Roses often get a bad rap for being too needy. Although they do require more than just digging a hole and hoping for the best, people like Lynn Pappas say tending to them shouldn't be too hard.
Pappas, a member of the Richmond Rose Society, will be on hand this weekend for the 73rd annual rose show at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. The show will feature many varieties of roses, from long-stemmed and old garden varieties to miniature and fragrant, and dozens of awards will be given for the best plants.
Pappas has been growing roses for a decade. "They do involve some care," she said. But "for the average person who wants to grow just a couple, you can do it."
Care starts with the soil.
"You dig a $100 hole for a $10 plant," Pappas said. Virginia's soil isn't the best for roses, but the soil can be improved by adding chemicals available at garden centers, she said.
