Keith Hansen

Today is Valentine's Day (in case you forgot), and what can make a nicer gift than a dozen or two red roses! But, what if you could give roses to your loved one throughout the year? Why not grow some roses that can be enjoyed both outdoors in the yard and cut for the vase inside!

Like a lot of people, I enjoy beautiful roses. But I don't like to fuss too much over the plants in my landscape. For one thing, I don't have that much time to be babying plants, coaxing to bloom, or much less live.

And, I don't have too many sunny spots in my yard suitable for growing a lot of roses. So, if I'm going to have a rose in my landscape, it's got to be a good one. Sure, I've bought a few roses on impulse whose blooms or fragrance won me over. But, oftentimes, I've been disappointed with the vigor or disease resistance of the bush.

One great rose variety is Belinda's Dream. Belinda's Dream produces large, fragrant and double medium pink blossoms. The blossoms stand out against attractive glossy bluish-green foliage. Each blossom can achieve a 4-inch diameter with over 100 petals. This is the first rose to achieve the prestigious Earth Kind and Texas Superstar designations. This is because besides being beautiful, it is very disease resistant. It can get a little black spot fungus during the year, but it has good resistance to this disease so seldom, if ever, needs spraying to maintain healthy foliage.

Belinda's Dream is a wonderful rose to plant if you only have room for one rose in your landscape. It makes a lovely centerpiece in the garden surrounded by annuals or low growing perennials.

To really appreciate the beauty of this rose it should be viewed up close in order to see the outstanding size, beauty and fragrance of the blossom. This rose is an excellent selection if you are looking for a rose that can be used as a cut flower to arrange in vases and display indoors. This rose should be planted on 7-foot centers to allow for adequate air movement. Belinda's Dream also makes a beautiful large container planting.

My wife and I have discussed growing roses in a prominent sunny spot near the front of our house. But I had resisted planting roses in that spot due to the need most rose varieties have for frequent spraying to control blackspot.

I was also looking for a bush or shrub rose that would blend in well with the nearby shrubs. A few years ago, I met a rose variety that changed my mind about just how disease-resistant a rose can be, and I found my landscape plant!

Dr. Brent Pemberton, a rose researcher with Texas AgriLIfe Research in Overton, has been participating in a Texas A&M rose breeding program seeking superior roses that are highly resistant to black spot for the development of new varieties. If you are interested in learning more about this program, you can visit http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/rose/in-dex.html

There was one rose among many varieties in a block planted in the field at the North Farm in 1998, where no fungicides were used in order to identify any varieties that exhibit superior disease resistance. Three years later, the plot was abandoned (and another new plot established), the roses left to fend for themselves against tall weeds, drought, heat, humidity, and black spot.

It was during a summer Horticulture Field Day that I noticed from quite a distance, among a bunch of dead rose bushes, several dark green roses that still had all of their leaves. But even more impressive were the large, fluorescent, cherry-red blooms covering the bushes. The bushes stood out like beacons among the dead.

Pemberton informed me that those were "Knock Out'' roses. Right away I thought, "A very well-deserved name!"

In 2000, "Knock Out'' was designated an All-American Rose Selection, and heralded as a breakthrough shrub-type rose with superior disease resistance. Since then, "Knock Out'' has taken the gardening world by storm.

In 2004 it was selected as an Earth Kind Rose and Texas Superstar by Texas A&M. It can be seen in rose gardens and landscapes all across the United States. It is prominently displayed in a couple of beds in the Tyler Rose Garden, and a very large mass planting in the Fort Worth Botanical Garden is a spectacular site.

Like any rose, "Knock Out'' does best in full sun, at least 8 hours of direct sunlight, although it will tolerate less sun. It gets about 3-4 feet tall, and 3-feet wide, and blooms from spring, throughout the summer, and right up to first frost. Its 3-inch, cherry red flowers, with 5- 9 petals, are shown off by dark green, healthy leaves. This rose will need no fungicides to prevent blackspot.

These two roses are just a few of the many landscape plants designated as Texas Superstars. Learn more about the program and the plants from Dr. Jerry Parsons, one of the main persons behind Texas Superstars, at the East Texas Spring Landscape & Garden Conference this Saturday.

His will be one of several presentations geared for home owners and gardeners. Registration at the Tyler Rose Garden Center begins at 7:30 a.m., and the programs gets under way at 8:30 a.m., and continues through lunch (provided) until 3:30 p.m. Visit exhibitors during breaks and come away with knowledge you can use. The agenda is available online under "Events & News" at: http://easttexasgardening.tamu.edu

Keith Hansen
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