HARDY ROSARIANS OF SOUTH DAKOTA
Rose Articles
REMEMBERING ROSIE THE RIVETER WITH GARDENS
Adding a pop of colorful excitement to the end of National Women's History Month is national Rosie the Riveter Day, March 21.
Celebrate by learning more about the rose gardens designed to remember Rosie the Riveter - an enduring image of a firm-jawed woman in coveralls and red kerchief, flexing her bicep and looking determined, representing women who confidently stepped up to do the jobs of men absented to fight in World War II.
According to the Spirit of 45 organization, Rosie the Riveter gardens are "living memorials to help ensure that the contributions of women who worked on the home front during WWII are fully acknowledged, and to preserve the legacy of the 'Rosies' to continue to inspire future generations of young women and girls."
South Dakota's Rosie the Riveter Garden
This modestly sized but attractive rose garden, planted in 2020 by the Spirit of 45 organization, hosted by the city of Sioux Falls and sponsored by the Mary Chilton Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the Revolution, is located in Veteran's Memorial Park.
The city of Sioux Falls maintains the Rosie garden, which is worth a visit, according to Sioux Falls district park supervisor Bryce Block. When you go, Block also recommends a stop in McKennan Park, Sioux Falls' oldest garden park, featuring a wide variety of perennial and annual flowers and flowering trees.
'Rosie the Riveter' Rose
Many Rosie gardens may feature the Rosie the Riveter rose, introduced in 2018 by Weeks Roses. The first Rosie roses were planted at the national Rosie the Riveter Memorial in Richmond, Calif., on March 21, 2017.
Weeks Roses describes its Rosie the Riveter rose:
"Rosie the Riveter pays tribute to the women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II. The old-fashioned unusual flowers of orange-gold suffused with pink are surely reminiscent of that era. The exquisite pointy and shapely buds are proudly held on top of very glossy dark foliage as a feminine symbol of charm and strength. The moderate fruity & spice fragrance is the perfect complement to these cultural icons. Like the tireless "Rosies," the even rounded plants of Rosie the Riveter are the workhorse of the garden, producing an arsenal of flowers. Maximum flower power? Yes, we can do it!"
From Rosarian Darla Scarlett
Photos courtesy of Bryce Block, Sioux Falls Parks
FERTILIZING ROSES: THE BASICS AND TIMING
“For everything there is a season ..."
... and for fertilizing roses in the upper plains of South Dakota September 1 means: STOP. Use Labor Day as a target for a reminder--Let those precious plants slow down and get ready for winter.
So much for stopping—this article is intended to discuss the basics of fertilizer and fertilizing rose bushes. Roses are heavy feeders. They can survive without being fertilized but they will struggle. To perform their best, roses need a continuous source of nutrients during the growing season not only to provide lush blooms, but to fend off insects and disease.
So, what do we need to know to keep our babies healthy and productive? SEE THE FULL ARTICLE
From Rosarian Marilyn Maloney
HOW TO WINTERIZE ROSES IN ZONES 2-5
The goal in winterizing roses is to prevent your rose bushes from freezing and thawing. This freezing and thawing is very damaging to them. There are a lot of different ideas on how to winterize roses. The following tips are a summary of what I feel is some of the best information for winterizing roses.
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Water your roses well in the fall until the ground freezes.
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Do nothing if you have hardy roses that are labelled for your zone. They should not need any special treatment as long as they are mulched well and not out in the open and subjected to cold winter winds.
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Wait to winterize your roses after there have been a couple of hard freezes. This advice may be difficult to follow some years as the snow may fall before the ground is frozen.
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Hill up loose soil around the base of the plants in really cold zones especially if your rose is not hardy for your zone. Do not scrape the soil from around the plant, bring in extra soil. Soil should cover the center of the rose and form a mound. The mound can be covered with mulch, peat moss or crushed leaves.
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Or set a large pot or tub without a bottom over the rose to protect it. You can fill the pot or tub with leaves but be aware that rodents are attracted to these cozy spots and they like to chew on roses. Sprinkling rodent deterrent granules in with the leaves or mulch should help keep them away. Peat moss or mulch could be used also. SEE FULL ARTICLE
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WHAT TIME OF YEAR DO ROSES LOOK THEIR BEST?
June Flush
June is the month that we get to see the first flush of rose blooms and it is usually the biggest and best flush.
Depending on the amount of rain received, and other things such as heat and humidity, roses may put on another show in other summer months - but it’s usually not as glorious as the June flush.
Keep Them Blooming
Most roses will continue with light to moderate blooming well into fall if they are consistently dead headed and watered well. Deadheading is the removal of spent blossoms thus preventing the hips or seed pods from growing.
When to Plant for Best Blooms
Early May is the time to plant bare root roses. If you are planting roses purchased in containers, late May and June are ideal. If you haven't planted containers by August 1, it is best to wait for next year to plant them.
From Rosarians Chris Larson and Lori Unterseher
HYBRID TEA ROSE SURVIVES DESPITE WINTER CHALLENGES: A SUCCESS STORY
'Love at First Sight' is Disease-Resistant
"Love at First Sight" is a hybrid tea rose released in 2020.
This one was acquired through the North Central District of the American Rose Society. Research shows this disease-resistant hybrid tea was developed by Bedard for Weeks Nursery.
Surviving Winter's Vagaries
Rather than risk losing this bush to our Zone 3b winter, it was potted for the patio for summer 2020 with the intent of overwintering in our garage. After a summer of prolific blooming, it went dormant and was garaged, only to break dormancy during Aberdeen's heat wave of October/November. Rather than strip the leaves and try to reintoduce dormancy, I opted to bring it into the house and nurse it through to another spring/summer on the patio. So far so good.
A Fresh Bloom in February
In February, it produced this bloom, and recently survived an attack of spider mites, refoliating itself after being heavily sprayed down with a Dawn soap bath.
Characteristics
Petals of this bicolor beauty are red on top and deep pink, fading to a white underside as the bloom opens. It has a 5- by-3-foot spread, with a mild, fruity fragrance. It can be hardy from zones 4 or 5 to Zone 10. The blooms on this newbie are on long, slender stems and are smaller and more rounded than older varieties of teas. This appears to be an up-and-coming trait being developed in the industry.
From Rosarian Marilyn Maloney
