Those of us that are dreamers and passionate learners know what it’s like to have a feverish dream or desire to do something, even if it makes little sense on paper. As they will say, “There’s a reason people don’t do these things.”
Growing roses as a cut flower on our midwestern Illinois flower farm is one of those feverish dreams of mine. It’s something I can see in my mind, and I’m driven by some invisible force to pursue this dream, even though there are many, MANY cut flower crops that pencil out to be much more lucrative in the long run.
Did you know there was a time here in the United States where we actually grew most of our own cut flowers? Shocking, I know. There’s a piece of me that longs to return to that time. And that’s what the “Slow Flower” movement is all about!
The trouble is that for flower crops, like roses, we grew many acres of them “under glass” because of our climate here in the Midwest. Growing roses in greenhouses extends the growing season. Of course, like any confined and controlled environment, this can lead to a host of issues like increased pest and disease pressure. Were the roses grown in the U.S. back in 1900 better for us than they are now as far as pesticide exposure is concerned? It’s probably a toss-up.
I first began collecting roses because I wanted to start an heirloom rose nursery. I still do. Nothing that I’ve done in the last few years (except for killing a few roses) has derailed me from that plan so far. Building up nursery stock is a slow process. First you have to acquire the plants, then you have to plant them in the ground, then they need to grow enough so that there’s enough plant material to take cuttings, and then you have to take the cuttings and watch them either die or grow.
Once they start growing, it will probably take a year before they’re ready to sell. I’m still in the “plant and let them grow in the ground” phase. 2025 will be the first year I’m able to take a fair amount of cuttings.
From this initial phase of collection, it occurred to me that it would be really awesome to provide locally grown roses to the St. Louis region. If I could figure out what roses were best to grow in my climate, I could not only help educate home gardeners about the best roses to grow, but I could also provide garden roses–big, beautiful, and FRAGRANT–for top-notch bouquets.
And so, the Rose High Tunnel Project was born. (Well, I did plant the roses in the field on our second property first; that didn’t go as planned, so I moved them to the tunnel.)
We penciled out the costs and if all my calculations are correct, we should be able to turn a profit from the roses. Here’s a breakdown of where my head is at:
- Rose stock – $13/plant (average)
- Rose stem production – 15-20 stems per plant
- Price per stem – $3.00/stem
The best place to start when researching roses as cut flowers is to read about how they used to grow roses way back when. I got my hands on a copy of Commercial Rose Culture by Eber Holmes originally published in the early 1900s, with subsequent editions that followed. This guide has been invaluable.
Also, if you’re wondering how the heck I’m able to get roses as cheap as $13 per plant (some as low as $9/plant depending on the variety!), know that I had to order these roses in bulk. This means I had to order between 100 to 125, depending on the company (Weeks Roses = 100, Star Roses = 125, as of this time). If you’re wanting to experiment with roses on your farm but don’t want to spend $30-40 per bare root rose, consider buying in bulk or waiting until those end-of-the-season sales where you may be able to snag some varieties for as low as $17-20 per plant.
Preparing the Rose Beds
I prepared one of my beds in my unheated 30’ x 96’ high tunnel (plastic-covered hoop structure). We planted the roses first and then laid cow manure compost around them. There are three lines of drip irrigation tape laid on the bed that will water the roses. For now, I have been hand-watering because I’m not done planting and repairing the lines (I’ve used this same tape for a few years).
I planted my roses close together (about 18 inches apart) in two rows. They are grouped by variety, but for many plants I only have 3 of each variety, so there’s a lot of variation in my 80 foot long rose bed.
I sprinkled sweet alyssum seeds (Lobularia maritima) between the roses to act as a groundcover to prevent weeds and to deter pests with their heavy scent. There was some white clover that sprouted in the compost, and I have also left that in there to act as a ground cover and potentially fix some nitrogen into the soil. So far, this combo has been effective. I still have to weed, but not near as much as I would have had to if I had left the soil bare. I also inter-planted some old garlic cloves that were sprouting in the basement as a pest deterrent as well.
High Tunnel Culture Observations (so far)
What I’m seeing right now is that the aphids are not bothering the roses like I thought they would. I typically have an aphid and thrip problem in the tunnel in Spring, but it appears the aphids have decided to congregate around my other crops like my chrysanthemums. I also have a patch of stinging nettle that popped up in one of the tunnel rows that I have left in order to harvest and make nettle extract fertilizer from, and the aphids are attracted to the nettles over the roses, too.
From these observations, I think these things are something to think about if you are wanting to be spray-free. What I’ve noticed with the chrysanthemums is that, yes, at first, they were riddled with aphids, but shortly after that the amount of ladybug larvae I saw was amazing. After a few weeks, I haven’t seen hide nor tail of the aphids.
The problem is the solution. A large infestation of aphids gives the “good bugs” plenty to eat. And because the aphids were infesting crops like nettles and chrysanthemums, which are naturally of hardy stock (nettles are basically a weed) and/or not needed this time of year (in the case of the mums), the roses inter-planted with sweet alyssum have been largely unaffected.
Rose Varieties Worth Planting as Cut Flowers
There are some standout varieties that have come forward already. As of right now, in the first season and having been freshly planted, the varieties that I can tell are going to perform well are:
- Mother of Pearl
- Dee-lish
- Hot Cocoa
- Pope John Paul II
- Distant Drums
- Koko Loco
I’m having a hard time trying to decide the best way to prune the roses for cut flowers. Out in the field, I have some varieties of ‘Earth Angel’ and ‘Princess Charlene de Monaco’ that I pruned short this year, but the Earth Angels have only grown many short stems instead of a handful of long, thick stems.
Another thing to consider when growing roses for cut flowers is varieties that are considered floribundas or floribunda-like definitely need to be disbudded early, but it is hard to disbud because what if a florist would like more than one bloom? But, all things considered, I think disbudding is the way to go. By pinching off the side buds, you allow the center bud to receive all the energy. I need to not second guess myself and do the disbudding.
Related: What the heck is a floribunda rose? The Rose Guide will answer that for you!
But after they’ve bloomed, I’m still struggling with the balance of how far to cut down to ensure long, strong stems for the next flush of blooms without damaging the plant too much by removing too much foliage.
Long story short, I still have some learning to do when it comes to growing roses as cut flowers commercially. Each day I am learning.
If you’re interested in following along with the Rose Tunnel Project, you can watch the videos where I discuss the background of my cutting rose patch and how I’m proceeding forward in order to grow the highest quality blooms with minimal intervention.
