How to Grow Hardy Shrub Roses

Roses are one of my favourite flowers, and after a few years of having a couple of varieties of them in our garden, I’ve learned how to care for them well so that they thrive. Let me share with you my tips on how to grow beautiful, hardy shrub roses in your garden that will give you endless blooms!

This post is part of this year’s Outdoor Extravaganza blog hop hosted by Shauna of Satori Design for Living. After you’ve read my post, make sure to hop on over to all of the other plants & flowers themed projects linked at the bottom.

We built our home in 2013, and it wasn’t until 2015 that I dug up some flower beds in front of our home. I found a garden design that I loved, and then I chose zone 3 hardy plants that were similar in size and shape to what the plan indicated. You can read more about that process here.

Here’s how the garden looked right when I planted it in 2015:

And here’s how it looked last summer:

It’s really filled in already, and next to the fluffy peonies, my favourite flowers in here are the row of hardy shrub roses in the front.

I planted two varieties of hardy shrub roses: Morden Blush (pictured above) and Morden Belle, which are a brighter pink and a little taller than the blushes. Through research and advice from experienced gardening friends and family, I’ve learned how to make these beauties thrive.

Here are my hardy shrub rose growing tips:

Water & fertilize the roses carefully when you first plant them

Your shrub roses will need lots of water and fertilizer when you first plant them to help them establish strong roots. You can put some fertilizer right into the hole you dig for your roses when you plant them. Use a fertilizer specifically made for roses plus lots of compost or other organic matter to enrich your soil. Roses love full sun, so plant them on a South-facing spot like mine if you can!

Prune & deadhead your roses to encourage blooming

Pictured above are my roses this year in early Spring. I like to leave them un-pruned over winter because I find the extra stems help protect my rose during our harsh winters. In the Spring, I prune them at a 45 degree angle right down to where I see new growth:

You can also remove any of the stems that are smaller than the diameter of a pencil to promote a strong plant. Roses thrive with a hard prune! It’s also a good idea to “deadhead” your roses throughout their blooming season – that is, remove expired blooms to encourage new blooms. I don’t mind doing this at all because I love to decorate our home with fresh blooms!

Watch for disease

Like any other plant, roses can become diseased, and if you catch the issue soon enough its usually simple to treat with some cleaning, a pesticide or an herbicide. Look for discolouration in the flowers and leaves, and a simple search online should help you determine what you need to do to fix the problem.

If you carefully plant and care for your hardy bush rose, you’ll be able to enjoy its blooms for years to come! I’m so happy with mine, and I can’t wait until they bloom again for us next month.

Now, come have a look at the other plants & flowers projects that my blogging friends are sharing today:

Satori Design for Living | On Sutton Place | City Farmhouse | Maison de Pax

The DIY Mommy | A Pretty Life | Vinyet Etc. | Life On Virginia Street

The Happy Housie | Clean and Scentsible | Casa Watkins Living | Postcards from the Ridge | Finding Silver Pennies