if you can get a shovel in amongst the rocks to dig a hole, and if you can ammend the soil with compost, and if water is available, yes, you can grow roses!!..you soil will tend toward the alkaline side in it's pH, so use lots of compost and dig in some elemental sulfur to bright the pH closer to neutral......(get a soil test done to be sure, however!!)........ make sure they get six or more hours of wide open sunlight.. the more the better, tho a little shade in late afternoon's heat would be okay, too.... feed them bloom booster or granulated slow release for roses..............watch for bugs and blackspot and learn to deal with them as they come....since you're new to roses, I'd suggest that you start with something that's not going to be too picky.... Knockout roses or carpet roses are worry-free..... not exactly like the dozen roses your hubby sends you, but pretty in their own right.... get them going and work your way up to hybrid teas.... old fashioned or heirloom roses are good to start with, too... floribundas are great, too.... ...... luck to ya!!
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Toots,
Really do read up on whatever you choose through your local ARS website (American Rose Society). And be sure to ask the people you purchase from if your rose is grafted, or own root, and how to care for it, especially during the first year. I have started my rose life with roses on Fortuniana rootstock, which is good for the South, much more disease resistant, but this rootstock produces very tiny feeder roots and it is my understanding that too much fertilization during the first year of growth can be harmful, even fatal for them. Oh, but they are so, so, SO rewarding!
You might want to google Earthkind roses, and see what you come up with. Many of those, the knockouts among them, are not fragrant, but as Toots pointed out, you might want to start with product bred to be disease resistant, low maintenance, and spread out from there. Good luck!
