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Q I get roses for Valentine's Day. What can I do to make them last longer?
--Jim Brew, New York, NY

A I love roses and want them cheering up my space for as long as possible. To extend their stay in your home: Remove any leaves that will be submerged. Hold the stems under a running faucet, then cut them -- on a slant -- two to three inches from the bottom. Place roses immediately into a container filled with room-temperature water. Every other day, replace the water and cut back the stems by another quarter to half inch. Keep the arrangement away from direct sun or other heat sources such as stereo equipment, TVs or VCRs. Try one of the following hints, which many people (though not all experts) are convinced will keep flowers fresh longer: Drop a white uncoated aspirin into the water.
Add a teaspoon of sugar to the water.
Pour one part lemon-lime carbonated soda to 10 parts water into the vase.

Q.:Hi Kathy I am new to roses - how do I care for them?

A.: The specific advice will vary by the type of rose and your climate, but here are some quick generalities

Plant the rose where it has 5 or more hours of sun per day.
Water deeply 2 -3 times per week in summer but not to the point of standing water - it has to have good drainage.
Give it some rose food in the growing season. Even better, build the soil with manure, compost and/or complete organic fertilizer - see www.nurserysite.com/clubs/peninsular/tips.html
Prune in the dormant season and protect the crown from freezing in winter by mounding mulch over it.
Buy a beginner's rose book.
Best advice: Join your local rose club or society - that's where you'll get the best advice on your local growing conditions. In the USA see ars.org/ for your nearest, or search the EveryRose list of clubs and societies

Hello Kathy, Liz from Orlando FL

Q.: How do I find out what hardiness Zone I am in?

A.: Here are some links to maps with USDA Hardiness Zone information. The USDA Zones are an index of the coldest winter temperatures - as such they are a good indicator of winter hardiness, but they do not take into account the rest of the climate, such as summer heat, precipitation, wind, snow cover, altitude, etc., so growing conditions can vary widely within the same Zone:

US National Arboretum www.ars-grin.gov/na/hardines.html. Includes an explanation of the USDA system, indicator plants and temperature ranges in example cities.
ICanGarden Canadian Zone map www.icangarden.com/zone.htm
Sunset Western US Zones (note that we are not using the Sunset zones in Kathy`s Roses.com at this time) www.sunset.com/Reference/GardenRef/zoneFrame.html

Hi Kathy Louise Houston, TX

Q.: My roses are wilting / dying / not opening / not blooming. Why?

A.: Oh boy - this is not easy to diagnose at a distance. All we can do is offer some general guidelines:

Basics:
First, make sure the basics have been met: deep watering 2 - 3 times per week, more often for containers, fertilize as required and make sure they get 5 hours of sun per day.

Balling:
Flowers that don't open may be "balling" as a result of wet weather. This affects some varieties of many-petalled roses more than others, where the bud closes up into a ball and never opens. Nothing to do but wait for better weather, or plant varieties which tolerate rain better.

Pests:
There may be a pest that is affecting the bud or the stem: cane borers, thrips, caterpillars etc: - inspect your roses, and check with your local rose society, nurseries or Agriculture Extension office for the insects that affect your area, how to identify the insects and damage.

Waterlogged:
Poor drainage will cause wilting if the rose's roots are continually saturated. This can be a problem in planters and containers that don't have proper drainage holes. In garden beds that are continually soggy, either relocate the roses to a more suitable bed, or reconstruct the bed with underground gravel drainage channels and add sand to the soil.

Diet:
A specific mineral deficiency is unlikely if you are fertilizing with a general purpose rose food, compost, alfalfa tea &/or organic fertilizer. The most common, iron deficiency, can result in yellowed foliage, and can be corrected with iron-containing fertilizer or foliar sprays. However, not all yellowing is due to iron deficiency - eliminate other causes first.
Check your local soil conditions and make sure that you are using a balanced fertilizer that is correct for your soil. The more compost and organic materials you can add to the soil the better.

Fungus:
Several fungal diseases are common to roses: Powdery Mildew, Blackspot, Rust, Downy Mildew and Athracnose. Susceptibility to these fungi varies widely with climate and with the variety of rose. Some roses are nearly immune, some require constant spraying. Where information is available, we have noted disease resistance and susceptibility Check out Know Your Spots, Diseases and see the Rose Links for more web sites.
Gall:
Crown gall or root gall may be the problem - these will produce noticeable misshapen swellings at ground level or on the roots. It is incurable - discard both the rose and the soil it was in.

