What to look for when buying Bare Root Roses

Roses are a truly wonderful addition to anyone’s garden, back yard or not. Though you may not be ready to plant them yet, in fact where we live we are still a couple of months from planting but it is the best time for planning. And if you are ordering you will need to order them soon so you have them when you want to plant.

Roses, if properly cared for, can last years. Therefore, do your research in order to be able to gain the most enjoyment from your plants. Spend some time checking out types, colors, shapes and sizes. Check through catalogues, the internet, and if possible go to a botanical garden arboretum this time of year. Maybe you’ve checked out a friend's gardens last summer but try to look at and smell the roses before you buy.

The first thing to look for is the plant's grade.

Nearly all bare root roses sold today are sold in three main grades and are approximately two years old. The Grades are 1, 1.5, and 2.

Grade 2 is the least expensive grade. These plants will have two canes 12 inches long and may be a bit of a gamble.

Grade 1 ½ is the most popular grade and its price is a little less. It should have at least two strong canes which must be at least 15 inches long and 1/8 inch in diameter.

Grade 1 is the best and as a result is the most expensive grade. It will have at least three strong canes, two of which must be at least 18 inches in length and 1/8 inch in diameter.

Where you buy your roses may also determine the quality. There are three main sources for buying roses.

Supermarkets are the least expensive but usually carry a limited variety of plants. They also normally come with their roots wrapped in plastic, therefore you are unable to inspect the roots for damage. The supermarket personnel are the least knowledgeable about what they are selling, and the plants can be treated roughly both by the people that stock them, and also by customers. This leads to a much greater potential for having an unsuccessful purchase.

Mail order suppliers are normally still pretty inexpensive and often have an even greater variety of plants than your local nursery, however you can not inspect the plants before buying and they sometimes arrive damaged due to shipping. Also, although most mail order suppliers are reputable this isn’t always the case and it is hard to discern the difference before you buy. It can also be difficult to return the ones you are unhappy with.

Nurseries are usually the best places to buy your plants. Normally they are a little more expensive but the plants are often kept in sawdust thereby allowing you to inspect the roots. They usually carry a large variety of both new and old varieties and usually provide the best advice as to which plants do best in your area.

So which variety of plant should you purchase? Well that depends on your taste and what is available for your climate. There are hundreds of varieties of roses. The older time proven varieties may not come in as many color variations but they are reliable. The newer varieties are wonderful and sometimes give larger blooms and a bigger show but my determining factor is the smell. I like to smell the roses. How about you?

Roses “by the yard”

How To Improve Your Weekend Gardening Experience

If you only have weekends to work on your yard and you are looking for a hassle-free garden it's vital to start the process now even though it is still winter. In this article I am going to look at giving you the first steps in helping you to achieve your goal of a hassle-free yard. Your goal should be to create a yard that practically takes care of itself and with some sound advice and understanding of what it takes to be a weekend gardener you can achieve your goal.

Don’t be like many who have never found a way to escape the prison of responsibilities and hard, never-ending work that a high-maintenance garden requires.

If you want to avoid this fate, you need to start by making a critical examination of the maintenance of your present yard and garden.

Start by taking a stroll around your property (if not actually then in your mind. Mine is still 2 feet under snow) and make note of how much time you take to tend to various areas. This can be done by thinking back to what it was like last summer.

• Which plants and areas require the most care?
• Which areas please you and take less care?
• Are there areas that you love and no matter how much maintenance they take you’re not willing to change?
• Can any areas be scaled down in size, or be improved by changing to a low-maintenance design or gardening technique?
• Where is the worst problem area for weeds?
• Where is the most difficult area of your lawn to mow?

There are very specific ways to correct your problem areas. As you think about your current maintenance problem areas you must think critically. Take a tour of your yard with a critical eye and a notebook. Make some notes to yourself about what you see, what you imagine, and what you are currently faced with.

As you do this preliminary overview, remember its okay to note what you "hate" to do, in regards to your gardening work. We want to get rid of these areas or problems first and foremost.

Everyone has a different take on this subject. Some hate mowing the lawn, others actually enjoy the exercise and like getting out in the sun. Some find weeding tedious, others will enjoy the process of grabbing weeds by the fistful and yanking them forcefully out of the ground.

So, part of your ‘yard tour' is to make notes of the areas that require work; how you feel about each one, and list which are particularly time-consuming.

Once you're done, take your list and put a mark (*) next to those items that you intend to keep no matter how much maintenance they require.
Then put a question mark (?) Next to the ones you enjoy looking at, but are nevertheless high-maintenance and take too much work. You will later discover timesaving techniques you can apply to these problem areas.

Now make it your aim to eliminate those areas that have been left UNMARKED. You'll want low maintenance ways to turn these areas into sources of pleasure, instead of drudgery. However, you can't DO anything to lessen the work load until you can first SEE the problems out there in your yard. So do this tour as a first step to achieve true joy and freedom in your gardening experience.

Less work more enjoyment “by the yard”