The Nashville Rose Society was honored, once again, to have Jeff and Cindy Garrett as our guest speakers at the August 11, 2024, monthly meeting. In addition to focusing on how to participate in the annual ARS Roses In Review program, Jeff discussed the work that he and Cindy are doing to test and evaluate disease resistant, specifically blackspot, roses in their garden.
Jeff and Cindy moved to their current home on Lake Chickamauga in 1989. Over the years they have continued to develop their landscape to its current capacity of just over 350 roses. Jeff and Cindy have allocated some of that space in their garden to test select varieties of roses in large pots. They change some of the varieties each year. They do fertilize and water, but do not spray for disease. Each year they evaluate which roses are most disease resistant.
Jeff and Cindy have both served their local society, the Tri-State Rose Society of Chattanooga, as President on numerous occasions. Currently they are editors of their local society newsletter, “Basal Breaks”. The Garretts have been honored with the Bronze Medal from their local society.
Click here for Jeff and Cindy’s presentation on Disease Resistant Roses – Fact or Fiction!
Here you will find a list (pdf) of roses in Jeff and Cindy’s test garden.
Roses need adequate sunlight to encourage blooming. “As a rule of thumb, we try to plant roses where they will get at least six hours of sunlight a day,” says Geraldine Mahoney, Master Rosarian for the American Rose Society, Pacific Southwest district. “In our area, that means an optimal spot would be where the roses get morning sun and afternoon shade.”
Keep roses blooming for longer throughout the growing season by applying a balanced fertilizer once or twice a month, depending on how the weather is in your area, says Mahoney. For example, when it is very hot, roses do not take up fertilizer as quickly so you can apply it less often. “Avoid fertilizing in the fall and allow the plants to begin shutting down for the winter,” says Jeff Wyckoff, rosarian and former president of the American Rose Society.
Roses need to be planted so there is plenty of room for proper air circulation, which ensures they have room to bloom. What’s more, proper spacing helps to keep diseases like powdery mildew in check and prevents insects from spreading through the garden. Mahoney recommends planting roses so the center of one bush is 3 feet apart from the center of the other in all directions. “We also try to keep a distance from the bushes to any walls or fences—this helps avoid reflected heat in the summer and lets the air circulate,” she says
Baby, it is cold outside! It is a good time to get ready for the spring weather that will come to Middle Tennessee soon. One item that you may have on your TODO list is to sharpen your pruners. Ryan Amerg, General Manager of FELCO North America, joined Diane Summer, President of the American Rose Society, to teach us the basics for maintaining our pruners.
Some call it shovel pruning, meaning dig it up, throw it away, and replace it with a new rose that has been proven to thrive well in your area. There are many reasons a rose may need to be shovel pruned. After the December 2022 freeze, there may be roses that just did not perform this past summer. Rose Rosette is another reason, or a rose that has out grown its assigned space in your garden.
