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Where's Fred? Talking roses — and bargains

Tips on buying bare-root roses now in stores

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED JAN 4, 2021

Fred Hoffman now devotes

his time to his "Garden Basics"

podcast. Hear him talk this week

with Debbie Arrington about

bare-root roses. (That's one of Debbie's
prize-winning roses, Marilyn Monroe,
below. Photo by Debbie Arrington)

Where’s Farmer Fred? And are those plastic-wrapped bare-root roses really a bargain?

Both those topics converge this week on “Garden Basics with Farmer Fred,” longtime Sacramento radio host and lifetime master gardener Fred Hoffman’s new weekly podcast.

With the new year, Hoffman left the airwaves and his “Get Growing” (on KSTE) and “KFBK Garden Show” to devote more time to his podcast. And coincidentally, "Debbie Arrington of Sacramento Digs Gardening" is this week’s guest, talking about bare-root roses. Listen to that conversation here:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1004629/7084228-068-rose-basics-the-future-of-gardening Peach colored rose

“People can also listen to it at the podcast service of their choice,” Hoffman said of his podcast. Links to those podcast services can be found at his buzzsprout page. (Find it here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1004629 .)

As for plastic-wrapped bare-root roses, sometimes they are a good deal, especially on older non-patent varieties such as Queen Elizabeth or Mister Lincoln. Those are named roses that were originally introduced more than 27 years ago and are no longer under patent. That means sellers can offer that rose for sale without paying royalties to the patent holder, which usually means a lower price to the buyer.

Look for “Grade 1” roses. Whether plastic-wrapped or offered in sawdust-filled bins, those bare-root roses meet certain standards of size and robustness established by the American Association of Nurserymen.

This grading system only applies to field-grown, grafted roses that are at least 2 years old. Considered best, the Grade 1 standard for hybrid teas includes at least three strong canes (with two at least 18 inches long), well-spaced around the graft. Grade 1-1/2 roses have two strong canes. Grade 2 roses are overall smaller in size with at least two canes, 12 inches long. (They’re the runts.)

Will a Grade 2 bare-root plant become a Grade 1 bush? It depends on several factors, but likely that smaller plant will take a few years to catch up (if ever). Remember: It originally grew under the same conditions as those Grade 1 bare-roots and didn’t develop then. Will it be different in your garden?

“One should consider the purchase of a rose as carefully as one would any other piece of merchandise,” wrote Mark Whitlaw in Rose magazine, the official publication of the American Rose Society. “Would you accept a factory second if you were purchasing a fine piece of furniture?”

Regardless of grade, what you do with that rose when you first get it home is the same: Re-hydrate it. Bare-root roses are dug up in October or November. Their roots have been wrapped in plastic (or stuck in sawdust) for months. They need water – now!

Before planting your new rose bush, soak the roots in a bucket of water overnight. That will help refresh the bush and get it ready for its new home in your garden.

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Keywords:

nurseries gardening Sacramento American Rose Society roses Farmer Fred Hoffman podcasts winter gardening bare-root plants January

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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3

November still offers good weather for fall planting:

* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.

* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.

* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.

* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.

* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.

* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.

* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.

* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.

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