‘Home Run’ and ‘Pink Home Run’ are two new roses that will be available in the garden centres this spring.

 

By everything I have read about them they should be a good rose for gardeners who may want to grow roses but do not have the time to spend on maintaining a rose bush. These roses offer continuous flowers for very little effort. They claim to be disease resistant as they are resistant to powdery mildew, and highly tolerant to downy mildew. Also resistant to black spot which can all plague roses. This will mean that there is no need to treat these roses for any of these problems.

 

Another chore that is taken off the list of looking after roses is dead heading, which is removing the old finished flowers after they have finished blooming. Dead heading is done on many flowering plants to promote new flowers, because if the old flowers are not removed they will form seeds, which takes away the plants energy from producing new flowers. On the ‘Home Run’ roses deadheading is not necessary and in fact could deter new blooms from forming. This is because the new rose buds form right by the old finished flower. If you remove the finished flower you could also be removing the new flower bud.

 

Home Run and Pink Home Run roses are a hardy zone 4 which means that they may require some extra mulching over the winter months, depending on where you live and where the rose is planted. Many local gardeners prefer to add some extra winter mulch to all their roses regardless if they are even a zone 3. (The lower the zone number the hardier the plant. Prince George is generally a zone 3 with some areas being a 4).

 

Plant these roses in a sunny location that receives at least 6-8 hours of daily sun, in a well drained soil. To help with good root formation sprinkle a little bonemeal in the hole before placing the plant in the hole and then plant.

Water it in well and continue to water it throughout the season until it becomes established. It is best to water in the morning, and to water the soil surrounding the plant to prevent getting water on the foliage.

 

Adding some mulch such as bark around the base of the plant will help retain moisture, and will lessen how often you need to water. One other water tip is to water deep and less often. Fertilize periodically with a good quality rose fertilizer such as 6-8-12 following the directions. Prune them in the spring to maintain their shape and keep them tidy.

 

Home Run and Pink Home Run are a tidy rounded bush, growing, 1-1.2 meters tall and wide. The single flowers have five petals and grow in clusters with an average of 5 flowers per cluster. Home Run produces fragrant, bright red flowers that are attractive against the glossy green foliage. Pink Home Run, have rich pink flowers. They are both early bloomers, claiming to be the first roses to bloom in the spring. Once they start blooming they don’t stop, claiming to produce new flowers daily throughout the summer until frost.

 

The Home Run roses can be used in the landscape as a mass planting, mixed, borders, or on its own. This easy to care for and easy to grow rose will find its place in many landscapes if it lives up to everything it claims to be!