Choosing Roses

Faced with a nursery filled with beautiful plants, how do you choose between one and the other? When it comes to roses, there are two approaches: head and heart.

Those who want a low-maintenance landscape should choose a rose bush thoughtfully. There are many varieties of shrub roses that bloom all summer, are very disease resistant, and add bright color to the summer landscape. Anyone who desires an abundance of flowers but doesn’t want to spray or deadhead would be smart to choose a shrub rose. Some of the collections of shrub roses we carry are: Knockout, Oso Easy, Drift, and Flower Carpet.

For roses with that full, English cottage garden look, shop for one of the David Austin roses. They are usually fragrant, and many of the newer varieties are repeat flowering.

Others want a flower that looks like the standard “florist rose” so they gravitate toward the hybrid teas. These plants require more involvement, but for those who want this look for cut flowers and fragrance, it’s worth it. These roses lift our hearts and are valuable for this aspect alone.

In fact, many Cape Cod gardeners plant a selection of all types of roses knowing that this ensures that there will be blossoms in the landscape most of the summer. If one doesn’t do well there are sure to be other plants that thrive and flower.