Stop To Smell The Roses At The Birmingham Home + Garden Show

In just a few days, an estimated 257 million roses will be sold and delivered to sweethearts across the US for Valentine's Day. According to a survey by the National Retail Federation, 37.8% of Americans will buy flowers for Valentine's Day 2015, spending a total for 2.1 billion dollars.

Image via The Redneck Rosarian

It's safe to say that Valentine's Day is the Super Bowl for roses, and Birmingham's MVP of roses will be at the Birmingham Home + Garden Show to chat about this fantastic flower. Chris Van Cleave, better known to his followers as the Redneck Rosarian, appears on the Fresh Ideas Home Stage on Saturday, February 14 and Sunday, February 15.

Here's a post from his blog, The Redneck Rosarian, about growing roses in Birmingham:

I can hardly believe that it's already February! Luckily, from what I can tell, our garden has not suffered any winter damage. Usually by the end of February, we begin the pruning process. Here in Birmingham which is growing zone 8a, we prune at this time for two reasons:

1. The threat of a heavy frost has usually past and it is safe to do so. By this time any tender new growth would not be damaged.
2. Our annual rose show is held Mother's Day weekend at our Botanical Gardens and we want to have blooms to exhibit in the show. Not so much for a ribbon or trophy (although it would be nice to win) but as a display of what can be grown in this area.

So the preparation process begins:

• Selecting and ordering new roses
• Creating or doing maintenance to garden beds
• Has my soil be tested lately?
• Do I know how to prune my roses?
• Are my pruners and other gardening tools clean and sharpened?

Image via The Redneck Rosarian

To learn more, check out Chris' blog and make sure to see him at the Birmingham Home + Garden Show. The home and garden event of the season takes over the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex, February 12 - 15, 2015. Don't have tickets yet? Get 2-for-1 on Facebook.

FEBRUARY 12 - 15, 2015.
BIRMINGHAM JEFFERSON CONVENTION COMPLEX

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The Birmingham Home + Garden Show: ALL ABOUT THE ROSES

On Valentine’s Day, more than 230 million of them are estimated to be delivered to sweethearts across the world. It’s the single biggest day of the year for the rose.

But why just gaze upon roses once a year – when you can grow your very own to admire in the backyard? It’s easy to grow roses that flourish in the South, according to Chris Van Cleave, aka the “Redneck Rosarian”.

On his popular blog he offers tips, including how to help roses survive the winter:

This year, winter winds are blowing at a gale force in Alabama and the polar vortex of 2014 is taking its toll on my garden. All this cold has me thinking about winter rose care. It is important to remember to trim back your roses to about waist high to prevent winter wind damage from affecting the canes and rocking the rose back and forth, damaging the root system of the rose, which can ultimately kill the shrub. This process should not be confused with pruning which requires a much more severe cut back of the rose. This will merely prevent wind rock from occurring.

Our shrubs of Benjamin Britten, a beautiful orange red David Austin English rose grows quite tall in summer, often reaching 9ft high! This rose is very thorny, so it’s important to “suit up” with long sleeves and gauntlet gloves to complete the task of trimming them down to a good size for winter.

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To see photos and read more of his tips, click here to visit his blog! Or, better yet, come see Chris on the Southern Living Plant Collection Stage at the Show on Saturday and Sunday.

 

BIRMINGHAM-JEFFERSON CONVENTION COMPLEX

  

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