By Susan Mertz, KNLA Board
Member Landscapers have discovered
that many of the newer shrub roses offer color all season long without a lot of
care. Knock Outs are a top seller
at nurseries and garden centers across Kansas.
Replacing the Meidiland Roses, Sharon Scott of Releaf Landscape in South
Hutchinson now uses Knock Out Roses almost exclusively due to their “easy care
and reliable performance.” She
has found them to be tolerant of the harsh conditions in the south central part
of the state. Sharon loves that the
beautiful flowers keep blooming through the summer and into the fall.
Fragrance is one of the
determining factors for Penny Monroe of Courtyard Creations in Salina in
selecting roses for her landscapes. Citrus
Splash (orange and yellow striped flowers) and Pure Perfume (pure white flowers)
are two of her favorites. Lightly
fragrant Good and Plenty is a smaller maturing rose with a “mounding habit
that works well for a low hedge.” It has disease free glossy foliage and dark pink flowers.
Carefree Spirit, deep cherry red flowers, is also a low maintenance
choice with disease resistant foliage. Penny
has found that Ballerina “withstands wind and heavy rain” and produces
masses of flowers for weeks on end. Some
roses that Penny avoids due to high maintenance requirements are Jacqueline Du
Pre, Graham Thomas and Mme Isaac Pereire. Faye Yoder with the City of
Salina also considers maintenance needs when selecting roses for the City’s
properties. Flowers, foliage,
disease resistance, and growth habit are top considerations. She avoids flower carpet roses because of past problems with
over-wintering in Salina. Home Run,
a deep red rose, is one of Faye’s favorites because it has “no black spot at
all and no powdery mildew.” For
Darrin Wright, also with the City of Salina, Red Rascal is a top choice along
with Scarlet Meidiland. Greg Stouse of Lawn-N-Scapes
in Shawnee prefers Flower Carpet Roses to Knock Outs. The smaller mature size works better in his designs.
He further controls the size of the carpet roses with a heavy pruning
after they begin flushing in the spring. Flower
Carpet Roses continue to be a top seller and performer in the northeast part of
Kansas. Customers at Skinner Garden Store in Topeka have 100’s of
roses to choose from. Flower
Carpets, Easy Elegance, and Knock Outs are customer favorites. An old fashioned favorite at Skinner’s is the cold hardy
Rugosa Rose. Cameron Rees of
Skinner’s believes it is a “gorgeous plant with good fall color and rose
hips.” Faye warns landscapers to
“watch out for its thorns.” The Johnson County
Extension Office in Olathe has a new demonstration garden featuring roses.
A trial garden of EarthKind roses is included at the Extension’s Garden
Gallery and are a topic for a class to be held on April 28, 2009.
Designated by Texas A&M University, EarthKind roses are “thoroughly
tested, and environmentally responsible plants for Texas landscapes.”
Selections are being tested in Kansas to see how well they do this far north.
The goal of Earth- Kind roses is landscape water conservation with soil
preparation being key to the success of the roses.
Knock Out and The Fairy are just two of the many roses in this program.
As
reminded by Cameron Rees, the diverse conditions across the State of Kansas will
result in regional favorites when it comes to selecting roses for our gardens.
Kokopelli Nursery