Rose (public) Garden  

Listing last updated on Mon Dec 2024

Saint Joseph, Missouri 64503
United States

I grow HT's, GR's, FL's, Mini's, and Mini-flora's of all colors.
I have approximately 275+ total roses in about 10 different beds/settings.
I particularly have good luck and like roses budded on multiflora rootstock.
I don't winter protect other than what Ma Nature delivers by dropping leaves from two large nearby oak trees that fall into and are blown into the garden.
I get most of my roses from Wisconsin Roses, Palatine Roses, Jackson & Perkins, and a local nursery, Moffett Nursery, where the rosarian there orders from many different vendors.
I do spray for BS and PM and also spray for insects with Merit usually one or two times per year when the thrips are bad in the spring/summer.
I start fertilizing early in the season and repeat it monthly throughout the growing season. I use an alfalfa based pellet type fertilizer produced locally in Kansas City and bought at Moffett Nursery here in St. Joseph, MO. I also use a liquid fertilizer of my own making from several different liquid fertilizers currently commercially marketed. My dear sister Barbra who is also a rosarian has named it John's Jungle Juice and uses my recipe and swears by it. I think it is pretty good even if I say so myself. I am very proud of the health of my roses and insist that this excellent state of health is one reason why I have such winter hardy and disease resistant roses. Little things just don't have as much affect on my roses like it would if they weren't so healthy.
I do spray for fungus as needed and am very cautious with it. I only spray very late in the evening when all the good beneficial bugs have bedded down for the day so the spray solution has time to dry on leaves overnight before the insects become active the next day. I think this is important to do as the beneficial insects are a gardener's--not just rosarian's--best friend in the garden. They are cheap, effective, and interesting to watch work.