by Marty Reich, Master Rosarian, Editor of the Rose Leaf

The Nashville Rose Society serves all of Middle Tennessee by sharing knowledge and information about our national flower, the rose.

As I look back on my experiences with growing roses for the last 28 years, I remember who introduced me to the love of roses and was kind enough to mentor me. This fine gentleman was John Curtis, or as NRS members referred to him, “The Rose Farmer”. He earned that name because of his commitment to organic methods of growing roses.
Continue reading “Mentors Matter”
It is time to put the kids to bed. The last big rose chore before we get to put our feet up and enjoy the rose catalogs needs to be done by about the first week of December. A general rule is to wait until there have been two real (not just a couple of hours) freezes below 28degrees F. Protect too soon and the bush will not have time to gear up its internal winterization mechanism.
Continue reading “Winterization of Roses”
David Cook’s presentation to the Nashville Rose Society is an excellent resource for the types of insects that attack our roses in Tennessee. He explains how to identify the culprit based on the damage to the plant, and gives organic solutions for dealing with them.
Click here for David’s presentation, “Roses: Back on the Menu”.

If you want some concise no-nonsense steps that will result in good roses, consider the following Eleven Steps to Growing Good Roses:
Continue reading “YOU Can Grow Roses: Eleven Steps to Growing Good Roses”