The professional breeder does not know the term bush rose. Rather, he defines the bushy rose varieties as shrub roses that grow between 80 cm and 150 cm high and are preferably cultivated individually. The bed roses and dwarf roses also belong in this category due to their compact, bushy growth shape, although the boundaries are becoming more and more blurred in view of the abundance of different varieties. Following the care instructions, some of the most beautiful bush rose varieties are presented.
Table of Contents
maintenance
As the proud owner of one or more of these natural beauties, every gardener would like to have their bush roses properly cared for:
- Sunny and airy location.
- Loose, well-drained and nutrient-rich soil.
- Enrich the soil with compost or rose soil.
- Irrigate regularly with water.
- Weed every few days.
- Clean up faded parts daily.
An important basic rule that every rose gardener takes to heart is that a rose should never be planted where a specimen was previously at home. Anyone who does not observe this requirement is punished with a poorly growing bush rose, which dies after a short time.
To cut
Knowledgeable hobby gardeners look to their forsythias when they want to find the right time to cut the bush roses. Once these plants are in bloom and it’s no longer freezing, it’s time to make the cut:
- All frozen, dead branches are cut off.
- Cut inward growing shoots.
- Trim low-growing bush roses to a length of 15 cm to 20 cm.
- Shorten tall shrub roses to 40 cm to 60 cm long shoots.
- Always start the cut just above an outward-facing eye.
- Cut at a slight angle with sharp scissors so that rain runs off well.
- Use only clean, disinfected cutting tools.
- If you use it frequently, sharpen the scissors in between.
- Under no circumstances should you squeeze the rose branches.
- Weak bush roses are pruned more.
- Completely remove shoots that are too tender.
When performing the pruning measure, the gardener always keeps an eye on the desired habitus of the bush rose. The easier the pruning, the bushier and more branched the rose will develop. If a few, but strong shoots are sought, the pruning is correspondingly radical except for two or three eyes. In addition to the annual pruning in spring, it may also be necessary to use rose shears during the year. The experienced rose gardener cuts off withered shoots in summer so that they do not form fruits that rob the plant of energy. In addition, it is imperative to cut off parts of the bush roses that have been infected with fungus as quickly as possible and dispose of them in the household waste. If you hesitate in this case, you not only risk that the diseased rose will die,
Fertilize
A bush rose is not fertilized in the first year of standing. Since the soil at its location was enriched with compost and nutrient-rich potting soil or rose soil before planting, there is enough food available to it during this period. From the second year onwards, fertilize as follows:
- Apply complete organic-mineral fertilizer after the cut.
- Preferably use special rose fertilizer with approx. 50 g per m².
- In the middle of May give another dose of fertilizer with 20 g per m².
- Repeat this dose of fertilizer at the end of June.
- Strengthen winter hardiness with Patentkali in August.
From July onwards, you should refrain from using any fertilizer that contains nitrogen (N). The bush roses continue to grow inexorably, become soft and do not develop any winter resistance. If you don’t want to buy the very expensive special rose fertilizer, you shouldn’t use blue grain as an alternative, because the substances it contains attack the roots of the bush roses. It is better to use good garden compost and horn meal or primary rock meal from basalt rock.
Multiply
Cuttings
The prejudice that growing bush roses is a difficult undertaking still haunts hobby gardeners. The queen of flowers, like most of her common folk, can be potentized by cuttings, resulting in true-root roses
- The ideal time is the summer months up to August.
- Cut a head cutting with 5 eyes and 1 withered flower.
- Start the cut just below an outward-facing bud.
- Remove all of the flowers on it.
- Defoliate two thirds of the lower part and leave 1 leaf to stand.
- Halve the remaining leaf to reduce evaporation.
- Dip the cutting in willow water or seaweed extract.
- Loosen the soil well in the bed at the new location.
- Plant the cutting so deep that only the leaf can be seen.
- Put a water glass or an empty jam jar over it.
- Make sure there is an adequate water supply.
- Ventilate the cover regularly.
- Cover with straw or brushwood in winter.
- After about 3 years, transplant the mature bush rose.
This technique of propagation does not require extensive prior knowledge and has a good chance of success with most bush roses if care is taken to water the cuttings properly. Incidentally, varieties that are marked with a ® on the label may not be propagated yourself.
Finishing
the multiplication of bush roses by grafting, however, is a bit trickier. For this reason, this technique is mainly practiced by professional gardeners and rose growers. However, there is nothing to prevent the adventurous gardener from taking on this challenge. You will need:
- A wild rose as a base.
- A noble twig of the variety that is propagated.
- A grafting knife or other sharp knife.
- Bast band
- Wound sealants
First, the wild rose is planted in the garden where it takes root. Garden enthusiasts might later regret simply buying any wildling, because its importance for the result of propagation should not be underestimated. The base influences the vegetative growth, the abundance of flowers, the life span and the stability of the new bush rose. Only when the wild stock has grown well, the next steps of bush rose propagation through grafting are tackled:
- Cut off any side shoots of the wildling.
- Make a T-cut in the bark 5 cm to 10 cm above the ground.
- Ideally, choose a very smooth piece of bark for the base.
- Loosen the bark with the blunt side of the knife and fold it apart.
- Cut one or two suitable eyes from the noble rice.
- The petioles remain on the buds.
- If possible, do not cut off any wood chips.
- If so, carefully cut off the wood chips.
- Press the precious eye with the grafting knife under the opened bark.
- Connect the treated piece with raffia.
- The noble eye is not covered with the bast tape.
- Seal this area – with the exception of the noble eye – with wound sealant.
