How to Grow Roses: A Beginner's Guide

Type selection is 80% of beginner success

Modern shrub and landscape roses were bred to solve exactly the problems that scare beginners off: they are repeat-blooming, cold-hardy without winter protection in most regions, and resistant to the common rose diseases, so they don't need a spray program.

Own-root landscape series (like the Knock Out family) and the Griffith Buck roses developed at Iowa State University — bred to combine cold tolerance, disease resistance, and abundant flowering — are widely recommended starter roses. Hybrid teas give florist-perfect single stems but demand more feeding, pruning, spraying, and winter protection; save them for year three.

Climbers are their own project — see our separate guide to growing climbing roses if a wall or arch is the goal.

Site and planting

Sun first: a minimum of six hours of direct light a day, and if you must choose, morning sun beats afternoon sun because leaves that dry early get less black spot and mildew. Good air circulation helps for the same reason.

Drainage second: roses will not tolerate soggy soil — roots need air, so avoid low wet spots or improve them before planting. Work organic matter into the planting area.

Planting depth depends on how the rose was propagated. Own-root shrub roses go in at the depth they grew in the pot. For budded/grafted roses, position the swollen bud union by climate: slightly below the soil surface in mild-winter regions, and about 2 inches below the surface in cold-winter regions to protect it from freeze injury (Missouri Extension's guidance across that state's range). Water thoroughly at planting — at least a gallon per plant, letting it drain and repeating.

First-year care

Watering is the main first-year job: a thorough soak every 7 to 10 days during dry weather is sufficient for established beds, with new plants checked more often in summer heat. Always apply water to the soil, not over the plant — wet foliage invites disease.

Hold off on heavy feeding the first season; a spring application once the plant is growing strongly is plenty for shrub roses, and 2–3 inches of mulch conserves moisture and suppresses weeds.

Pruning in year one is just cleanup — remove dead or broken wood and spent flowers. Real structural pruning starts in later years; when you get there, see our rose-pruning guide, and if spotty leaves ever appear, our black spot guide covers the diagnosis and the low-spray playbook.

Sources

Reviewed 2026-07-18. We cite university Extension, government, and established horticultural sources — and never invent pesticide rates or dangerous treatments.

• Iowa State University Extension — Growing Roses in Iowa — Roses need at least 6 hours of direct sunlight a day; shrub/landscape roses are winter hardy, disease-resistant, and grow in a wide range of conditions with minimal care; water thoroughly every 7 to 10 days in dry weather, applied to the soil rather than overhead; Buck roses (Iowa State) combine cold tolerance and disease resistance.
• University of Missouri Extension — Roses: Selecting and Planting (G6600) — Minimum six hours of bright sunlight; roses will not tolerate soggy soil — drainage supplies oxygen for root development; set the bud union slightly below soil level in milder areas and 2 inches below in colder areas to protect from cold injury; apply at least one gallon of water at planting; shrub and species roses need minimal pest control and grow and flower for years with very little care.

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