Question
I would like to start growing roses- I live in CT. When is the best time to start them and how do i go about planting? I woulld like to put a couple of bushes on the side of my house that has sun all day. I was wondering if that was too much sun for them. How do I go about preparing the area and the soil? Could you give me ideas on books to read up on this. Thanks for your help.
                        Michelle

Answer
Here is the local rose societies web page for your area. It contains a lot of good information pertaining to your climate. It also tells you about any problems.
http://www.ctrose.org/rose_culture.htm
The best rose book to start with, because it is simple and straight forward, is Orthos All About Roses and the price is very reasonable. Most garden centers or book stores carry it.
http://www.growinglifestyle.com/prod/0897214285.html
Roses need about 6 hours of full sunshine to do well. Just watch out that you don't plant them too close to the base of the house as roses hate warm roots. The cement in the house foundation will keep the roots too warm. Try to plant them about 3 feet away from the house foundation. Here are a few really good healthy, disease free roses to start with.
Elina...soft yellow
Frederic Minstral...pink and very fragrant
Tiffany...pale pink and very fragrant
Sunset Celebration...shaded soft orange
Mister Lincoln...rich red, very fragrant.
Hope this helps. Lynnette