Category: Choosing Your Roses

Jeff and Cindy Garrett – Disease Resistant Rose Study

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.

2023 Tenarky District ‘Roses in Review’ Report

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.

Continue reading “2023 Tenarky District ‘Roses in Review’ Report”

Proven Winners – Roses and Companions

Learn all about roses in this fun and informative YouTube video from Proven Winners. Natalie Carmolli with Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Flowering Shrubs, discusses the history of roses, how to grow them, what varieties of roses they offer and what plants make great companions for planting with them. In addition, this 30 minute video shows some of the automation that Proven Winners uses in its greenhouses.

Three of Proven Winners lines of roses are:

Oso Easy Roses
Oso Easy roses are indeed easy to grow, and they offer the broadest color range of any landscape rose series plus surprising hardiness, with some varieties that thrive in USDA zone 3. Dark green foliage shows exceptional disease resistance, and tidy habits make them ideally suited to any sunny landscape.

Reminiscent Roses
This series of roses combines the lush, full, fragrant flowers you remember with modern day disease resistance and continuous blooming. Developed in Serbia, trialed and tested in Michigan, these roses bloom all summer without deadheading. They resist common rose diseases, like black spot and powdery mildew, and they are hardy and heat tolerant – they thrive in USDA zones 4-9.

Rise Up Roses
Cover your world in flowers with Rise Up climbing roses. These roses are super versatile: they can be grown on a post, trellis, railing, or fence, or in a garden bed. They bloom all summer without deadheading and resist common rose diseases, like black spot and powdery mildew.

As our friend Austin from Bates Nursery said at the July 2023 NRS monthly meeting, “Just look for the white container.”

Rooting and Budding Roses

by Jeff Garrett, ARS Master Rosarian and National Trophy winner

 

Have you ever tried rooting roses only to have them all die? Rooting roses is actually pretty easy.

At the June 11, 2023, meeting of the Nashville Rose Society, Jeff Garrett demonstrated how anyone can be successful at it. His methods do not require a greenhouse or any other special equipment.

He first showed how to select and prepare stem for rooting. Next he showed how he buds roses onto multiflora rootstock.

Jeff is kind enough to share his presentations with us to help others learn how to root or bud new rose bushes. To learn more about each process, click the links below.

How to Root Roses

How to Bud Roses

Jeff and his wife 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 and Jeff is the current president. The Garretts have been honored with the Bronze Medal from their local society. Both Jeff and Cindy are active in the American Rose Society and are Master Rosarians. They and have been honored with the Silver Medal from the Tenarky District of the American Rose Society. They have both also won the Outstanding Consulting Rosarian Award for the Tenarky District. For many years Jeff has been the Tenarky District Roses In Review Coordinator. They are also regional editor’s for the annual Horizon Roses publication.

Growing Roses Sustainably

by Cindy Worch, Nashville Rose Society member and Consulting Rosarian

Brindabell Pink Princess
A sustainable rose is grown without chemical intervention and in the most earth-friendly way. I will use organics first and only resort to chemical fungicides if necessary.​

Sustainable gardening also works in harmony with nature so not to deplete resources faster than they can be replaced. Such as water and soil.​

Only organic pesticides are used in my garden. I like to attract beneficial insects such as ladybugs. I feed the birds which will eat insects as well. A firm spray of water works wonders on aphids and spider mites. Companion plants work as well to deter bad insects.

Click here to see Cindy’s full presentation that she made to the Nashville Rose Society on April 2, 2023.