Experts can help make you a rosarian

Who can resist roses? Garden roses possess grace and gentle beauty not found in the stiff, long-stemmed florist type. Roses do have a reputation for being difficult to grow, but local experts can show us how to succeed with these beauties.

My own garden has only four roses — all tucked inside the deer fence on the edge of my vegetable garden. By contrast, some rosarians here grow up to 350 bushes or more, adding and deleting frequently. They evaluate yearly to compare notes on what did well and what struggled along. Rose experts look for those with lots of blooms, healthy leaves, good winter hardiness and excellent garden presence. They compare lists of roses that thrive. "Variety selection is most important of all factors," says Don Morrow of Renton, who has grown and judged roses for more than 40 years. He means that of thousands of available roses, you'll succeed by selecting those with local reputations.

Climate is basic. You might have grown up admiring 'Mister Lincoln' or 'Chrysler Imperial,' but neither of these popular fragrant reds will thrive in Western Washington. Our lack of summer heat affects their bloom and longevity. (This is the same reason we struggle to grow good tomatoes.)

Roses require at least two years of growth to settle their roots and begin to reach their potential; It's discouraging if the rose grows weakly or dies altogether before giving its best to the garden. If you're new to rose growing, you'll do best with those listed as proven for Western Washington.

Some categories do better than others. Gardeners in general like the English roses ('David Austin' or 'Harkness'). Species roses such as Rosa rugosa and Rosa glauca settle well into our gardens. If you've got space for them, shrub roses such as 'Sally Holmes' grow easily.

But rosarians get even more specific, listing the particular plants within bigger categories. Here are some that appear again and again on lists of those successful in Western Washington. For the familiar hybrid-tea type, with one large flower at the end of each stem, look for 'Elina' (creamy soft yellow). Morrow says that 'Elina' bore 35 flowers in the first bloom flush last year in his garden. One of my favorites, also highly rated by rose-growers here, is 'Just Joey.' With its 6-inch apricot blooms and clove scent, it's an international award-winner for fragrance in the hybrid-tea type. Red 'Ingrid Bergman' gives both fragrance and large blooms.

Floribunda roses carry many flowers on each stem, so picking a stem is like having one whole bouquet rather than a single bloom. Yellow 'Sunsprite' tops lists for easy growth and disease-resistance. Another fragrance-award winner, 'Sunsprite's' scent reminds me of both sugar and spice together.

'Iceberg,' a pure white often called one of the best 20th-century roses, has flowers resembling gardenias in shape but smelling lightly of honey.

Climbers need no definition, though they range in size from rather tidy 8-footers to scrambling 40-foot tree-toppers such as 'Kiftsgate.' Red 'Altissimo' brings cheers from rose-growers here, with bright, long-lasting flowers in generous clusters. Climbing 'Handel' has multicolored petals, white shading into rose-red.

To find local rose societies, check Seattle Rose Society's Web site, www.seattlerosesociety.org. You can get one comprehensive list, "Roses for Western Washington" compiled by Don Morrow, and distributed free by WSU Extension King County. Send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to WSU King County, Master Gardener Office, 919 S.W. Grady Way, Suite 120, Renton, WA 98055.

Many more roses than those named here will succeed; you'll do best by allying yourself with the experience of local rose-growers and nurseries. Or join the Rose Society and frolic with the national group: The American Rose Society national conference this year meets in Seattle June 21-27, dubbing its gathering "Raindrops on Roses." Little do they know how dry June can be here.

Garden expert Mary Robson, retired area horticulture agent for Washington State University/King County Cooperative Extension, appears regularly in Practical Gardener and in our Saturday home section, digs. Her e-mail is marysophia@olympus.net.