- Never touch the interfaces with your bare hand.
The chances of successful rose propagation are higher if this process is repeated with a second noble eye as a reserve. The propagation of the bush roses by grafting is preferably carried out on a warm, cloudy day so that the noble eye does not wither prematurely from blazing sunlight. After a few weeks, the petiole stump falls off the noble eye. This is how the experienced gardener can tell that the refinement has been successful. He cuts off the bast tape because it is no longer needed. When both noble eyes grow, one of the two new shoots is cut out next spring. The part of the wildling above the grafting point is only cut off when a young, strong branch has developed. In order for the new bush rose to branch out richly, the experts advise
Absenker
bush of roses whose shoots grow soft and flexible, suitable for reproduction by Absenker in the spring:
- A 15 cm deep channel is created next to the bush rose to be propagated.
- Before this, the earth is enriched with compost and rose earth.
- The selected shoot has several eyes and is defoliated.
- One eye in one of the leaf axils of the shoot is cut.
- The interface is held open with an inserted match.
- Pull the sinker to the ground, cover it with soil, weigh it down with stones and water it.
- The tip of the shoot must still be visible.
- Moisten the sinker and substrate regularly, but do not soak them.
- Cover with a layer of leaves, straw or brushwood in winter.
The sinker forms its own root system by autumn, but remains on the mother plant until the next spring. Then the young bush rose is strong enough to be cut off with a sharp knife or a groundbreaking ceremony and planted in the new location.
sorts
Bush roses are real multifunctional roses, because they are available with double, half-double and single flowers in a seemingly endless range of colors and shades.
Beetrose ‚Schneekoppe‘
- Growth height up to 100 cm
- Spread 60 cm to 80 cm
- white flowers with a hint of lilac
- Flowering period June to September
Bush rose ‘Bayerngold’
- Growth height up to 60 cm
- Spread 30 cm
- pure yellow, double flowers
- Flowering time from June to November
Buschrose ‚Airbrush‘
- Growth height up to 70 cm
- Spread up to 60 cm
- Flower color orange / yellow / cream
- more often blooming variety
- Flowering period June to September
Beetrose ‚Cherry Gold‘
- Growth height 70 cm
- Width 60 cm
- cherry red double flowers
- more often blooming
- Flowering period June to October
Beetrose ‚Garden of Roses‘
- Height of growth 60 cm
- Spread 50 cm
- cream pastel colored double flowers
- multiple award-winning variety
- in 2011 rose of the year
Bush rose ‘Eifelzauber’
- Height of growth 120 cm
- Spread 70 cm
- double, pastel pink flowers
- robust variety with large flowers
‘Burghausen’ shrub rose
- Growth height up to 200 cm
- Spread up to 80 cm
- deep red flowers with a wavy edge
- broadly bushy, richly branched
Bush rose ‘Grandhotel’
- Height of growth 180 cm
- Width 80 cm
- velvety, blood-red flowers
- more often blooming variety
- upright, bushy growth
Bush rose ‘Snow White’
- Growth height up to 120 cm
- Spread approx. 60 cm
- bright white, semi-double flowers
- tireless bloomer
- has already been named the ‘Rose of the World’ once
Shrub rose ‘Sonnenwelt’
- Growth height up to 130 cm
- Width 80 cm
- bright apricot-colored flowers
- heavily filled with a diameter of 10 cm
- more often blooming variety
Buschrose ‚Fortuna ‘
- Growth height up to 60 cm
- Spread up to 40 cm
- simple salmon pink flowers with white eyes
- profuse floral costume
- more often blooming
- very robust and multiple award-winning variety
Bush rose ‘youth love’
- Height of growth 80 cm
- Spread 40 cm
- deep red, double flowers
- a real classic
- more often blooming variety
- received the gold medal several times
Bush rose ‘Schloss Eutin’
- Height of growth 120 cm
- Width 80 cm
- Cream-apricot-colored, double flowers
- growing upright and bushy
- repeated flowering per season
Strauchrose ‘Candy’
- Height of growth 120 cm
- Spread 70 cm
- amber yellow, double flowers
- Flower diameter 10 cm
- repeatedly blooming
Beetrose ‚Queen of Hearts‘
- Growth height 70 cm
- Spread 50 cm
- salmon-orange, double flowers
- bushy, branched growth
- multiple blooming
Floribunda rose ‘garden fun’
- Height of growth 80 cm
- Spread 40 cm
- double yellow flowers with a red border
- repeatedly blooming
- bushy, richly branched habit
Zwergrose ‘Charming’
- Height 50 cm
- Spread 40 cm
- double pink flowers with a creamy white center
- particularly bushy and compact habit
- more often blooming
Dwarf fairy ‘dwarf fairy’
- Height of growth 40 cm
- Spread 40 cm
- red, beautifully double flowers
- blooming several times
- Gold medal winner 2012 and 2013
Zwergrose ‚Little Sunset‘
- Height of growth 40 cm
- Spread 40 cm
- yellow flowers with a red wavy edge
- heavily filled
- multiple blooming
Conclusion
The history of the rose is closely related to human culture and mythology. The bush roses occupy a prominent position, because given their variety of varieties, uncomplicated care and pleasant cut tolerance, they are very popular with hobby gardeners. How good that, thanks to the lively exchange of information among gardening enthusiasts, the prejudice that the propagation of bush roses is highly complicated and rarely crowned with success has been dispelled. The opposite is more likely the case. If you take heed of the care instructions and tips for propagation presented, you will have a colorful palette of bush roses in your garden within a short time.
