Heritage Roses
Heritage roses, also known as Antique roses or Old Roses, refer to a group of roses cultivated into commercial production during the late 1800s.
These roses of the past are renowned for the fragrance, classic beauty and their low maintenance characteristics. They are ideal for beginners who would want to start raising roses in their own garden.
Five Classes of Roses
- Centifolia
- Bourbons
- Hybrid Perpetuals
- Noisettes
- Portlands
Centifolia originates from Europe and usually blooms only once a year. The other four are repeat bloomers but have low tolerance to cold temperatures. They should be grown in their own root and do not survive well to grafting.
Preparing a Rose Bed for Heritage Roses
- Choose a rose bed in an open area where air circulation is good and sunlight directly hits the bed for at least six hours a day in the morning.
- Break up heavy soil before planting. Add some organic material to sandy soil to enrich it further. The soil should be porous enough to allow proper drainage.
- For those who live in the South, the best time to prepare a rose bed is in summer or spring but planting should be done in fall or winter.
- From the container, remove the plant and the soil around it and placed directly in a prepared whole in the ground. Sprinkle with a little water after planting.
Watering Heritage Roses
- Heritage roses are generally drought tolerant but watering is encouraged every 7 to 10 days.
- Opt for deep watering rather than light watering so that the roots would grow deeper in the ground, hold its foliage and flowers would bloom better during summer.
- To keep the rose leaves dry, use a soaker hose for drip irrigation. Let the water soak overnight.
Diseases
Heritage roses rarely get blackspots but if they do, your rose bed might not be getting enough sunlight and air circulation is poor. Use a mild fungicide if heritage roses are infested with pests and insects.
You can get my Free 51 Rose Gardening Tips here.
