Desert Garden Roses

With proper care and maintenance, roses in your desert garden can provide years of beauty and enjoyment.

Roses in the desert? Of course! Roses generally do well in the sandy, well-drained soil of the desert. There are however, some steps the gardener must take in order to establish healthy, beautiful roses.

In this series, we will touch on choosing, planting are care of roses in your desert garden.

The first part of the series, "Roses in a Desert Garden," covers selection of planting locations, care or potted plants, selection and care of bare-root plants, and planting times.

Other parts of the series will include proper planting techniques, transplanting, replacing declining plants, irrigation, soil problems (especially alkaline soils prevalent in the Western regions) use of manure and fertilizer, and pruning techniques.

We'll also discuss insect pests, such as spider mites, aphids and plant lice, and look at several diseases prevalent in roses in desert gardens, such as powdery mildew, canker, cane blight, dieback and crown gall.