Grow Your Own Organic Roses

"When Anya Feldman moved into her home in Sycamore Township, she decided to grow roses - using organic methods.

She asked the owner of a greenhouse for advice and says he laughed at the idea of growing roses organically in Greater Cincinnati. But the nurseryman's doubts didn't stop her.

"I love roses, and I totally don't believe in pesticides," says Feldman, a massage therapist who drives a hybrid vehicle and uses an organic lawn service.

She bought a few roses and planted them in her front yard. She didn't have a lot of luck the first year, but she added more roses this spring, for a total of 11 hybrid teas. Hybrid teas have one bloom per stem.

She bought two truckloads of compost and piled it onto her garden.

"After I put the compost on ... you could really feel like (the roses) were a lot happier," Feldman says."

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