That is great. People constantly ask me what I feed my roses. I really don't do much, just alfalfa and compost and shredded leaves. Once you get the soil right, you really don't have to feed heavily. Unfortunately in my yard that took years to happen.

What I am noticing this year is that the huge amounts of rain we had did make a difference. I've been an indifferent waterer, but I will step that up this year. I had been planning on putting in some drip irrigation in, but this spring I didn't need it.

I agree--the more mature the garden, the more beautiful it becomes. It takes on a lushness that all the hard work in the past couldn't accomplish.

Of course, I've also become more experienced at things like pruning. Amazing how much a good prune (which sometimes means little or no pruning) can enhance a rose.

Kate

I'm glad your garden is rewarding you this year, Zyperiris! It does take time and patience for it to come together. Sometimes we all lack that patience part, lol!

I've been noticing nice things in my garden this year too. We had a very cold winter so I had to do some pretty severe pruning this spring. Then it was just so cold for what seemed like forever but in the end I think it was good for the roses. Now that it has warmed up they're just leaping forward with growth! I kept thinking I had so many one cane wonders out there and was kinda depressed about it this winter. I was making all these plans to dig out a bunch and get rid of them. But when I really checked things I realized that there are only 2 that could be considered one cane plants. For the most part they're all pretty bushy and growing pretty well. I don't know why I thought otherwise? I did dig out 7 that I just wasn't happy with but then I bought 9 new ones!

Seil....

As I said in another post, I've brought three one-cane wonders back to being productive plants by dis budding them for a whole season.

I gave them the major TLC for one year and wouldn't let them bloom. The next year, I got at least 2 new basal breaks and I am seeing more new basal breaks this year.

If I really, really want to keep a rose, I am willing to give it one year to turn around.

I don't have your cold weather .. my weather is colder than SOCAL ... and don't really have to worry about die back, but I have found that if I generally take out one old cane every year to the base of the plant, I end up with a more viable plant and usually don't have to do much rejuvenation pruning.

This year, I took Double Delight down hard because it has been kind of just puttering along and it is coming back like a far more vigorous rose than I have ever seen it in this garden. Go figure.

Smiles,
Lyn

Thanks for that tip, Lyn. I hate to steer this thread away from its main topic but I am a fairly inexperienced rose grower and have been trying to nurture a few roses that are down to one cane or down to a couple or few canes with two feet of naked legs and skimpy to moderate growth on top. I will get out there and de-bud. Are there any pruning tactics I should be using?

But back to the original topic, congratulations, Zyperiris, on coming into your own in the rose garden. Some of my climbers are turning 4 this year and are just about to put on their show. It's a wonderful thing.

zyperiris,

I'm so glad you have witnessed what time and good soil will do.

I've read so many threads here where I know that those posting will NEVER have that experience. "I planted it this year and it just isn't impressive, the flowers are nothing like the blossoms on those mature specimens I see posted here." "Where's my shovel?" They don't love roses as much as they love to criticize and complain.

I really am so happy for you. And I am just as pleased that those, who will not learn, will not enjoy what the rare few, like you, will. They really don't deserve to do so.

Worth the wait, wasn't it Zyperiris!! Recently I've been giving advice to a new rose grower envious of my roses. I left this important note out! It takes time!
I also am very pleased with my gardens this year, like Buford I've gotten alot of rain. In digging new holes in my clay soil I noticed how much easier they are to dig this year than past years, and it has to be because of all the rain. Which in turn got me thinking obviously the roots of my roses have also been able to stretch out more easily given they don't have to work as hard when my soil is dry.
Sadly, can't stop spraying here, where blackspot is a big problem, even with keeping up with it I still get a bit of blackspot here and there.

mzstitch............

I am gardening in glacier slurry/subsoil and after several years of mulching, watering and feeding, the soil in my more mature garden truly is easier to work in than when I planted my first roses. I am adding 10 new roses and taking out 9 and moving a few around and have found that it is a LOT easier to work in the rose beds than it was when the garden was young.

Sidos-House ... I don't feel comfortable giving you any pruning advice as I have found that I prune very differently in this climate than I did in my older climate. I think it truly depends on the rose as to the best pruning method to use.

When it comes to dis-budding, I feel very comfortable sharing my experience because the results do not appear to be so climate-determined or class-determined. I dis-bud my roses every year to keep rose curculios from breeding in my garden and have had the opportunity to observe the impact of this practice in my garden.

I now use the technique for any stressed rose and any newly planted rose.

SAS .... I think every rose gardener deserves to experience the joy of a more mature rose garden. It's up to us to educate them. I was lucky to have a mentor who taught me that patience is the gardener's most effective tool for success.

Smiles,
Lyn