The Best Roses for Your Garden: 5 varieties and how to care for them

The best roses will add color and fragrance to your garden.

When it comes to home gardens and flowers, roses are as classic as they come! But if you have them, you probably know they can be high maintenance.  Are these oh-so popular flowers still worth your time and energy?

Gardening expert Sheriden Hansen says absolutely, you just need to select the right variety for your yard.

Find more gardening help at garden.usu.edu.

How to Grow the Best Roses

Roses are the epitome of gardening – and considered the most beautiful flower by many. They definitely can have a place in the garden. Sheriden suggests reserving them for a focal point, she uses them for a massive flush of color in a very prominent location. And they add more than color, they add the element of fragrance to the garden.

Growing Successful Roses

• Well-draining soil
• Full sun (6 to 8 hours)
• Good fertility, fertilize at the beginning of the season and again mid-season. Complete fertilizer to support growth and bloom.
• Good air circulation – roses are subject to a number of foliar leaf spot pathogens. Placing them in an area that gets a slight breeze or pruning to promote less dense canopies can reduce disease.
• Specialized pruning in the spring (typically cut back to 1/3) and deadheading throughout the season to encourage rebloom.

Easy-to-Find Roses

• Hybrid Tea Roses
• Knock Out™ Roses
• Carpet Roses
• Climbing Roses
• Old English Roses (David Austin Roses)

Planting Roses

• Roses can come either bare root (no soil) or potted.
• Potted roses can be planted into the garden preferably in spring or early fall, just as is.
• Bare root plants should be spring or fall planted. Plants need to be soaked for a few hours upon arrival and then planted into the soil. Once planted, the soil should be soaked to move soil into any air pockets around the roots.