I don't know, Rose. It depend on where you are gardening and on the plant. In this garden, it takes four years for a rose to establish itself because I am gardening in poor soil. No, I don't baby my roses. I don't believe in that. They don't get over-fed and this is a no spray garden. The reason I haul in the mulch is to maintain soil moisture in the high summer temps.
If a rose is disease prone, it doesn't belong in this garden. If it can't handle the heat, it doesn't belong in this garden. I know enough about roses that I am pretty good at selecting the plants that have a good chance of working, so I don't have to discard too many because of bad choices, but there have been a few.
Once a rose reaches maturity, it is so much easier to care for. The only thing I do differently in this garden is I give it an extra year to reach maturity. A rose can look like it is just sitting there doing nothing much for the first couple few years, but it is busy growing roots. Then WOW ! I jumps up and says, "Hear I am !"
I don't have a mow and blow guy, a tree trimmer or a housekeeper. It's just me. So, for me, the garden has to be fun. That's why I am making my change of direction. The roses will always call my name first, but I can learn to love other plants. I just want to have fun in the garden.