Cleanliness:
Remove diseased leaves from the bush by hand as soon as you can. Clean up all fallen leaves and petals from the ground. Burn or dispose of rose leaves and prunings in the garbage - do not compost. If there is visible disease on the canes, keep pruning the diseased canes off until the rose recovers (bear in mind that some varieties of rose have naturally blotchy looking canes. Compare with others to determine if it is disease). Disinfect your pruners with every cut to prevent spreading disease.

Pruning:
Improper pruning can affect blooming - many climbers only bloom on second-year wood, so if you continually cut them back, you'll never get bloom on the new growth.

GET LOCAL INFORMATION:
Most important - get to your local rose society or club meetings and compare notes with other rose growers in your area. List of clubs and societies.

Hi Kathy I live in New Mexico

I was wondering How to Grow Rose Bushes

There is unquestionably no flower as beautiful or as loved as a rose. They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. More "beholders" carry, display and grow roses than any other flower. They are the undisputed favorite of growers and flower buyers alike.

Roses carry special meaning with each color. Meaning of Each Color Many gardeners consider one or several roses a must in their gardens. A properly maintained and cared for rose garden will produce blooms from June until frost. It beautifies the yard and adorns the rooms of your house while providing a light and sweet scent.

Growing rose bushes is easy and rewarding. A mostly sunny location and a little gardening basics is all you need to get started. With a little learning you can turn your rose bushes into a perfect bush providing a profusion of roses. Like any other form of gardening the more gardening care and information you know for the particular plant you are growing the more successful you will become

Hi Kathy Liz again

Q: I love landscaping and want a rose garden in my backyard. Before planting a rose garden what varieties or styles give me the most options in design, low maintenance care and minimal disease problems. Katy, Georgia

A: Roses are not only beautiful as cut flowers or when used in arrangements, roses are very useful and attractive plants and flowers when used in landscaping. A rose garden is so popular the White House has one. Presidents may change but the White House Rose Garden lives on.

Roses and gardeners have enjoyed a long relationship which continues to this day where roses still enjoy great popularity today.

The use of landscape roses can make the exterior of any house more graceful and inviting. Selecting the right varieties to compliment and accent the home’s style, will contribute to overall success of your landscape and rose garden design.

Finding landscape roses isn’t difficult – you can find lots of varieties. The problem comes in choosing the right ones for your landscape needs.

Roses come in a number of classes, with each holding characteristics making them a great choice for use as landscape ornamentals. For example, suppose you want to have roses growing up and over a trellis or archway - tall growing tea roses make for a perfect fit. Tea roses are known for their nodding blooms, and all who walk under the archway enjoy a beautiful display of roses in full bloom.

If a trellis is out and you’re looking to accent a wall then a true climbing rose is you’re the best choice. The beauty of a true climbing rose allows you train the plant into many different looks and effects.

When a vibrant splash of background color is what you want – the Floribunda rose is an excellent choice. The popular Floribunda rose varieties give all this color in the landscape with their large sprays of blooms.

The versatile rose can also be used as a ground cover or planted in front of other plants to give color and accent. They can also be used as stand alone specimens and trained into a small tree or planted as hedges – the Rugosa roses being excellent choices.

The goal or impact of the rose is not the varieties or ways it can be grown – it’s the colors they offer in the gardening palette. What gardeners want are healthy plants that deliver impact in many sizes, styles, textures, colors and shapes. Roses do all of that!

When designing your landscape and rose garden choose the best color roses to compliment the color of your surrounding landscape. A simple arrangement of pink roses deliver the perfect compliment to a stone or marble entranceway and plain white tea roses offer a striking display against a dark red brick house. Roses come in so many colors it should be easy to find colors which compliment and enhance any decorating or landscape scheme you come up with.

Years ago it was popular to landscape using a single variety, today most gardeners like to incorporate a mix of different colors, species and styles of plants into the landscape. This creates a garden full of vibrant color.

Roses do well in a variety of temperature zones and climates; make sure you choose the varieties suitable to your area. This translates into fewer maintenance issues, less pesticides and disease issues and overall a healthier landscape and garden.