“I’d rather have roses on my table, than diamonds on my neck.”
– Emma Goldman
Roses are our passion. We carry over 600 varieties of roses with diversified groups of top rated roses for our climate. The groups include hybrid teas, grandifloras, floribundas, climbing, groundcover, David Austin English Roses, rugosa, and old garden roses.
Click here to download the PDF version: Rose List 2017
Call to check availability of specific varieties. 360-466-3821 or 1-800-585-8200
We carry over 600 varieties of roses with diversified groups of top rated roses for our climate. The groups include hybrid teas, grandifloras, floribundas, David Austin English Roses, climbing, rugosa, old garden roses and ground-cover roses. We have multiple reference books for your research if you are in need of help while choosing rose plants and our knowledgeable staff can always offer assistance on choices and care. Our rose list with its legend is a quick reference for customers wanting a particular color, a particular group such as hybrid teas, or only fragrant roses.
Harlow Carr
Because roses are our passion, we love to fill the Garden Store and Primrose with roses from our display garden during the spring and summer months. We also look forward to our annual Rose Festival in June where we showcase the display garden around our Schoolhouse and offer classes and clinics on rose varieties and rose care. The weather is usually cooperative and guests often picnic out on the Schoolhouse lawn. The Schoolhouse is filled with cut roses from the Tri-Valley Rose Society and it is here you can see and smell many of the most popular roses first hand. This offers a rare opportunity for those who are considering planting a rose garden. There is nothing better than seeing the real flower rather than viewing it in a picture.
Rose Care and Culture
Roses prefer full sun (6 hours or more) and well-drained soil. When planting your rose dig a hole 18″ deep and 24″ in diameter. Mix your native soil with 50% composted organic matter such as mushroom compost or composted manure. Add bone meal to encourage root growth. If you have a dog that loves to dig skip the bone meal. Plant the rose in the plantable fiber pot if it is leafed out and in active growth. Taking it out of the pot will disturb delicate roots and may put the plant into shock. Before settling the fiber pot into the hole, slit the pot vertically from just below the top to the bottom on all four sides. Set the pot in the prepared planting hole so the soil level in the pot is the same as the surrounding soil. Back fill the prepared soil around the pot and tamp down. Cut off the top of the pot that is above ground level. Forgetting to do this will cause the fiber material that is above the ground to wick water away from the rose which means the rose will need to be watered more often. Water in well, soaking the entire planting hole. Deep water once a week during the active growing season.
We recommend feeding in April, June and August with an organic fertilizer such as Whitney Farms Rose Food and/or alfalfa meal.
The best defense against rose diseases is a healthy rose. Diseases can be controlled with healthy soil and appropriate watering and fertilizing practices. Picking off diseased leaves and raking fallen leaves when you notice them goes a long way toward growing healthy plants and blossoms. Raking rose leaves in the fall also keeps rose diseases from over wintering and infecting your roses in the spring. Avoid planting roses with a history of black spot and mildew. If you insist on growing a rose with a history of disease plan on spending more time keeping it healthy by monitoring and removing diseased leaves. These leaves should not go into your compost pile but should be burned or placed in garbage bags and sent to the dump. We have several roses in our home garden worthy of this extra effort. We would not be without an Anna Pavlova or Jude the Obscure not only because of their beauty but because of their fragrance. One Anna will fill a room with old rose fragrance while Jude does the same but with a fruity/rose scent. Insect pests that appear (most often aphids) may be controlled organically with predators, a soapy solution (Safers) or a strong blast from your hose. Powdery mildew and blackspot can be controlled with Neam oil, copper spray or sulfur spray. These products are organic and will not harm the environment.
Lightly prune tall roses in November to prevent snow or wind breakage, with the primary pruning done in March. Most modern roses may be severely pruned, to a height of 6″ to 18″. This encourages new growth and more flowers. Old roses, English roses and climbing roses prefer a more minimalist pruning, removing just the least productive old wood and damaged or diseased wood.
In late October or early November apply an organic mulch (composted manure or mushroom compost) 8″ to 12″ up the canes. This will protect against winter injury but must be pulled away and spread out in March when you prune your roses.
The above are ‘best rose practices’ and since we are hit and miss at our home, I need to say that roses are not as difficult to grow as this information may lead you to believe. If you are not growing for show but for your own enjoyment roses are fairly easy care. The most important practices being feeding in early spring and removing diseased leaves. We are not fanatical about removing the leaves but we do when we see them. Because we are not offended by an occasional spot on a leaf we are fairly casual about our roses. The pleasure of having roses definitely outweighs any negatives.
ENJOY YOUR ROSES!
