Growing Roses For Valentine's Day In The Southern States

By Victoria Fuller Happy Friday one and all! With the Sun shining and the month of February finally in full swing we would be forgiven for hoping that gardening season is truly right around the corner! With this in mind, we thought with the imposing romantic holiday that is Valentine’s Day today would be as good a day as ever to spread some knowledge on how to grow the most romantic flowers of all in your raised garden bed: Roses! Roses have been associated with love, beauty, passion, and romance for thousands of years, and the aromantic fragrance of roses is often regarded as one of the most pleasant smells in the world finding its scent included in perfumes, candles, soaps, the list goes on and on! Plus rose oil (the essential oil extracted from the petals of the rose plant) has been said to have many healing and relaxing benefits including easing pain, relieving menstrual discomfort, decreasing anxiety, and easing depressive symptoms! Talk about a versatile plant! Many people believe that growing roses in Canada in the Spring can be risky due to the unpredictable length of Winter, but you can absolutely start growing your seeds indoors until it’s time to transplant them outdoors! TYPES OF ROSES When deciding which type of roses to plant you have literally hundreds of options to choose between! Today we are going to focus on our favorite four as we are confident that there is a flower for each type of gardener amongst these four: MR. LINCOLN The first Rose that likely springs to mind is the traditional Red Rose (associated heavily with romance and Valentine’s day), these roses are technically called “Mr. Lincoln” or “Rosa” roses. These flowers have a beautiful fragrance and tend to bloom from Spring until the first frosts. MUNSTEAD WOOD Munstead Wood roses are a shrub variety with beautiful blooms that range from a dark red to a deep purple. These beautiful roses bloom throughout the Spring and Summer. LADY IN RED "Lady in Red” is a variety of frilly-petalled roses that takes its name from its iconic red hue. Lady in Red Roses are a fantastic option for those who are red-rose-purists and only want the traditional colour of red when it comes to their roses! BRICK HOUSE "Brick House” roses are a fantastic shrub-rose option for those who are just “digging in” to their rose-growing journey as they require very little maintenance and are also fantastic at attracting pollinators! These roses are fantastic for growing in flower boxes and raised beds such as the Cedar Planters Raised Garden Bed! HOW AND WHEN TO PLANT Roses are perennial plants, meaning they have the capability to persist and thrive for several years (usually because of new herbaceous growth that stems from a part that survives from growing season to season!). This is excellent news as it means you can plant your roses this year and have a very high chance that you will be able to keep enjoying those beautiful blooms for years to come! When planting new roses in your garden though, we would recommend planting at the beginning of Spring after the last frost has finally packed its icy bags and left! Some varieties of Rose are capable of surviving minimal frosts, but for the most part we would recommend waiting until there is no more risk for frost advisories as one icy morning could very well halt your Rose-growing journey before it even gets started! If you have decided to grow your roses from seeds, we would recommend planting them around ¼ inch deep in well-drained sterile potting mix (or loam soil! This will be perfect at preventing your rose roots from getting waterlogged), and about 6 inches apart to give them room to thrive and grow! You will want to ensure that your seeds are getting at least 6 hours of sun per day, or if you are starting your seeds indoors ensure that they are either beside a window or under a gardening heat lamp! Ensure that you do not transplant your seeds outdoors until that last pesky frost has finally left! (We know we are a one-track record with the whole “frosts are terrible blah blah blah” thing but believe us! As beautiful as a frost-covered rose is in theory, they really prefer to be on the warmer side!). WHY RAISED GARDEN BEDS Roses can grow in both shrub or stem varieties, and both of these types look spectacular in a raised garden bed or planter box! Roses also have a pesky habit of developing intense and ginormous root systems in the soil which then in turn has the capability to send up shoots and grow additional new bushes! This may seem like a nice problem to have, but unless you want your entire property to resemble that of the Queen of Hearts you may want to confine your rose garden to a finite space! Cedar Planters Cedar flower boxes and Cedar planter boxes are the ideal vessel for growing roses as they prevent unwanted spreading, they have a built-in drainage system to prevent rotten roots, they are easier on your back as you don’t have to get on your hands and knees to garden, and they are stunningly beautiful (just like the roses that you are going to grow!). In conclusion, roses make a beautiful addition to any garden. They are a classic and iconic flower that adds a pop of colour and a touch of class to any outdoor space! Which of the rose varieties above sounds like it would fit in with your garden style? Are you planning on growing your own roses this season? Let us know in the comments section below!