Are you choosing roses grafted onto fortuniana rootstock?

I can offer nothing but encouragement, I know there are several contributors to this forum who are Floridians AND grow beautiful roses despite challenges. They will be showing up soon I'm sure. Good luck.

Jane

Hi John, I am in central FL and I face the same challenges like you. I tried growing own root roses and grafted ones but eventually they died or were really struggling. I would amend the soil with lots of compost and garden soil but they never made it. So, this year I decided I will grow mine in pots, and so far they have been doing very well. I know this may not really be a solution as you may want to grow yours in the ground. Hopefully, others can offer some help. Good luck.

Michelle.

Hi John, I'm no where close to Florida. They do have many sites on line that have lots of rose growing information. Everything from universities to rose societies. Malcom Manners has a bog dealing with roses. He is a renown rose expert I guess you'd say.

Many who garden with sandy soil have to deal with root nematodes. That kill roses unless they are grafted onto fortuniana rootstock. You may already know that. I hate to sound simplistic. There is a way that many grow roses in Florida you just need more information. There are of course roses that do better in your climate than others.

Anyway once you google around about growing roses in Florida. One site will lead to another until the next thing you know you will know enough to help others.

Hi John, I am in Broward and I have roses. This sounds like an Agriculture Anonymous meeting. Roses can be challenging. If it's not a fungus, it's a bug. And it could be your soil needs ammending or maybe not enough fertilizing. There is member, Kublakan, that also is in Broward. ( Can't remember if a he or she so I tried to make this neutral. My apologies to Kublakan.).

The member posted extensive pictures of their roses. They are gorgeous and I had a serious case of rose envy. They follow a schedule and that helps keep the roses so beautiful. So, following their lead, I am paying more attention to spraying for either normal rose black spot and making sure I don't have Thrips. I lost 4 roses to thrips last year. I didn't know what they were until I came here. I also had them on my arbicola hedge. This year I started a drench program before they could take up residence. Fingers crossed, so far so good. Anyway, I have roses from the big box HD and Pop's. So, you could try using the search button. I know there are many threads dealing with roses and South FLA..

Is there something you are noticing, like yellowing or dead canes? Do you have any pictures?

After growing roses in Central and SE FL for 40 some odd years, my first question for you is, where have you been getting your roses? Everyone who grows successful roses in Fl. will be able to help out with that one answer.

I'm in Alachua County and have mainly gotten my roses from HD or a local nursery. I get a lot of yellowing leaves and canes that turn black and die. I try to water daily and fertilize as suggested on the fertilizer package.

Home Depot and Lowe's manly sells roses on Dr. Huey root stock or when they have the "Kords" roses in decent size pot's (usually about $20) they are grown on their own roots. These are the two worst ways to try and grow roses in FL. Do yourself a HUGE favor and google up The Ocala Rose society or The Gainsville Rose Society or even The Jacksonville Rose Society. These society's have some great people in them with a ton of great advice on how to grow great roses in your area. Any kind of rose you can think of, they will be able to help you with. Be aware. There are a few roses that flat will NOT grow in FL.

https://nelsonsfloridaroses.com/rose-care/

They are in your neck of the woods. They do a tour of sorts,if you call ahead, on Saturdays I think. If you want appropriate FLA roses, I would start there. The 4 I bought last fall came from there.

Hi John, I'm in Alachua county also. I've been growing roses for many years. To be successful here you need to select the right varieties. If you do not want to spray for diseases or pests then you probably will want to try Antique roses. They come in many shapes and sizes, Here in Alachua County, if you pick the repeat bloomers, you should have flowers for about 9 months. Rose petals nursery has antique roses and a display garden and is located between Gainesville and Newberry. All the roses that I grow are on their own roots, not grafted.

The way I grow roses is first to enrich the top 4" of soil with as much organic material as I can afford. Some of the local nurseries sell bulk potting soil and will deliver for a reasonable fee, don't buy topsoil, it can be mostly sand. Second I mulch to keep the soil cool, moist and preserve the organics in the soil. I use 3-4" of pine bark mulch. I water newly planted roses every day for about 3 weeks, I cut back the water to 3x a week in the summer and 2x a week in the winter. I fertilize regularly.

It's the heat combined with the high humidity. If you are a real rose enthusiast Florida is not a good place to live! If you really want to try growing roses anyway, you should stick to the most proven disease-resistant varieties.