Gardening Etcetera: Getting your roses to have a healthy start

The roses arrive each year at the plant nurseries in Flagstaff on Mother’s Day weekend, May 9-10 this year. At our elevation of almost 7,000 feet, here are the steps to follow to choose rose varieties wisely, and to plant them well.

The most important step to ensure that your rose will live out its lifespan of 20 years is to always purchase roses that are cold hardy to USDA Zone 5. The USDA Hardiness Zones map indicates that Flagstaff is in Zone 6b. The hardiness designations are based on the average minimum temperature over a span of 30 years. Since an average includes temperatures colder than the average, you need plants that are very cold hardy to withstand those unusually cold years.