Categories: Gardening

How to Grow Tree Roses

Tree roses make a rose garden something special. They add a dramatic vertical element, towering over normal rose bushes. Tree roses are not a product of nature. They are created by nursery owners by a method of very careful grafting.

Tree roses are actually made up of three separate items. At the bottom is a root stock that is grafted to a long stem and the stem is then grafted to a rose bush. And any type of rose can be made into a tree rose – miniatures, floribundas, teas, and grandifloras. You cannot make new tree roses by taking cuttings like you can with traditional roses. Each one must be created this way. Tree roses are delicate and need special care, especially over the winter, but the results are well worth the extra effort.

There are two basic types of tree roses, those whose flowers grow up and those that hang down and are called weeping tree roses. The regular tree roses should be planted anywhere from 3 to 5 feet apart while the weeping tree roses need 6 feet. Plant your tree roses the way you would a regular rose bush, making a mound of soil in a hole that the roots of the plant fit over. The one extra thing you need to do before you fill in the hole is to put a tree stake on either side and attach them to the plant with elastic ties, just like you would when planting a sapling. Tree roses need extra support until they are well established.

Tree roses need special attention during the winter months. In hardiness zones 7 and higher trim the top way back just as you would any other rose for winter. Then you need to wrap the entire rose tree in an insulating material – your garden center will have the best one for your area – and then wrap the whole thing in burlap and secure it with duct tape.

It is much more complicated in colder areas. It is a good idea to grow tree roses in containers in zones 6 and lower so you can easily bring them indoors in the winter. Just make sure you keep the soil damp – not day but not too wet either. If you want to keep your tree roses outdoors, you will need to bury the whole plant in a trench about 18 inches deep and cover it over with organic mulch and soil. Give it a good soak and leave it until spring.

Many of the top rose nurseries sell tree roses and it is a good idea to buy from one of them.

Jackson and Perkin s has tree roses ranging from the all white Pope John Paul II to the lavender/pink Sweetness, the dark red Mr. Lincoln, the light yellow Southern Bell and 20 more.

Edmond’s Roses has 24 varieties of tree roses available including the Chihuly Tree Rose, a floribunda that starts out yellow and changes to orange and then bright red as it gets older, Double Knock Out Tree Rose a bright red double rose and Olympiad Tree Rose, a bright red hybrid that makes a perfect cutting rose.

Moore Miniature Roses has a large variety of miniature tree roses. Lavender Crystal is a double rose that in the right light looks almost blue, Sequoia Gold is a yellow rose that can withstand a good deal of heat and Pinstripe is mostly red with white stripes.