Plant and Smell the Roses
April 28th, 2026
Roses are timeless and come in a variety of colors and growing habits to fit the personality of your landscape. Here at Evergreen of Johnson City garden center, we carry roses from premium growers such as David Austin, Knock Out, Weeks Roses, Bloom-ables, and Star Roses and Plants.
PLANTING:
To plant roses, Chris our Tree and Shrub Manager suggests following these 6 easy steps:
- Pick a spot that gets 6-8 hours of sunlight.
- Dig a hole not much deeper than the pot and a few inches wider than the width.
- Amend your soil as needed. If you live in the Johson City area, you may be familiar with good-old Tennessee clay. You can create a 50/50 blend with your original soil and soil conditioner/compost to loosen up the soil, add aeration, and drainage.
- Massage the roots of the plant and place in the hole so that the top of the plant is at ground level.
- Fill in soil around the plant with your soil blend and use an amendment such as Hi-Yield Bone Meal or Espoma Organic Bio-live to help establish your plant.
- Water around the base of the plant for a couple of weeks until it gets established. Use Ferti-lome Root Stimulator when watering once a week for 4 weeks to set yourself up for success.
PRUNING:
As a general rule for bush roses, late winter around late February/early March is the time to prune. Pruning signifies to the plant that it is time to put out new growth, which is why to avoid doing it in the fall/winter for most roses. For climbing roses, you want to prune lateral stems back in the early spring but not your main stems. A good practice when pruning any plant is to sanitize your tools in-between use to prevent spreading disease. Don’t hesitate to reach out or stop by with your pruning questions to promote abundant growth!
PREVENTITIVE CARE:
Chris, suggests using Ferti-lome Fungicide 5 as foliage comes out in the spring to boost disease resistance. An early and heavy application of Fungicide 5 will offer preventative care for black spot and powdery mildewy. You can also use Ferti-lome 2-N-1 Systemic to help ward off these diseases with the additional benefit of insecticide. Check out our blog on this Ferti-lome 2-N-1 to find out more about this systemic product.
FERTILIZERS:
As for fertilizer, you can do two applications with rose food in the spring. The first application should be done pre-blooming and a second after the first wave of blooms. While roses are heavy feeders, these two applications will be plenty throughout the season. In late summer, roses are preparing for dormancy and fertilizer isn’t suggested. Fertilizers we stock at our garden center in Johnson City include Ferti-lome Rose Food, Mills Magic Rose Mix, Down to Earth OMRI Rose and Flower Mix, and Espoma Organic Rose-tone.
Evergreen of Johnson City is proud to be your local plant nursery offering a wide array of roses known in the industry for their beauty. Call or stop by to see our current selection. We also offer landscaping installations in and around Johnson City if you just want to sit back, relax, and watch your flowers grow!
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