What is the Growing Cycle of Roses?

Roses produce seeds, but most gardeners plant them from starter plants.

Many gardeners love roses because of the color they bring to the yard and their usefulness as attractive cut flowers. Roses are perennial plants, meaning that they can live for multiple years.

Origins

As with other flowering plants, roses originate from seeds. Rose seeds come from the plant's flowers. However, roses typically are planted from starter plants during the spring or occasionally the fall.

Growth

Rose plants grow during warm spring and summer temperatures. Young rose plants sometimes do not flower during their first year of life, and some flower only once per year during late spring or summer. Some flower twice during the spring and fall, while others flower continuously throughout the warm season.

Dormancy

Roses become dormant during the fall and winter when temperatures cool. Their flowers die as the weather cools, and the plants do not grow until the weather begins to warm again in the spring.

Considerations

Gardeners should not prune roses after October, according to the National Gardening Association. Most types of roses are pruned to thin them out and remove damaged canes during the spring. Dead flowers are removed after they bloom. Since roses do not grow during winter, they should be fertilized during the spring rather than late fall or winter.

References

• Pima Community College: Flowering Plant Lifecycle (Brief)
• National Gardening Association: Planting Roses
• National Gardening Association: Fall in the Rose Garden
• National Gardening Association: Rose
• University of Illinois Extension: Plant Parts - Flowers

Resources

• University of Illinois Extension: Life Cycle
• University of Minnesota Extension: Bloom Pattern
• University of Illinois Extension: Pruning Dead-Heading