Plant Floribunda Roses For All-Season Blooms

This Latin name translates as "many flowered" or "abundance of flowers" and the Floribunda rose surely lives up to its name. These roses are among the most colorful of the modern roses. Their blooms are arranged in low-growing large clusters.

Many consider the Floribunda a better variety than the Hybrid Tea, their ancestor, largely because of its capacity to continue producing blooms over an extended period of time. Furthermore, they are much more hearty and resilient than Hybrid Tea roses.

Floribundas are available in a vast array of colors and styles and can grow as high as 4 feet. They are often grown for display rather than as a cut flower. Planted as an elegant landscape bush, they can produce abundant color for many seasons.

The Rob Roy has become very popular in recent years. It blooms in a deep red color and proffers a sweet soft scent. As long as there aren't any severe frosts, they will bloom continually from spring until late fall. They produce an extremely bold showing when planted in large clusters.

Planting New Roses

Select an ideal sunny garden location and get your soil ready. Active blooming roses flourish best in a few inches of organic mulch. For best results, enhance it with a rich compost of manure or other organic matter.

You should provide generous spacing in which they can grow. Arrange your bushes from 18 to 24 inches apart from one another.

Dig a hole that will be deep enough for roots to spread without any restriction, about 8 to 10 inches deep. Adding bone meal to the soil is another good idea, as it is high in phosphates.

Now you're ready to plant. Remove each rose bush from its container and place gently into the ground. Backfill the hole with loose soil. Then, using your palm, pack any loose soil firmly. Repeat this process for every plant.

When you're done, water every new plant thoroughly. Continue watering your new roses on a daily basis for the first 2 weeks. After that, a weekly irrigation is usually enough.

Maintaining Healthy Roses

Late winter is the best time to