How to grow low-maintenance roses

Have you ever wanted to grow low-maintenance roses? Twenty-six roses have earned the Earth-Kind® designation by Texas AgriLife Extension Service and are worthy of your garden. Rigorous years of field trial data and research ensure enjoyment and help to protect our environment. Research on Earth-Kind® plants started in the 1990’s.

Research rules included: • roses must grow on their own roots, • not receive any deadheading, • minimal pruning, and • have a reduced watering schedule. An Earth-Kind® rose must: • be tolerant of salt, poor soils, heat, drought, wind, or rabbit injury • have a wide range of pH values, • survive winter without protection, • perform at high levels without commercial fertilizer, fungicides, insecticides, or miticides, • not drop more than 25% of its leaves more than once a year, and • no expectation of preventing blackspot or insect damage. For the Rose Reboot of 2025, five new Earth-Kind® cultivars have been announced.



Double-Knock Out (‘RADtko’), Allister Stella Gray, Easy Elegance My Girl (‘BAlgirl’), Crepuscule, and Pink Knock Out (‘RADcon’). More Earth-Kind® roses will be announced in 2026 and 2027. Double-Knock Out (‘RADtko’) has a sweet, fruity fragrance and blooms cherry-red.

Allister Stella Gray is fragrant with yellow clustered blooms and can be trained as a climber. Easy Elegance My Girl is fragrant with deep pink blooms. Crepuscule is best trained as a climber with loosely large blooms that open nearly orange then fading to a rich apricot yellow.

Knock-Out (‘RADcon’) is a bubble-gum pink single petal rose. All these roses should grow well in the Crossroads area. Follow EarthKind® landscaping practices on site, bed prep, and maintenance.

Site: Select an area with 8 hours of direct sunlight that has good air movement over leaves. Make sure any surrounding plants are at least one foot away from the rose bush at maturity. This precaution will help to prevent foliar diseases.

Bed Prep: In sandy or loam soils, add 3 to 6 inches of plant-based compost. In clay soil, add 3 inches of expanded shale and 3 inches of plant-based compost. For raised beds, ensure bed center is higher to help drainage.

Place three inches of organic mulch to provide nutrients to new roses. Be sure the mulch is not too close to the plant. Maintenance: Use drip irrigation and remove any dead, diseased, or broken branches.

Maintain mulch at a three-inch level. Other Information: When first planted keep the soil around the rose moist around a month or until established. These Earth-Kind® roses are found in VEG, Victoria Educational Gardens: Belinda’s Dream, a medium Shrub rose, was honored as the first Earth-Kind® rose.

It is moderately fragrant with large, very double medium pink flowers. Marie Daly is a dwarf Polyantha rose. It is fragrant with medium-double pink blooms.

Souvenir de St. Anne’s is a dwarf Bourbon rose. It is very fragrant with light pink blooms.

Caldwell Pink is a small rose. It is non-fragrant with double carnation lilac pink blooms. La Marne is a medium Polyantha rose.

It has shiny foliage with a cluster of cupped and ruffled single pink with white blooms. Mrs. Dudley Cross is a medium Tea rose.

It is moderately fragrant with pale yellow and pink double blossoms. Mutabilis is a medium China rose. It is non-fragrant with multicolor blooms that darken with age.

Climbing Pinkie is a mannerly climbing Polyantha rose. It has a light fragrance with medium pink blooms. Knock Out® RADrazz is a shrub rose.

It is non-fragrant with cherry- red single blooms. Your Victoria County Master Gardeners invite you to visit VEG today. We challenge you to plant at least one Earth-Kind® rose soon and enjoy its beauty.

You will be glad you did..