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Are roses a hassle to grow?By Tara McKnight Texas AgriLife Extension Service agent, horticulture, Wichita County Texas Everyone loves to see roses, but most do not want the hassle of growing them. Most people believe that you have to constantly fertilize and spray fungicide for healthy roses. This is not true. There is a class of roses that are designated as Earth Kind roses. Earth Kind is an important designation given to select roses by the Texas A&M University Agriculture program. Earth Kind roses have been through rigorous statewide testing and evaluation by a team of horticultural experts and found to possess a high level of landscape performance and outstanding disease and insect tolerance/ resistance required to for this special designation. Earth Kind roses are among the most thoroughly tested and environmentally responsible plants for use in Texas landscapes. These roses do very well in almost any soil type, from the well-drained acid sands of East Texas to the poorly aerated, highly alkaline clays of central and Southwest Texas. Earth Kind roses are certainly not immune to pest problems. However, their tolerance to pests is so great that they rarely require the use of chemical pesticides. We will be covering the 15 different Earth Kind roses that are currently available. The first that we will cover is Marie Daly. Cultivar Name: Marie Daly; Blossom Color: Pink; Blossom and Fragrance: Semi Double--no fragrance; Blooming Period: May--First Frost; Mature Height: 3--4 feet; Mature Width: 2--4 feet; Rose Category: Polyantha; Growth Habit: Dwarf Shrub. 'Marie Daly' is the perfect rose for the shrinking landscape. You get big rose performance on a small plant that won't fill or overwhelm small spaces. Rosa x polyantha 'Marie Daly' (Marie Daly Rose) is a fragrant, pink flowered sport of the popular polyantha, 'Marie Pavie'. Plantsman Greg Grant identified the sport on his mother's 'Marie Pavie' rose in Arcadia, Texas and the rest is history. 'Marie Daly' is a fragrant, free flowering, pink polyantha. The pink color is deeper in cooler weather and on newly opened flowers. Flowers have a 17 to 25 petal count, buds are long and gracefully pointed and flowers emit a sweet musk fragrance. Foliage is a small-medium size, abundant and dark green. Plants get about 3- to 4-feet tall and wide. Plants have a rounded, uniform shape and the stems are mostly thornless. Plants can be propagated by selecting thornless shoots to root and grow "own roots" plants. This rose is rated for USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 5 to 9. Landscape uses: Plant 'Marie Daly' in full sun and well drained soil. Keep the soil moist during the growing season for the first year for good root development and establishment. Keep a 3 to 4 inch layer of organic mulch around plants during the establishment and thereafter. The plant has good disease resistance. Use 'Marie Daly' as a specimen plant, low hedge, mass planting or even as a container plant. 'Marie Daly's' uniform growth habit makes it an ideal rose for formal gardens or in hedges. Large or small landscapes alike will be enhanced with the addition of this charming, but deceptively tough rose. Watch in the upcoming weeks for more of the Earth Kind roses. Your garden and landscape questions are always welcome. You may either contact me at our County Extension office, 940-716-8610, or by e-mail at tcmcknight@ag.tamu.edu. You are always encouraged to visit the Wichita County Master Gardner website at www.overthegardengate.org. Another great website to visit for very useful garden hints and answers is http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/. This article, along with every article, will also be featured on www.joetomwhite.com 24 hours a day under county agents. 11/3/08 Date: 10/28/08
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