organics, that's up to you and whether some spots on the leaves or a few bug chewed petals are going to drive you nuts or not. There are just as many ways to grow roses as there are varieties of roses. If you really want some advice that's pertinent to your area go to the American Rose Socieety web site and find a consulting rosarian for you area. They'll be happy to help you. Really, they're terrific people and a good way to find rosey friends in your area too.

Except for Peace, all the roses on your list are Brownell roses and should be fairly winter hardy for you. Good choices! Peace can be winter tender but with protection you can do it. In your zone you should use protection for all your roses anyway just in case. You didn't say where you ordered them so I don't know if they'll be grafted or own root but either way in zone 5 you should plant deep. That means plant the knobby part where all the canes come together between 4 and 6 inches BELOW the ground level. There will probably be instructions on how to dig the hole etc. with them when they come. One thing though, no matter what they say, remove all the packaging before you plant them. I know some of them come in boxes and pots that say you can just plant it as is but DON'T! They will never root well for you and a good root base is very necessary for a healthy happy rose and a winter hardy rose.

I hope this helps and please relax and enjoy your roses!

Thanks for the site reccomedations- I'm officially obsessed. I love the Floribundas. I didn't order any, nor did I even look at them because for some reason I had it in my head that floribundas were rose TREES, like in Alice in Wonderland when they're "painting the roses red." I'm not crazy, really.

I'm going to order some Floribundas too.

I have nowhere to plant all these roses. I mean I do, my back yard is an acre, but I need to till a spot for them. I am incredibly bad about putting things together for maximum gorgeousness. What I mean by this is essentially I keep messing up heights and not getting the best color combinations. Does anybody have any pictures of their gardens you could show me for inspiration? I'm particularly interested in rose gardens, obviously, because I'd love to know what kinds of things (if any) could be planted WITH roses for maximum beauty.

I can't thank you enough for helping a clueless beginner like me. It's so nice when very knowledgeable people are so willing to lend a hand to those who aren't skilled.

Your list indicates you possibly ordered from a generic gardening catalog, not a rose nursery. The generic catalogs most often list Brownell roses and out of patent famous named roses that many gardeners are familar with but are not necessarily the greatest roses.
This happens also with nurseries. Because many connect Jackson and Perkins with roses, they consider J&P the epitome of rose suppliers. There are others who are better, believe me.
You've taken on quite a task for yourself to do in one season. My advice before you ordered would have been to prepare your garden, do your homework, place a smaller order and work up to a larger garden orver a few years.
Gardeners who take on tooo much before they really know what they are getting in to can burn out quickly.
This year you should visit rose gardens in your area and see what roses do well and those that suit your purpose for cut flowers.
A cut flower garden does not happen over night. It can take a few years for a rose bush to mature enough to get lots of long stemed cut flowers. If you pick the wrong varieties you'll end up disappointed. I've been in my house for 6 years and have had my rose garden for five. Lasy year was the first year I could really say my roses looked good and I could finally cut lots of flowers. I've been growing roses for 25 years and am considered quite knowledgeable regarding roses.
None of the above is meant to dissuade you, Just to slow you down a little and cause you to step back and think about your overall plans.
A good flower garden doesn't happen in one year. It would be better to spend $100 in each of 3 years and learn as you go than $300 in one year.
All plants have different watering, fertilizing, sun, shade, disease prevention, pruning, and general care requirements. Much more information would be required than any of us could possibly write in one post without overloading your brain.
Even those who "dive right in", as you put it, have to learn to swim first.
You've come to the right place for rose info. Try to locate an expert in your area who will take you under wing and give you the knowledge you need to be successful.
E-mail me with your city and state and I'll check if there's one near you.

Gardening is a learning process and your garden will get better every year as you learn what works in your garden and what doesn't. Think of it as a long-term project, and enjoy the journey.

I didn't spend $300 just on roses. I did order them from a regular nursery because I was ordering many perrenials that I've had a great deal of luck with, and just threw in some rose bushes as well. Considering the size of my yard, I didn't consider 8 bushes to be overboard. If they don't work for me, I'll try again and be more particular about what I order. I had no idea that roses should be bought from a special rose nursery. My neighbor has a gorgeous rose bush that he bought at Lowe's.

I will do the best I can do. I have plenty of time and ambition to learn a new hobby. The way I see it, I'd rather practice on roses I got from a "generic" nursery than kill something from a specialty nursery.

Thank you all for your help.

