Who said you can’t Grow Roses in Florida?

Now that the weather is cooler you'll notice the rose blossoms are larger and more beautiful. In the summer heat they look dwarfish and stressed, but then again, so do I :-).

You’ve probably heard many newcomers adamantly state that, “You can’t grow roses in Florida!” Roses may be a little more challenging in our zone 9 climate but it is possible to grow them if you know the TWO BIG SECRETS to success.

The FIRST BIG SECRET is rootstock. It seems boring and unnecessary but it’s of the utmost importance when it comes to growing roses in Florida. There are two kinds - fortuniana and Dr. Hughey. If you buy a rose that isn’t grafted onto one of these rootstocks, you might as well bury your money because it won’t last long in our heat.

The SECOND BIG SECRET is the variety. Choose roses that tolerate our hot and humid climate. You’ll enjoy more success and your roses will be happy, too. And, after all, a happy rose leads to a happy rose grower. :-)

Fortunately, there are plenty of rosarians in our area who have already done the hard work for you. So whether you prefer to grow hybrids or antique (a/k/a vintage or old-fashioned) varieties, start with their list of favorites, and then take their well-seasoned and hard-earned advice. You’ll save a lot of time and money!

Central Florida Rose Society
Central Florida Heritage Rose Society
Gainesville Rose Society
Orlando Area Historical Rose Society
Sarasota Rose Society
Tampa Rose Society
Volusia Rose Society - Jeanne Savoie, President Deland FL jeanne617@yahoo.com (386) 734-9371

These TWO BIG SECRETS are 90% of what you need to know to grow roses in the Sunshine State. The other 10% is - soil preparation, location, fertilizer, pesticide, water and mulch.

So why not give it a try!

Favorite roses growing in my yard are knock-out (picture shown above - great color & great performers), 4th of July (a climber) and a handful of antiques - Louis Phillippe‘, Sombreuill and sea foam. My best tip is adding coffee grounds and Epsom salts to the soil. If you are an experienced rosarian or a newbie, we welcome your best “tried & true” tip and a list of “favorite” roses growing in your garden.

A Walk in Monica Brandies Garden


Florida garden writer Monica Brandies is hosting an open house (or should I say "garden") on November 7 and 14 from 10 am to 1 pm. Free cuttings, autographed books, and plants for sale. Enjoy some herbal tea and pommelo tasting. 1508 Burning Tree Lane, Brandon.

Monica has written a number of helpful books for Florida gardeners. Landscaping with Tropical Plants and Shade Gardening for Florida are two of my favorites that I refer to often when selecting plants for my shady garden. The next book on my list to buy is A Cutting Garden for Florida.

She is a wealth of information, and when we chatted online recently she agreed to share some information we may not know about her.

Q - What person or event brought you to gardening?
A - Probably my Aunt Joan who always grew flowers and made bouquets for every room in the house, but other people, too.

Q - What was the first plant you grew?
A - Zinnias and peanuts in a victory garden. I don't remember how they did, but I had measles and Mama had blankets at all the windows, but I kept peeking out to see my seeds sprouting and drove her crazy.

Q - What 3 landscape plants are proven winners in your central Florida garden?
A - Many, many, many: citrus, herbs, aloe, cassia, croton, pentas, firespike, tunnera alata and T. Ulmifolia (yellow alder), shrimp plants, all gingers, especially pinecone, butterfly and false blue ginger, cordylines, especially Dr. Brown, silver dollar eucalyptus, nasturtians, salvias, bromeliads, queenswreath vine, plumbago...I could go on forever.

Q - What's your favorite blooming plant?
A - I love them all, but pentas is one of my favorites because it blooms 365 days a year and brings butterflies.

Q - What fruit plant/tree is a must-have in your garden?
A - Citrus. I have about 15 different kinds and keep looking for space to plant more. We make juice from November to June and eat many, especially the Poncans out of hand.

Q - What garden tool can you not live without? And why?
A - The snippers in my pocket. I never go out without them. I have overplanted so much that I have to keep trimming constantly, but I don't mind. One of my friends says, "If you have weeds, you don't have enough plants." Of course, I also have to have a hoe, shovel, small hand cultivator, and larger pruners.

Q - What's your best frugal gardening tip?
A - Recycle everything. I do that mostly as mulch and compost, but I also reuse pots, and anything else I can. I think mulching is the best thing anyone can do for any garden, but especially in Florida's sandy soil.

Q - Describe your gardening style.
A - Casual and Natural. Sometimes people are shocked at my jungle, but it suits me. And it takes less time to care for than if it was grass to cut and is much more fun and productive. Much of it is edible.

Other great books by Monica include: The Newcomer's Survival Guide (a must-have for those new to Florida gardening), Xeriscaping for Florida Gardens and Herbs & Spices for Florida Gardens.

Florida Garden Blogs

Fortunately, I just keep coming across more and more Florida gardening blogs. It seems we Florida gardeners were a little slow to start blogging but we’re picking up steam now. Here’s a mixture of 10 very different blogs.

