A few months ago, we shared the story and photos of a replanting event that took place at Portland’s Peninsula Park Rose Garden. Hundreds of volunteers replanted 3,000 roses in anticipation of the garden’s upcoming centennial celebration. Cascade Minerals was honored to help by donating nearly 2,000 pounds of our all-natural volcanic soil amendment to help get the roses off to a great start.
With the centennial event rapidly approaching (it is scheduled for June 27), it seems like everyone has roses on the brain, including Metro natural gardening expert Carl Grimm who appeared on KATU-TV’s AM Northwest to talk about growing beautiful roses the natural way. We were happy to hear that he mentioned Cascade Minerals by name! Watch the segment for more tips and tricks:
Here are some of Carl’s recommendations for growing roses here in the Pacific Northwest:
- Choose varieties that are resistant to pests and diseases. He mentions a few by name, including: “Pop the Cork,” “Sugarmoon,” “Knockout” and “Flower Carpet.” More suggestions are available at http://pnwhandbooks.org/plantdisease/cultivar-susceptibility-tables/rose-cultivar-resistance.
- Make sure roses get sun and air. Roses need 6+ hours of direct sunlight. They should also be planted with plenty of surrounding space to ensure good air flow.
- Enrich the soil with organic fertilizers combined with a trace mineral source like Cascade Minerals.
- Avoid stepping on the soil as much as possible. Compacted soil causes problems for the roots of rose plants.
If you have more natural gardening questions, visit Metro online at oregonmetro.gov/garden. Give them a call at 503-234-3000 and they’ll connect you to an OSU Extension Service Master Gardener in your county.