Since you bought many perennials also, check and see if you have some of the following in your order. They go well with roses: salvia (especially blue salvia), hardy geraniums, daylilies. Many other perennials will work fine also, as long as they like lots of sun and water.

Hybrid tea roses can also be grown in a separate bed that shows off just the roses.

Have you found the section of the forums here called "Rose Gallery"? Great place to browse for rose ideas. You may have some trouble getting the link to work since Garden Web is in the process of upgrading this forum and doesn't have all the kinks out yet, but the link below should get you to the rose gallery.

Have fun--you have an exciting gardening adventure ahead!

Kate

Here is a link that might be useful: Rose Gallery link

Yes, please keep us posted on how your roses work out this summer!

The only thing I can add about hybrid teas is that nearly all of them are not very hardy in the north. You can usually keep them alive by burying the bud union deep when planting and then winter protection, but they get a lot of damage from the cold and never grow to their full potential as they would a zone or two south.

Krysten:

What a lot of great responses you have received! This really is a terrific forum isn't it?

I wanted to touch on Karl's good advice to you about buying roses from one of the nurseries devoted exclusively to roses. He suggested I believe that you buy roses from one of them over say Lowe's or Home Depot because of what a difference in product you will receive. That is to say you might get lucky and find a nice rose you like at one of the box stores. Or you might buy several that are well priced but perhaps not the highest quality and end up thinking that you cannot grow roses because the rose itself wasn't the best. You see what I'm saying. Just trying to prevent you from becoming discouraged by a frustrating experience.

On the other hand as I noted recently my Mom buys all her roses at k-mart! I bought her the David Austin 'Charlotte' a couple years back and the vigor of that rose was almost too much. She kept complatining about how she was always having to cut it back compared to her other roses. So in her climate a bargain rose is fine. Just varies depending on you and your climate.

As far as online vendors you may also consider Roses Unlimited and Antique Rose Emporium.

Hope this helps.

Kate

I like your attitude - try with these roses, see what works for you personally, and move on from there. My first rose was a hybrid tea, which bloomed OK, but had no fragrance at all. Boom, already learned that fragrance is very important to me. I also highly recommend reading this forum, and Antique Roses as well. I can't tell you how much I have learned by coming here. Welcome to a great place.

from another zone 5'er...plant what you like. Follow the good advice from this forum and hope for the best. I order about 30 a year from any vendor that sells what catches my eye. If they survive...great. If they do not survive then I have more space for whatever catches my eye next. To me, that is the fun. I replant Peace every year, because it never makes it through a zone 5 winter and I like what the rose symbolizes.
...and that "suck" comment??? classy description!

We were told hybrid teas wouldn't survive here and were too much trouble anyway. Deb and I like HTs and decided to grow them no matter what experts that couldn't grow them said.
{{gwi:218901}}
We think our hybrid teas, floras and minis look pretty nice.

Here is a link that might be useful: Deb & Digger's Garden Albums

Hi krysten,

I think everones climate might be a bit different so one persons zone 5 probable isnt the same as anothers. Some zone 5 people do well with HTs, I never have, I wouldnt say they suck, I think alot of them are very pretty. My own personal experience with them is that they do not do very well. I have lost a few dozen of them over the years. I do not know how your cold/warm thaw cycle goes or what you get as snow cover a year. But alot of the ones I have tried die right to the ground each year. Some years they will come back some they do not.

That doesnt mean you shouldnt try them, thats just my experience with them. What is devestating to me is my very short season, Im not sure what state you are from, but my last frost date is after may 15th, my first flush of roses is usually june 15 or so.

There are more compatible roses for our zones than "most HTS" i cant say all of course, I havent even done 1% of their sample.

I would suggest trying to grow the ones you have gotten and see how it goes. If they do not work out you can try something else. I personally have had very good success with David Austin Roses, not all of his are hardy, but there is a boatload that I can grow here. Also there is a ton of once blooming old european roses can you choose from. Before you turn your head at the once blooming part, remember , alot of these roses do not have winter dieback to the ground, thier canes survive and the general bush gets bigger every year. I have seen 8 foot alba roses with hundreds and hundreds of blooms on them. Plus I love thier fragrence.

Just my 2 cents...

Silverkelt

I don't think 8 roses are too many to start with. That's how many I started with two years ago now. Last year I added about 30 more. This year I'm adding another 30 (I think, not sure what it was on the last count). Peace does fine here in Wisconsin, it will die to the ground but it comes back and was three to four feet tall by fall. It does get blackspot but I use that Bayer Garden Disease Control stuff and it is very simple and works well.

