Roses and Peppers

[apachefirecat]

I'm looking for any advice I can get on growing my first roses and peppers (starting with bell, but hoping to add jalapeno or other such before too long). A friend pointed me this way. :)

Comments

[brightly_lit]

Both love lots of heat and sun. Enjoy growing them!

[mellowtigger]

Yes to this. Also, roses aren't especially fond of ground that gets lots of water. Yes, I learned this lesson the hard way. :( Also, I found it difficult to find unusual colors in roses that could survive zone 4 cold. Warmer zones have more variety available.

[brightly_lit]

Yes! :-) Roses are an excellent xeriscape plant; they can handle direct sun and the heat of river rocks at their base and thrive on it.

Regarding peppers and cold after reading what other people have said about it, I will say that when my garden had a very light freeze (~31F, or even 32F), the peppers were the only plant in the garden that died; everything else was okay, including tomatoes, so peppers can't take even a bit of a freeze.

[boxofdelights]

First question is, where are you? Peppers need a lot of sun and warm days to ripen. Green peppers are also nice to eat, but they don't have the flavor you want if you're putting the effort into growing them. In North America, you should either start them indoors next month, or buy starts from a greenhouse when your climate allows you to plant outside. There are ways to extend the season, but how much effort you want to put into that depends on how long your frost-free season is naturally!

[apachefirecat]

I'm in south Alabama, about a hour from Florida.

When the season ends, does that mean the plant dies, or is there a way to keep it safe and healthy enough for next year?

[rahirah]

I'm in Phoenix AZ, and I planted bell and jalapeno peppers about three years ago. Over winter I just make sure to cover them up with a sheet or something on the few nights a year the temperature drops below freezing. The main issue here is keeping them watered, because once it gets up past 100 they start to wilt if they're not watered every few days. (I assume this won't be as much of a problem in your area since you probably get much more rain.) They'll need fertilizing every now and then if you want decent sized peppers.

[boxofdelights]

If you grow them in containers and bring the containers inside for the winter, they will survive and start producing again in the spring. People disagree about whether you will get more fruits that way, or by starting fresh with a new plant every spring. Probably the answer is "it depends".

I don't know whether peppers can survive outside in an Alabama winter. How cold does it get there? You can look up your zone here: https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/

Even if your winter isn't cold enough to kill the plant, it might be cold enough to stress the plant badly, which would decrease its ability to fruit.

[timespirt]

While pepper plants are often grown as annuals, they can be grown as perennials in areas where there is no risk of frost. Alternatively, gardeners can overwinter their pepper plants indoors and take them back outside in the spring. Over the years, some pepper plant varieties can grow much taller than they would in a normal growing season.

https://www.bountifulgardener.com/perennial-pepper-plants/

Wow!

[ysabetwordsmith]

I did not know there are perennial peppers. Fascinating!

[feroxargentea]

I can't tell you much about peppers because you're in such a different climate from mine, but roses are easy! They like nice rich soil with plenty of well-rotted mature or similar, and at least some sun, and enough water that the soil never dries out completely. (The compost/manure will help it hold water.)

Things that will actually kill them: complete lack of water, or soil that stays waterlogged for weeks on end. Oh, and try not to plant them where roses have grown before. Pick a fresh spot instead, or they tend to struggle from replant disease. There are other problems they often have -- aphids, blackspot etc -- but as long as they have good soil, sun and water, they should be tough enough to survive without intervention. Here in the UK they do best if pruned hard in late winter, but you maybe don't need to do that in such a warm climate, I'm not sure. But you should deadhead repeat-flowering roses (cut off the spent flowers) to encourage them to produce new flower buds. Most shrub roses are repeat flowerers.

(Climbing roses are slightly more complicated as you do need to prune and tie those in to get them to climb the way you want.)

Have fun choosing your roses!

[harpers_child]

I'm in southern Louisiana and have my rosebush in a large pot. It lives outside where it mostly gets morning light and I water it every few days in the summer. This time of year we get enough rain I don't worry about watering. It's in a pot so it can get brought inside for hurricanes, but I understand not everyone has room in the garage for that.

[eldriwolf]

If you are growing repeat flowering roses, you must decide if you want hips, or more flowers.
Once flowering roses, let them go to seed! Rose hips are great,!
Though Very different, from different kinds of rose.
Some plants, I particularly like the hips of, and only dead head in the spring and early summer, letting them grow hips in the fall.

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

Modern roses are spectacular, but they expect to be pampered. A wet climate like Alabama encourages many pests and diseases. However, you have options.

One is to grow native roses, which will delight wildlife:
Rosa palustris - Swamp Rose, Marsh Rose
Rosa setigera - Prairie Rose, Climbing Rose, Climbing Prairie Rose, Climbing Wild Rose, Illinois Rose, Michigan Rose.

Other species roses are a good bet too.

Getting a bit fancier, old garden roses are often more durable than modern ones.

Own-root roses are usually tougher than grafted roses because they don't have a weak point from a graft union.

If you want to try modern roses, consider a raised bed or large pot where you can put a well-draining potting soil and a ground watering system, then mulch over that. Full sun and air circulation will help discourage diseases and pests.

For peppers, same setup -- most like a sandy soil and will die quickly from wet feet. But your long growing season will let you choose from many cultivars that won't fruit farther north.