easy care roses

There I am, waiting until the last possible week or so before I can no longer transplant my Flower Carpet roses (this week or next is about the absolute latest for transplanting in colder zones). After moving to a new house last Thanksgiving (when most of the leaves were already off the trees), I'd planted these easy-care roses in a back plot that I thought would get plenty of full sun. Wrong! A full canopy of leaves soon grew over them, and I've been meaning to move them to a sunnier spot all season.

I should've done this sooner – it was much less of a job than I'd anticipated (despite the fact that I had to use a pitchfork and pie server to do the job. My husband, apparently, decided the garage was his territory and took all the gardening implements he could find and locked them up in the back shed. So, since I was sneaking out while my daughter was taking a nap and had no idea where the shed keys were, well … the pitchfork I'd used for lifting Tropicanna canna rhizomes was all I could get in a hurry. The pie server actually did a great job of scooping extra soil out of and into the planting holes). After transplanting, I just watered them in and made sure to mound plenty of mulch, leaves or other insulating material around the base (I used leftover peat moss from storing the canna rhizomes). This protects the plant from frost heaves the first year or so, just until the roots really get established.

Luckily, Flower Carpet roses hold up well to winter's freezing, desiccating winds and freeze-thaw soil heaves. So no need to burlap my Flower Carpet bushes or mound them over with soil (although 2 to 3 inches of mulch is a good idea any time of year). All you need to do is forget about them and start focusing on the holidays. Around Thanksgiving, your Flower Carpet roses will go dormant as shorter days and colder temperatures signal it's time to shut down for a long winter's nap.

On the other hand, late fall to early winter is really the best time for warm-climate gardeners to transplant their Flower Carpet roses (that's when flowering will be at its lowest and the leaves will look the rattiest). In steadily warm, but not desert-like areas like California, you can transplant them any time. In places like Phoenix, Arizona (which get months of excessively hot and arid weather), you shouldn't transplant them in July, August or September (unless they're heavily shaded).

When transplanting in a warmer climate, it's recommended that you trim the plant back by at least half, and as small as a basketball immediately before transplanting. (Pruning stimulates active growth). Then water and wait about 2 to 3 weeks to feed.

What about overwintering Flower Carpet roses you've planted in container gardens?

Well, in warm climates, you can just keep them in the pot, provided it's about 20 inches in diameter, and trim them back at the appropriate time (as outlined above). In cold climates, however, you can just wait for them to start going dormant around Thanksgiving, then pack them closely together into a cool, dry (but not freezing) place like the garage, basement or shed and just get them up and off the ground. (I'll be putting mine in my preschool daughter's wagon, next to my Bluestorm agapanthus). Some people like to cover them with hay or put them in a box full of shredded up newspaper, but it's not really necessary. Whatever you do, however, DON'T cut them back or prune them at this time.

Well, there you go. It doesn't take much to make sure your Flower Carpet roses keep bringing you season after season of prolific, easy-care blooms!