I'd recommend leaving some room in your rose garden so you can add to it. You'll want to do some research on this forum for good cut roses once you've had more experience with roses. A good cut rose is more than just a pretty bloom - other factors to consider are how long it lasts in a vase (some very pretty roses only last a few hours) or how well it perfumes a room (some of the cut roses have very little scent). Check out Palatine roses as they have a great selection of beautiful cut roses. For other nurseries, be sure to check Dave's Garden Watchdog for feedback from gardeners. Some of those pretty catalogs look good but don't deliver what they promise.

When you get your roses in the spring be sure to plant them deep. Don't over-do the fertilizer as they won't need any right away. And if they don't turn out well then don't give up. One of the roses I thought would be great turned out not to do very well for me, it was a different color than I thought it would be and didn't bloom much. It died over the winter and I replaced it this year with a different rose that was much closer to the color I really wanted and that rose has done much better. I hope they all survive the winter, but if they don't it means an open spot that I can get another rose to fill.

Enjoy those roses! I came here last summer knowing not even a fith of what i know now about roses. This is a great place but addicting. When I started I had 6 roses...by the end of the summer I had 25. And now I have ordered 21 more...mostly hybrid teas, floribundas and grandiflora (just means large flowered. All this on 1/3 of an acre. These are all types you may be interested in. With an acre you have lots of room to play with so enjoy!

Oh my goodness!! I prefer hybrid teas! They have a classic shape and the newer ones have great scents. I buy them only if they are beautiful and scented. They are work but everyone I give them to sure appreciates them. Have fun!!

Kind of a latecomer here, but as others have mentioned, it does take a couple years for a rose to really get going. (And perennials too!) Until they're (hopefully)pumping out the good cutting stems, you may wish to tuck in some nice cutting flowers around them. Many of these are super easy to grow from seed. These are mostly annuals for "instant" (hah) color and long bloom time.
Some flowers I'd recommend are:
Monarda Lambada: Gets bushy with pretty purplish and green flowers. Good filler.

Zinnias: throw them in warm ground, barely cover and water in. That's all you have to do

Dianthus (sweet williams): the tall cutting kind. Some are annuals some are perennials. I adore the scent. My second favorate scent after roses.

Cosmos: A good background plant. Gets tall

Salvia: So pretty with so many colors. The blue are my favorites.

Snapdragons: The tall ones are fabulous with the rounded shapes of the roses although the shorter varieties are cute massed to hide the roses "knees"

And don't forget bulbs! I love the bargain bag bulbs of unnamed lilies and glads. If they work, great! If not, I'm only out $5.
Have fun and take lots of pictures!

Amalthea

Probably shouldn't comment yet as I'm just waking up & scanned the posts...

Ok, really sorry about not getting the flower names right. This is the correct list:
-Arctic flame
-Helen Hayes
-Maria Stern
-Lily Pons
-Senior Prom
-Queen oÂthe lakes
-Peace

Did you order from Jungs? If you look here some people have problems with them. I've been throwing their catalogs out for a few years now.

Since you're in zone 5, you need to plant the roses deeper. I'm in zone 6 and go about 2 inches down, especially with HT's. I've found that by doing this, they eventually own root. You also need to take into account the next year that they may look dead but might actually come up later. My Marilyn Monroe did this last year.. started leafing out in late June.

When I 1st started, I wasn't ready either but had lots of fun learning what I liked & didn't like until my soil was ready. I also learned that some times potting them and waiting until they've leafed out / bloomed to see what they do, then I plant around September. I've had better luck with own root if I gradually step up their pot size before putting in the ground.

I also garden with perennials and with the roses while the last garden we redid, I did try to plant by color, I actually like it better if it's a giant rainbow
{{gwi:218904}} Iceberg & Eva Cullem phlox

{{gwi:218907}} Francois Rabelais phlox / black eyed Susan

{{gwi:218909}} Sexy Rexy & yarrow

{{gwi:218911}} Paul Neyron & Iceberg

or, how about

{{gwi:218913}}

Here is a link that might be useful: Guide to Gardening by Mail, Mail Order Gardening, and Catalogs

Hoov's statement is profound. Read that again and live by that. Lots of people grow HT's. I wouldn't worry about it. Myspace is not the place to read about growing roses, in my opinion. These forums will help you and teach you.

Carla