GROWING ROSES IN THE SHADE

(This article by Al Ford first appeared in the July-August 2001 MRS Newsletter.  With trees in full leaf and cicadas in full throttle, here are some ideas for roses in partially shades areas)

     Most Consulting Rosarians and the literature on rose care recommend that roses be grown under conditions in which they receive at least 5 to 6 hours of sunlight per day. Rose gardens often have a variety of locations in which the amount of daily sunlight differs, sometimes considerably. These areas seem to fall into a number of categories.

1. Full sunlight throughout the day.
2. Full sunlight for approximately half the day.
3. Partial sunlight for a part of the day.
4. Dappled sunlight, where partial shade is provided by trees, vegetation or structures of some type.
5. Complete shade, as for example, under a densely canopied tree.

     It is generally inadvisable to try to grow roses under a densely canopied tree for two reasons. The diminished sunlight, of course, and the competition for moisture. Full sunlight for half of the day or more poses no problem, however, some roses will fare better if not exposed to sunlight for the entire day. That, however, is beyond the scope of this article. Here we are concerned with varieties that seem to do well under conditions described in #3 and #4 above, partial sun or dappled sun. To conclude that roses can not be grown successfully with less than 6 hours of full sunlight is an error and deprives the gardener of the enjoyment and beauty of the rose in shaded parts of their garden.As you might suspect, there is considerable information available on the web on this subject. For example, Kent E. Krugh, a rosarian has done a tremendous job of isolating the names of varieties from the literature and has compiled the data by author and classification of rose. His site can be reached at http://w3.goodnews.net/~kkrugh/ .
     Those varieties of roses acknowledged by two or more authors as “Shade Tolerant Roses” from his listing are shown below. Because of the scarcity of Hybrid Teas and Floribundas, the list includes those mentioned by just one of the sources. Names in parenthesis are alternate names.

     A few gardens of members of the Rose Society tend to confirm some of the choices available for shade tolerant roses and have included others for this area.
      Beth and John Kerr’s lovely rose garden in Monkton, MD, a delightful mixture of Old Garden Roses and Modern Roses, has a variety of sun conditions during the day with some locations of partial sunlight only or dappled sun. Beth recommends a number of varieties for partial sun.

     The garden of Larry and Bonnie Norkitis, located in Essex, MD, is the finest example of a small garden devoted primarily to roses that I have seen. This spring their garden was spectacular in color and in the arrangement of the numerous varieties. Larry is a specialist in Old Garden Roses by knowledge and interest and has a fine collection. There are a number of trees in his garden and many of his roses thrive in less than 6 hours of sun a day. Larry lists as “Shade Tolerant Roses” the following.

Some other varieties that are shade tolerant in your Editor’s garden are:

Should readers know of other varieties for this list, please let your Editors know their names.

-Al Ford, 2001