<h2 style="margin: 10pt 0in 0pt"><font size="3" color="#990000">Shrub Roses Add Easy, Ever-blooming Color to Landscapes</font></h2><p><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: ‘Verdana’,’sans-serif’; letter-spacing: 1pt">(ARA) – Looking for instant color to dress up your deck or patio for that summer garden party or backyard barbeque? Or maybe you need a dash of color to brighten your landscape with long-lasting visual drama. Whatever your garden quandary, consider a low-maintenance shrub rose for nonstop color from spring until fall.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: ‘Verdana’,’sans-serif’; letter-spacing: 1pt"><div style="text-align: center"><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,29,0" width="425" height="282"><param name="movie" value="../images/banners/18b.swf" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="menu" value="false" /><param name="wmode" value="" /><embed src="../images/banners/18b.swf" wmode="" quality="high" menu="false" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="282"></embed></object></div></span></p><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: ‘Verdana’,’sans-serif’; letter-spacing: 1pt"><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Shrub roses are easy to grow and cover any landscape with gorgeous color and flowers. They look beautiful spilling over the sides of a container, either alone or mixed with your favorite perennials or annuals.<span>  </span>User-friendly and low-maintenance, they need little to no care for year-round color and nonstop blooms. Shrub roses are one of the hottest trends in gardening today, says Doug Jimerson of Better Homes & Gardens.</p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">"Think of shrub roses as a flowering plant — not a rose," Jimerson says. "The great thing about shrub roses is you don’t have to have a green thumb to make them grow. They are so easy — just plant in a sunny spot, water them and watch them grow.<span>  </span>They’re the perfect plant for today’s busy homeowners."</p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Jimerson recommends these four steps for a rosy garden:</p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">1. Get Rich: Use healthy soil in a big hole for roses. Experts say to dig a hole twice the size of the container the rose is in.<span>  </span>And be sure to provide ample space for the plants roots to assure healthy and beautiful roses. </p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">2. Sun Kissed: For the most prolific blooms, plant Drift Roses in a location with plenty of sun. Hardy to zone 5, these ground hugging, ever-blooming shrubs are perfect as a border or bedding plant. Growing only about a foot around, they make a stunning low hedge or edge on a border. </p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">3. Feed Me: Drift Roses aren’t fussy eaters. Give them a good dose of slow-release or timed fertilizer, which releases nutrients to the plant when the plant needs it most, and you’re set for the season.</p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">4. Cover Up: And remember to mulch your roses. Mulching helps to buffer the cycle from wet to dry, keeps the feeder roots from drying out, and helps to establish the roots quicker.<span>  </span>And less watering is required.</p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">New Groundcover Roses Perfect for Your Landscape</p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">This year try planting Star Roses’ new Drift Roses for a dramatic groundcover effect in your garden. They combine wonderfully with perennials intermixed with other upright shrubs like coreopsis, veronicas or lambs ear and even hostas.</p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Choose from four cultivars that bloom from spring to early frost. Ranging from scarlet red to bright soft peach, they provide the gardener with a complete range of color solutions for landscape use or in containers.</p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Two favorites in the collection are the Peach Drift Rose and the Pink Drift Rose. The most floriferous of the series, Peach Drift’s small bright apricot-salmon blooms have dark green, semi-glossy foliage and grow up to 2 feet in height. Pink Drift’s low growing mound of semi-double deep pink blooms, reaches 1-1/2 feet in height with a 3-foot spread.<span>  </span></p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Make no mistake that these are not finicky miniature roses. These hardy groundcover roses are true low spreading, dwarf shrub roses that grow only about a foot high by 1-1/2 feet wide and are covered with blooms that open to 1-1/2 inches. Drift Roses are perfect in small gardens, splashing your landscapes with visual delight.</p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Appealing to today’s busy gardener, these low-maintenance roses are highly disease resistant. They require no spraying except in the most humid regions of the Deep South. Bred to be "chemical-free," Drift Roses resist rust, mildew, Japanese beetles and black spot while blooming for months on end.</p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> </p><div style="text-align: center"><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,29,0" width="425" height="282"><param name="movie" value="../images/banners/18a.swf" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="menu" value="false" /><param name="wmode" value="" /><embed src="../images/banners/18a.swf" wmode="" quality="high" menu="false" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="282"></embed></object></div>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Whether planting for a shock of ever-blooming color in a spectacular landscape or seeking easy, carefree ways to solve a gardening challenge, think easy-care Star Roses for long lasting, maintenance-free color.</p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">To find out more about these and other Star Roses, or to find a garden center near you, visit <a href="http://www.starroses.com/">www.starroses.com</a> .</p>  <p><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: ‘Verdana’,’sans-serif’; letter-spacing: 1pt">Courtesy of ARAcontent</span></p></span>