Gardening Under the Florida Sun - The title grabbed my eye immediately. It does make it sound so romantic doesn’t it? Although there’s nothing romantic about gardening in Florida in mid-August :-). Dani, the owner of this blog, grows some great looking vegetables in her central Florida garden.

John’s Bromeliads - If you love bromeliads this is the blog for you. John’s got a wide variety in his Gulf Coast garden and tons of photos on his blog.

Northeast Florida Paradise - This Jacksonville gardener is stretching the limits - but very successfully, I might add - of growing tropical plants in northeast Florida.

I Like Rare Plants - Eric in south Florida has a hankering for the rare and exotic tropical beauties. You can even purchase seeds from his stock.

Liz and the Professor - Her subtitle “ Life is a Breeze in the Florida Keys” says it all. Gorgeous and colorful photos.

Faithie P - Faith who lives in Clearwater is taking a different approach to her garden blog. She’s documenting all the new stuff she learns about gardening in central Florida.

My Edible Yard - Ara is growing and sharing information on her south Florida organic urban kitchen garden.

The Dirt - Co-writers Penny Carnathan and Kim Franke-Folstad of the Tampa Tribune keeps readers posted on the latest “garden” happenings in the Tampa area with their humorous posts.

Florida Friendly Plants - Riverview Flower Farms keeps gardeners updated on the latest and best producing plants for Florida.

Tom’s Digs - Tom MacCubbin, retired Orange county extension agent, continues to mentor central Florida gardeners with some of the best plant information around.

If you’ve got a Florida garden blog that’s not included on our list, please leave a comment with a link, so we can include yours as well.

Is anyone up for a field trip?

It involves plants and lots of them, at that. Penny Carnathan at the Tampa Tribune has arranged for a behind-the-scenes tour of Riverview Flower Farms on Saturday, October 31st.

I’m sure you're all familiar with Riverview Flower Farms. Their plants sit in the prettiest pots at your local H.D., and they have lots of beautiful flowers or colorful foliage. They grow a large variety of Florida-Friendly plants, many of which are my favorites - Purple shower Mexican petunia, bulbine and St. Bernard's lily just to name a few. And they’re always experimenting with new varieties to see what performs best in our sometimes temperamental climate.

See Penny’s blog post for more information and be sure to let her know if you plan on attending.

Upside Down Tomatoes! Yes or No?

Those snazzy upside tomato planters, such as the Topsy Turvy, seem to be all the rage these days when it comes to growing tomatoes. But do they really work?

I purchased a homemade planter for $10 from my local tomato guy , who grows and sells seedlings of 100 different varieties several times each year. He’s a great guy to have in town because I can try different varieties every season. I dropped by his nursery to pick up a Black Cherry tomato but the only ones left were in these upside down baskets, so I decided to give it a try.

His baskets look great and seem to be producing a nice supply of tomatoes. Mine (see photo), however, looks limp most of the time and is a little beaten up by the wind. It also hasn’t set much fruit. One difference is that he had all his baskets in rows together and they were surrounded by a jungle of a garden. My planter is out in the open and doesn’t get much protection from the wind. On a positive note, It will be nice to be able to pick up my basket and bring it indoors once colder weather arrives. That’s assuming it’s still alive by then.

The verdict is still out for me, but I’m strongly leaning toward the traditional method of growing my tomatoes in the ground as my favorite. What about you? If you’ve grown your tomatoes upside down, in a container you purchased or made, leave a comment and, let us know your results.

Preparing for Holiday Blooms

With Christmas only 12 weeks away (Yes, I know no one wants to be reminded of this) it's time to make sure your Christmas cactus' get the care they need in order to bloom for the holidays.

As the days become shorter, it's important for Christmas cactus to get at least 12 hours of uninterrupted darkness. So, if necessary move your cactus to a spot where outside lights will not disturb their internal clock.

Give them one last feeding of fertilizer for the year and water only when absolutely necessary, and you'll be able to enjoy their beautiful blooms during the holidays.

Fun Garden Project

Nancy Swanson, winter resident in Zephyrhills, sent me this photo of her homemade "rock art." She created this particular piece in her Pennsylvania garden where she lives for part of the year. The official name for this piece of art is a Cairn.


According to Wikipedia.org - "A cairn (carn in Irish, carnedd in Welsh, càrn in Scots Gaelic) is a manmade pile of stones, often in a conical form. They are usually found in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops or near waterways."


She created this second piece which is an Inukshuk (created in the likeness of a person). She did a good job, as it really does look like a person.

It's a great idea for a really different piece of natural art for the garden that is easy to create. For Nancy, it was inexpensive because there are plenty of rocks in Pennsylvania, but it shouldn't be too expensive to create one here in Florida. Thanks for sharing it with us, Nancy.

If you have an unusual piece of "garden art" you've created, please email a photo to me and I'll be glad to post it.