Are there any blue roses
No true blue rose exist yet. Some roses are sold as blue but are really a lavender colour. Most of these lavender roses are difficult to grow and are quite susceptible to disease. There is no true blue gene in the rose.

Is there a black rose?
No true black roses exist. Rose sold as black ones are really a dark maroon. These roses tend to get their petals badly scorched by the sun.

Which is the most fragrant hybrid tea rose?
In 1961 Dr. James Gambel established a fund with the ARS to encourage the development of fragrant roses. They must have a rating of 8.0 or over and be very fragrant. So far the following have received medals Double Delight, Sunsprite, Chrysler Imperial, Crimson Glory, Fragrant Cloud, Granada, Papa Meilland, Sutters Gold and Tiffany.

What do the different rose colours mean?
Red: Love
White: Innocence
Yellow: Friendship
Coral: Desire
Light Pink: Joy
Dark Pink: Thankfulness
Lavender: Enchantment
Orange: Fascination

How do you cover a bank or a slope with roses?
Roses have been used as ground covers for years as it is the natural way most roses grow. You can use the landscape roses which will throw out long 5 foot canes in all directions or if you have a very large area, you can use a rambler rose and it will grow happily along the ground.

What is the difference between a Landscape rose and a Groundcover rose?
These are two confusing names as no rose will act as a groundcover by killing weeds underneath and all roses can be used in the landscape. Basically they are both smaller rose bushes that are vigorous and have non perfect flowers that bloom continuously. But groundcover roses may only grow about 2 feet high however they will grow to a width of over 6 feet thus covering a lot of ground. Landscape roses aren't new but the name came about as the plants that were used to decorate the sides of highways and would withstand the abuse they must take there. For the home gardener with not much garden space these roses should be accessed on their hardiness and size of growth.

How do you tell the difference between a rambler and a climber?
Basically the difference when looking at the two of them is that ramblers put out many long, thin, flexible, whip-like canes that can be bent, where as climbers canes are shorter, thicker and brittle and will snap easily when bent too much. Ramblers when happy can grow to 30 feet and bloom once with a mass of blooms. Climbers bloom continually but have fewer flowers (although more like hybrid tea shapes) and are usually around 15 feet.

What plants go best with rose bushes?
Roses don't like sharing their space and so the plants close should be low with shallow roots. Plants right near the base of a rose make it harder to water and fertilize and may not want the same conditions. Blue or purple is the colour that is most used as it will blend in with all the colour range of the roses.

How do you dry roses for potpourri?
Roses can be dried whole by simply hanging them up in a warm airy place out of the sun. They should be picked in the morning when the dew has dried on them. Roses need to be dried quickly to preserve their colour. They will shrink a little but will open up more when dried. Another way to dry just the petals is to carefully take off the petals and spread them out on a plate and then place them in the microwave on medium for 1 or 2 minutes. You can also lay the petals out on a clean cloth and place them in a warm area. Reds go very deep and dark, pinks go to a deeper shade and yellows deepen only a little. Mauves and whites can go to a dirty shade when dried.