Red roses are the quintessential Valentine’s Day plant. Of course, roses aren’t blooming in February on the island, but there are many red roses that do well on Nantucket.
Of the climbers, Rosa ‘Blaze’ is a standout variety. Introduced in 1932, ‘Blaze’ sports clusters of deep red, semi-double blooms on strong stems. Its leaves are glossy dark green and set off the crimson flowers extremely well. Although it is touted to be disease resistant, like all roses, the foliage can be effected by powdery mildew and black spot late in the season . Luckily, rust doesn’t seem to be an issue for us at the nursery with ‘Blaze’. If many of your roses suffer from rust, you may want to give ‘Blaze’ a try.
Like most modern climbers, this rose is “re-blooming,” meaning that it will have a big flush of flowers early in summer. This initial bloom period will be followed by a few blooms here and there until late summer to early fall. At that point in the season, ‘Blaze’ will have a secondary cycle of blooms, although not quite as magnificent as the first.
TIP: To perform their best, roses require some care. Heavy flowering takes a lot of energy, even for established plants. Deadheading helps redirect energy from fruit and seed production back into vegetative growth. To get the most out of your second bloom cycle, that energy is important. After the first flowers fade, cut all lateral flowering stems back to between four and six inches. This procedure also removes a lot of leaves. With a diminished number of leaves, the rose can’t produce the same amount of food for itself. Give the rose a boost with a fertilizer application at this time, and be sure to give it sufficient water during the dry summer.
We sell Rosa ‘Blaze’ in a variety of sizes to suit every application. We even supply completely trellised roses that have been trained for you.