Roses for Michigan
A couple of weeks ago I spent the morning in my greenhouse pretending it was spring. The sun was shining
brightly filling in every nook and cranny with radiant heat. If it wasn’t for the three feet of snow pressing in on the
sides of the greenhouse, I would have thought it really was spring! I spent most of the morning in my toasty warm
greenhouse re-potting some houseplants. I also managed to do about 25 stem cuttings on a geranium that has deep
red, rose shaped flowers.
Speaking of roses, later in the week I was fortunate to have the opportunity to look over a spanky new gardening
book titled: Roses for Michigan, by Nancy Lindley and Laura Peters (Lone Pine Publishing, 2004). Lindley is the
owner of Great Lakes Roses in Belleville, and a sought after speaker on the subject. Peters is a master gardener,
retail garden consultant and author of six garden books.
If you’re positively fed up with trying to grow roses up here, get a copy of this book. I’ve done considerable research
on roses over the past several years and can positively say that no other book on roses will do more to set us
northern gardeners on a path of success than will this one.
The book lives up to its title. It features roses for all of Michigan, including the U.P., which is often left out. This is
also the first time I’ve seen roses so neatly divided into the various types, i.e. species roses, old garden, modern
shrub, groundcover, climbers and ramblers, hybrid tea, floribunda, grandiflora and miniature. The book is tightly
bound and features rich color photos of the 144 roses recommended for Michigan. At least 25 of the varieties are
hardy for our area.
Modern shrub roses and species roses appear to be the best choice for hardy roses for this area. Most species
and shrub roses are hardy to zone 4 and even lower. Several varieties caught my eye in the book including the deep
red Hope for Humanity. Unlike some of the flowers of the rather unkempt species roses that have only 6-10 petals,
the flowers on this shrub rose is made up of several clusters of 2-15 flowers. It’s a low maintenance rose, requiring
minimal spraying for black spot and rust. It also blooms “profusely for several months,” in contrast to some species
roses (e.g., Rosa rugosa) that start dropping their petals a few days after flowering.
Charles Albanel, is another good looking shrub rose. It is one of several Explorer roses, making them as hardy as
the Canadian explorers who propagated them. Albanel was tested in various locations in northern Canada with no
sign of winter kill, so it should be hardy for the area. It is also resistant to black spot and other fungal diseases. Most
shrub roses, like the two mentioned above, grow to 2-3 feet tall. Shrub roses are less upright than hybrid teas and
floribundas and require more space per plant.
The next best pick for roses for the north are the species roses. Species roses include several from the Rosa
genus, which is cultivated in the wild and zoned for our region. Most of these roses are a little bushier than even the
shrub roses and can eventually spread to form a huge mass, if left unchecked. Unlike shrub roses, which are
perfectly suited to a formal garden, species roses are more at home in a shady, woodland garden or an informal
border.
Of course, if you don’t learn to care for your roses, your success will be limited, regardless of where you live in this
state. To this end, Roses for Michigan also scores high marks. The first 90 pages are devoted to purchasing,
planting and caring for roses.
I know you’ve heard it before, but roses aren’t particularly difficult to grow. However, you better study up on them first,
or you’ll be wasting your time and money, as I have done in the past trying to grow hybrid tea and floribunda roses,
which aren’t particularly suitable for this region.
. This book will provide you with more than the basics on rose culture including the importance of preparing your
soil well in advanced of purchasing your roses and purchasing bareroot or potted roses from a reputable source,
including mail order and internet based suppliers. According to the authors, it is imperative that we purchase roses
that have been grafted on a rootstock hardy to Michigan, namely Rosa multiflora. If in doubt, ask the supplier. Be
careful when purchasing roses from a discount store. Many of these varieties have been shipped up here from
around the country and may not be able to survive our sub-zero winters.
People in this area have had difficulty growing roses, especially hybrid tea roses, according to local garden club
member Dorothy Dansdill. Dansdill recommends growing shrub roses and also some of the hardier climbers.
Hopefully, with the help of Roses for Michigan you’ll be willing to give it a try. You might surprise yourself! Good luck
and happy gardening.
Sources for hardy roses:
Great Lakes Roses
49875 willow Rd.
Belleville, MI
734-461-1230
www.greatlakesroses.com
Manitou Gardens
12086 S. West Bay Shore Dr.
Traverse City, MI
231-947-5639