GROWING ROSES

Few flowers offer such an array of color, size, shape,
fragrance and use as roses. Roses can be used for cut flowers,
drying and preserving, and for landscaping. Although roses
have many uses, they are grown primarily for their beautiful
flowers.
Roses are deciduous woody perennials. They originated in
central Asia millions of years ago and spread over the Northern
Hemisphere. Strangely, no wild roses have been discovered
south of the equator. A fossilized rose found in Colorado
documented that wild roses grew in the Midwest more than 35
million years ago. Native wild roses are still common in
Kansas today.
Most garden roses are hybrids grafted onto a hardy
rootstock. Many hardy roses are as easy to grow as spirea and
privet. Show roses, however, require considerable knowledge,
skill and care. The first step in successful rose growing is to
select a rose species and variety that is adapted to the growing
location, use, personal preference of the grower, and the
amount of time and care one is willing to spend.