Roses

I was browsing through our catalog, as I sometimes do when I can't think of anything else to write about. I just find a pretty plant and then talk about how pretty it is. I know it's boring, and I apologize, but they really are very pretty.

This time was different. It wasn't the picture that caught my attention, but the description. Epimedium Osigui was "named for Mikinori Ogisu, the famed Japanese plant hunter…In the native it is found among limestone deposits near waterfalls." It was discovered in the mountains of Sichuan, China.

Plant Hunter! Browsing the InterWebs, I found Mr. Mikinori was connected with the discoveries of many popular plants. One blogger called him the "most important man in Epimediums." He has trekked though thick forest, up high mountains, and deep into dense river gorges to find some of the rarest and most exciting new plant varieties. One of the most interesting articles was from the Historic Roses Group written by another famed botanist and plant hunter, Martyn Rix. He described Mr. Mikinori's discoveries of exotic Chinese Roses. He spent ten years combing the Chinese wilderness, and has provided us with cultivated varieties of plants that, before him, very few people had even seen.

I guess it was naive of me, but I just had never thought of botanists as adventurers. I guess somebody had to go out and discover all of these things. As gardeners, we often fill our gardens with exotic plants from all over the world, provided either by our local nursery or ordered from a catalog like Wayside Gardens. Rarely, if ever, do we think about how that plant came to be cultivated. Who took the first sample of seeds or the first cutting. Some of the species that Mikinori Ogisu discovered only grow natively at very high altitudes or in deep gorges where there are no trails. The man is a modern pioneer, forging paths for knowledge and future discovery.

45032 – Rosa ‘the fairy’ 45104 – Rosa ‘Blanc Double de Coubert 45318 – Rosa double knock out

I get asked from time to time what exactly makes Kordes Roses so special, that they get mentioned so often.  There are three very simple answers to that.  The first is that the Kordes Rose lines are some of the most beautiful roses you’ll ever find.  They tend toward the more elegant, simple colors, and many gardeners really appreciate the more subtle, traditional beauty that they represent.  The second reason is that W. Kordes & Sons is one of the oldest rose breeding groups in the world.  They’ve been hybridizing roses for more than a century.  Rose gardening is a culture that is very deeply steeped in tradition, and Kordes represents one of the most entrenched traditions in the world of roses for good reason.  Wilhelm Kordes II was often referred to as "the Grand Old Man of Rose Breeding."  He and his family developed many of the methods that are still dominant in modern rose breeding, and no small amount of the breeding stock used by rose breeders around the world came from varieties originally cultivated by the Kordes family.  No rose breeders have won more European awards than Kordes Roses have.

The third reason that Kordes Roses are so special is probably the most important to the average rose grower.  Kordes Roses are some of the toughest roses you’ll ever find.  They’re bred in Northern Germany, which yields very cold-hardy roses that thrive in much of North America (some are even completely hardy to zone 4).  They are also bred specifically to be resistant to diseases, pests, and fungus, and grown in the those harsh regions without artificial chemicals or growth enhancers.  This yields an incredibly robust rose plant that many rosarians claim is rivaled in toughness only by the Knock Out Roses.  Kordes Roses really are bred to be not just tougher than other roses, but to be some of the toughest plants in your garden.  Wayside Gardens is proud to be one of the only retail sources of Kordes Roses in the United States.

With all the interesting new choices we're getting this year, I find that I keep coming back to flowering vines as a topic.  Between my love of flowering vines and my almost compulsive fascination with unusual blooms, I don't see how I could not write often about some of these great new flowers.

Take these two new roses, for instance.  The Rose Climbing Night Owl is an amazing rich violet, the likes of which you rarely get to see in full sun.  However, this rose has an amazing resistance to fading, so you'll get to enjoy that color even in the hottest of areas.  The deep purple will just keep on coming, too, as this heartily disease-resistant rose is a strong rebloomer that will keep your trellis or fence in those interesting flowers all summer long. 

On nearly the other end of the spectrum is the bright, fun Rose Climbing Candy Land.  While it's just as disease-resistant and profusely blooming, the Candy Land is
certainly a far cry from the Night Owl in color.  These bright pink roses feature interesting white streaks that bring a double-take from anyone that sees them.  The overall effect makes the flowers look, frankly, delicious.  I can easily imagine a confectioner producing a candy that looks nearly like these blooms, though it seems unlikely that even the best candy-maker could produce anything so consistently perfect of form as this plant does.  Maybe the best thing about these new roses is how easy they are.  Rose gardening isn't just for gardeners with all the time in the world anymore, and these two incredibly easy to grow climbing roses are certainly no exception to that trend.  The only question for me this spring is which of these two will be going on my archway.

To protect your roses this winter:

1. Begin at the end of fall by mounding soil or a good mulch around stems about 1 foot deep.  Remove the mound gradually with your garden hose as new growth starts in the spring. 
2. Feed your roses with a handful of a complete fertilizer per bush. 
3. Water thoroughly, and  Mulch with hay, straw, or bark to conserve moisture and hold down weeds which will give your roses a better chance to bounce back as the weather warms. 
4. Fertilize monthly during the active growing season until mid-summer to make your plant stronger and ready for the next hard winter.

Roses are naturally hardy vigorous plants, with some wild climbing varieties reaching 60 feet or higher and thriving in the harshest conditions. And, since the introduction of the Knock Out Rose in 2000, breeders have focused on bringing out the innate strength of roses, making some of the hardiest disease resistant roses ever seem. But, there are some conditions that even the strongest plants struggle to surmount. If you are a rose gardener in a colder area, you know how hard it can be for roses to thrive in the spring following a hard winter.

If you are looking for a permanent low-maintenance accent to your landscape design, and would really love the elegance of a rose bush. Don’t stress, Try a Knock Out Rose or Kordes Rose – both lines have been specifically bred to be the toughest plants in your yard. They will resist all sorts of fungal and insect pests, and they will persist beautifully in extreme weather conditions that would kill most roses. The Knock Out roses are especially tolerant of heat and drought. Kordes roses are known to be very cold hardy, and will thrive in zones where other roses cannot.

The shrub roses are the classic rose bushes that most people are familiar with. Landscape roses are almost always shrub roses. They are generally between 3-6 feet tall and about that wide. Shrub roses can be seen anywhere from old homesteads to urban landscape plans. They are an easy way to add classic  beauty to any garden. The newest varieties like many of the Kordes Roses and the Knock Out Roses are super disease resistant and hardy against the toughest elements, making them a great choice for any gardener looking to save themselves a little trouble.