BEST ROSES FOR THE GULF COAST
Take an ordinary journey to an extraordinary place
Since 1887, W. Kordes Sohne is one of the largest rose breeding programs in the world. Now, fourth-generation Kordes’ continued goals of breeding are: • Disease resistance against fungal attacks such as black spot, powdery mildew and downy mildew • Long-lasting, self-cleaning and fragrant flower qualities • Vigorous growth habit with good branching Trailing garden roses take a minimum of seven years before releasing into the market, and it is this strict criterion that makes Kordes roses great for the Gulf Coast. Kordes roses are available in “Hybrid Tea” (single-stem single flower), “Floribunda” (cluster of flowers on one stem) and climbers. “Beverly,” “Pink Enchantment” and “Iceberg” are three you can find at The Arbor Gate. Old Garden Roses or Antique Roses have been rustled in Texas cemeteries for years. A local group called The Texas Rose Rustlers meets and collects roses growing in cemeteries for propagation, as these roses receive virtually no care and are vigorous, hardy and disease resistant. Antique roses, or OGRs are not grafted; they grow on their own roots and many of these are on the Texas A&M Earth-Kind Plant List, such as “The Fairy,” “Ducher,” “Georgetown Tea” and “Cecil Brunner” (“Sweetheart” rose), to name a few. For a complete list, visit aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/earthkindroses. Drift roses are low-growing landscape types that grow from 12-30 inches tall and spread. This group of roses came from Conrad-Pyle, a breeder who introduced us to the “Knock-Out Rose,” which has become a legend in the landscape for disease resistance and continuous flowers. Drift roses do not have a fragrance, but that is replaced by the almost continuous bloom as a landscape rose.
The Arbor Gate 15635 FM 2920 • Tomball, Texas 77377
www.arborgate.com • 281-351-8851
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PRUNING ROSES Heavy pruning of roses should be done by midFebruary, which reduces plant structure by 50-60 percent. Remove all small twiglets that will never produce a bloom, as this is why they are called suckers — sucking energy from the plant. For canes that are entwined or rubbing, the lesser should be removed. Besides regular deadheading, with a 10-month growing season, roses should be pruned again late summer to early fall to produce wonderful fall blooms, as roses love the cooler weather. Any time you prune, you should always follow with an application of organic fertilizer around each plant topdressed with 1-2 inches of compost to promote new root
Champions Lighting 5211 Cypress Creek Pkwy
281-440-5339
www.championslighting.com located In the Barnes and Noble/ Randall’s center at Champion Forest Dr.
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