Roses Inc. Banner 
Roses inc Tulsa. Newsletter
Everything Roses Monthly
In This Issue
When to prune
Thoughts of Spring
Join Our List
Join Our Mailing List
February/2013

 

Greetings!

 

I,m Back.  Most of you know that I was out most of last year with a knee replacement gone bad.  I had four knee replacement surgeries in a period of less than a year which made for a very unpleasent experience.  But now I am back and chomping at the bit to be in the gardens again where I belong.  I have missed you all and though I still have some pain with the healing process I will be back in the gardens as soon as we finish potting over 2000 roses this month.

 

I would be amiss if I did not publicly say thank you to our team here at Roses inc. for keeping the business alive and growing while I was out.  By now a lot of you know my partner here at Roses inc, Karen Garden.  If it wasn't for Karen's dedication to Roses inc the business would have not made it through my ordeal.  She litterally  was involved in everything that had to be done.  She worked with the outside crew doing maintainence and took care of the operation here at the nursery among more things than I can count.  She became a partner in Roses inc. last year and a lot of the new and inovative things you see happening here is a reflection of Karen's work.  The fantastic print catolog that was published and the on line catolog are just a couple of her many accomplishments.  If you haven't met Karen please stop by the nursery and say hi.

Karen the Rosarian
Karen Gardner

  

 

When to Prune
Pruning  Don't be in a rush  
 
It has been warm and it has been cold. This is precisely why we do not prune our roses until at least March. If you prune early and we then get a warm snap for a couple of days the roses are apt to break dormancy. Then when it freezes again the new growth will die.  It is a waste of the roses saved nutrients and will actually set the roses back.
  
We start our custom pruning for customers the first of March.  A few years ago we waited for mid March or later but with the warming climate we have began to start around the first of March if the weather cooperates. We have a pruning guide available for $3.00 if you would give us a call or email me at astelljes@cox.net.  We will email it to you or for 50 cents more we will mail you a hard copy. 
  
The pruning you do in the Spring is the most important cut you will make on the rose bushes in the season.  It really surprises me how often it is done wrong.  Pruning like other rose chores is not the same for everybody.  You prune the roses with what you want in mind.  Do you want a lot of small blooms or fewer big blooms?  Is the bush something that can be trellised for height or is it best to keep it small so as not to block a view of the house or driveway?  Which branches should be removed?  Do you have dead canes or disease?  These and more circumstances must be taken into consideration prior to pruning.
  
For the reasons above we have a lot of rose growers call us for help.  We prune nearly 200 rose gardens a year.  I have been pruning roses for over 35 years and it is a part of rose growing that I really love.  I can take a really poor looking bush and make it look fantastic.  Many times I will prune a bush that has one or two canes and by the end of the season it will have 6 or more canes and be beautiful and I can back that claim up with multiple pleased customers.
  
If you would like some help with your pruning this year and are not one of our regular maintenance customers.  Please give us a call at 918-455-7673 or e mail me at astelljes@cox.net and I will add your rose garden to my pruning list for Spring 2013.  The cost is amazing affordable.
  
  Thoughts of Spring
What will you choose
 
   

The time is drawing near for the outside world to come alive with color. A lot of the deciduous trees bloom in February. The blooms are very small and hard to see but they are there. Not just the trees are blooming here at Roses inc. A few of the roses here have started to bloom in the greenhouse and that first bloom always causes a stir of hope for the end of the cold.

 

I am really excited about the variety of roses we have this year. It is the largest variety we have had in recent years. If you haven't looked on line at the list at http://rosesinctulsa.com please do. As always we have added roses after the catalog went to print so you can expect to see even more when the roses are moved to the shelves the second week of April.

If you have some varieties that you really want I suggest that you order them right away. If you want them bare root we will hold them dormant until time to plant in your area or if you want them in bud and bloom we will ship them out to you the first or second week of April or you can save shipping and pick them up here at the nursery. As each order is received we set aside the roses with your name on them so they are held for you until they are shipped or you pick them up. Speaking of shipping. This year we will again be shipping potless when requested. Potless roses save a lot on shipping and we have had great success with sending rose bushes that way. When they get to you after chances of frost in your area have past. You plant just like a bare root with a mound of soil in the bottom of the hole to spread the roots over. The similarity ends there. Finish the job as if they were potted. They bloom almost immediately. Give us a call and let us tell you more about your shipping options. 

  
Preparing to Plant
Now is the time
  
If you are planning to plant some new rose bushes this Spring it is time for you to begin to ready your garden for the new additions.  Below is a list of things to accomplish before they arrive.
  1. Remove all unwanted vegetation from the planting area.
  2. Till or turn the soil.
  3. If soil drainage might be a problem.  You should do a perk test.  Call Roses inc. if you need help with the perk testing methods.
  4. If after the perk test is completed the soil fails the test consider moving the planting to another location or building a raised bed.  Raised beds should also be considered if roots from trees or other nearby planting will be a problem.
  5. Remove soil from several different spots in the garden and mix them well in a bucket. Remove a scope of it and take it or mail it to the local cooperative extension office for testing. This should take a week or so.  Do it now to beat the rush.
  6. Amend the soil per the returned soil test and till in the amendments to thoroughly mix them with the soil. Some of the amendments break down slowly into the soil hence the necessity to do the amending as soon as possible. Test the PH and if necessary add Iron or sulfur to adjust PH down or lime to adjust PH up to 6-6.5
  7. Allow the planting area to set until planting time.
  8. Anytime up to planting the new roses you can kill any new weed growth with Kills all.
  9. Check PH before planting.  If pH is wrong at this time contact Roses inc for information on how to change the PH quickly.
  10. Plant roses using the "How to plant guide" from Roses inc. which you will receive with any rose purchase or request a copy as mentioned above.
I hope you have enjoyed this issue of Everything Roses.  I sure love writing it. 
It is important for me that you know the folks here at roses inc. want you to know that our number one goal is to make sure you have an outstanding rose growing experience. Whether you have one bush or fifty, our number one goal is to provide you with the products and services you need to be successful growing the Queen of Flowers.  We are the only business around that specializes in roses.  We have the largest selection of roses in any one place within the states of  Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas and Missouri.  We do this because our number one concern is to fill a void that we saw in the rose growing arena.  We have the most knowledgeable staff with 3 members of the American Rose Society, a master gardener,one Certified Consulting Rosarians, and 2 licensed pesticide applicators all cumulating in over 60 years of rose growing experience.  We know roses!
Come by and let us make growing roses fun easy for you.
Also I would like for you to share copies of this newsletter with people you know who love roses.
  
Sincerely,
  Mark

Mark Stelljes
Roses inc Tulsa.