S & J Nursery’s ‘The Fairy’ Rose
for Northeast Florida Gardens
The Fairy Rose Origins:
An heirloom rose, The Fairy is a soft pink polyantha rose with double blossoms that are born on the plant spring summer and fall in the Northeast Florida | Jacksonville and St. Augustine areas.
The blooms may be petite, but they form in large clusters on the ends of branch tips and are so prolific they make a stunning display.
The Fairy Rose Preferred Exposure:
– Full sun, roses will need 6-8 hours of direct sunlight to bloom and perform best in the North Florida/ Jacksonville / St. Augustine area.
The Fairy Rose Soil Preference / Salt tolerance:
– The Fairy roses in North Florida in just about any well draining soil. Add a
healthy shovel full of compost or cow manure to the planting hole when you dig and you’ll love the extra help it gives you as you establish the rose in your gardens landscape.
The Fairy Rose Size Variance:
– The Fairy Rose will quickly reach 2-3 ft high and 2-3 ft wide in the North Florida | Jacksonville | St. Augustine garden area.
The Fairy Rose Growth Habit:
– Compact growth of dense foliage is perfect for masses or groundcover.
The Fairy Rose Growth Rate:
– Extremely quick to establish itself in the landscape and reaches mature size
within the first growing season from a three gallon plant on the next growing season from a one gallon size
plant.
The Fairy Rose Bloom:
– This rose will form clusters of smaller approximately 1″ blooms in waves during late spring summer and fall in the North Florida landscape.
The Fairy Rose Water Requirements:
– Water daily to establish into the landscape and use supplemental irrigation twice a week after that for best results in the landscape when not receiving regular rainfall.
Best Uses For The Fairy Rose :
– Excellent when planted as a single specimen in a perennial border for a cottage garden appearance or when planted in masses for maximum landscape curb appeal.
Care of The Fairy Rose :
– The Fairy Roses can certainly be treated like a fussy hybrid tea rose, but why bother? These hardy little own root roses grow with just the minimal maintenance of a once or twice a year pruning and fertilizing. I Trim mine back pretty hard removing old canes or crossing canes and pruning down to 12-14 inches high each spring and again in summer.
– Amend the planting hole well with compost or composted cow manure when installing roses into the landscape.
– Water every day during the establishment period. See watering your newly planted items for more information.
– They will need good water during the establishment period and bi-weekly
supplemental irrigation particularly in periods of low rainfall.
– Add compost or cow manure yearly as a surface treatment pulling back the mulch and spreading it around under the foliage of the plant on top of the existing soil. don’t forget to re-mulch around the plants to help them stay cool and help them to retain moisture in our hot sunny North Florida
gardens.
– Plants respond well to a mixture of rose food and Milorganite each spring and again in mid summer, sprinkling the fertilizer around the mulch circle underneath the foliage of the plant. I fertilize mine at each trimming.