Well, I have learned that young growths on own root roses really need to be covered and protected if temps fall below 30 degrees. I lost 3 roses this spring to this.

Good question! I learned that 6 hours of sun doesn't mean six hours of southern California full sun. Also, a brick planter can become a brick oven.

I also learned that with USPS priority mail, I can send a rose from California to a friend in Michigan in just two days and they can do it more cheaply than UPS or FedexâÂÂs guaranteed 5 days. I had no idea the post office was so reasonable and reliable.

That Tea roses really do bloom whenever conditions allow, and not according to time of year. We had no winter this year, and the Teas started flowering in March and are still in bloom. Usually they get going around the beginning of May. It has been interesting to see which plants flowered early, in response to the weather--bulbs, for example--and which have waited for their usual time of year, such as the deciduous, once-blooming old roses, which are only slightly ahead--a week, perhaps--of their usual schedule.
Also, and this is something the Californians could have told me, 'Souv. de Mme. Leonie Viennot' is supposed to be once-flowering, but it too started early and after two months is still in full bloom.
Good topic!
Melissa

Only grow those that do not need pampering.
Don't fight the black spots
It all starts with the soil.

Given our harsh winter by our standards I learned which of my roses were the strongest, many died but double delight, royalty, Charlotte brownwell, Oklahoma and love stuck with me. Also learned that as much as I wanted to love Love, I simply don't, just not an attractive rose to me. I also learned that my fave color rose is pink. Awaiting the debut of pink peace and Queen Elizabeth. And I learned how productive Charlotte Brownell is.

Patience (echoing charleney's #1). It's funny, that's the same thing I answered to a similar question last year. I'm not a patient person but roses are teaching me something.

Thank you all! That is the kind of stuff that I really wanted to hear! I learned to grow roses from this site about 8 years ago, and they and I , just keep getting better. Keep those cards and letters coming. Best wishes to you and all the Newbies out there.

I learned that even though I successfully wintered potted roses for 8 winters it doesn't mean that it's fool proof. Mother Nature will always get the last word. I lost around 60 roses to this winter and most of those were the potted ones.

Having lost that many I'm also finding out that a lot of the roses I had I wasn't really all that in love with. Many were bought as body bags when I started my great potted rose experiment. I bought them because they were cheap and I had no idea what I was doing or if it would work out and didn't want to invest a lot of money in it. I find that I'm not all that broken up about losing most of them There are a few that I did like and will probably replace but I've learned a lot since those early days and my tastes have changed too so now I'm going to be much pickier about what ones I get to replace the rest.

And, yes, patience. It hasn't really been warm here for more than a few days at a time. The soil is still quite cold out there. So I'm still waiting to see if any of the slackers will perk up and send up a new shoot for me. It might be a while yet though since they're predicting more highs barely in the 50s and lows in the 30s for the rest of this week at least. This has really gotten old now...

Lol, Jasmine, being the recipient of that gift (it's doing wonderfully, BTW, and thanks again) I'm glad that we both learned that one!

Don't grow attached to a bloom, but rather the impact of the whole shrub. Diseased, unsightly plants aren't offset by pretty blooms. Rust is a terrible thing to look at.

I also found that I desperately want to find a Moss that has a chance in Coastal Zone 10. Perhaps one of Paul Barden's repeat blooming introductions? Treasure Trail and Mel Hulse are both appealing.

Jay

Arbutus there are a couple of thriving established Mosses at the Huntington--can't remember which ones, though.

I learned that if I'm going to move a rose I need to leave as much soil intact around the roots as possible. When I do that they seem to make the transition easily. When the soil falls off, not so good.

First a quick background context note: I only grow own root; I do NOT and will NOT spray.

I learned, and am SO glad I did, that the description "disease resistant" is meaningless to me because I need to know what specific disease or diseases a rose resists and how well.

I learned that like all rules, there are exceptions.

Rule: It is NOT good to make an assumption.
Exception: Assume that a rose in any photo has been treated with fungicide unless specifically stated otherwise (and get this) by a credible source.

I learned other things along similar lines on these forums also.

And although this isn't newly learned, this knowledge was reinforced this year:

One good rose plant is more valuable than hundreds of others combined.

Example: I can't tell you HOW glad I am that I got 'Poseidon' instead of one of its darling look alikes. I'm saying this without having had a single bloom yet - the plant is convincing.

I've learned that there actually *are* roses that will grow in my climate zone. :) I started another thread asking for advice from Canadian gardeners about growing roses in my brutal little zone 3. Having moved from a zone 6, and missing my DAs dearly, I was feeling a little blue about my rose growing options.

While it may mean that I will need to find the beauty in different kinds of blooms (single petal, double petal, as opposed to the full cabbage type blooms I've always loved), I am optimistic now about rose options here.

And right now I am learning how to grow and over-winter roses in pots. It's partly what I love about gardening...the chance to learn.

Over time, I have learned:

1--No more spring spray for aphids. Washing them off and letting the ladybugs do their thing is the way to go. Who wants to kill ladybugs and bees? Took me years to learn this, sadly. And it works better each subsequent year.

2--Don't freak when there is a new rose pest/disease (about every other day?) Take it easy. It's not the end of the world.

3--Yes, it teaches patience! That third year tells all, if you can just wait for it.

4--Transplants really can go into shock and need babying.

5--Hardest of all, if I don't like a rose I can get rid of it and not keep growing it. I have such guilt in killing a rose even if I despise it.

6--If it is too disease prone, get rid of it, no matter how much you love it. Abraham Darby was a rust magnet for me. Had to say goodbye to him. And he spread over a trellis so nicely . . . .

7--Need to learn what to do about horribly ugly, scraggly bushes with pretty blooms. So far, I have kept them as the blooms are so wonderful. Examples are Joshua Bradley and Honey Dijon (never will I sp HD!) Any thoughts?

Such wonderful posts. As I sit here, I am just tickled to learn just a few more ideas. Keep em comin!

I'm new to rose gardening. But here I go!

1 - Water! And water some more. I didn't water my new roses enough last year and they really suffered.

2 - Planting roses during a drought isn't very smart.

3 - New roses appreciate a little shade in the afternoon.

4 - Water cures most pests and diseases here. Either by watering less, more, or spritzing them.

5 - Stop freaking out! Let them grow.

6 - DA roses can ball from heat lol.

7 - Horse compost is amazing.

Unusually cold winter temperatures will drive a stake through the heart of otherwise hardy to zone 5 RMV infected roses causing their premature death.

I learned to get over the heebie-jeebies that aphids gave me. I can actually brush them off with my little pinkies now. lol

I learned (much too late):

If you don't have good soil in which to plant your roses and do nothing about it, you will suffer and be sorry for ever afterwards.

Rather than get rid of a rose you like because it can't stand your dry heat, amend the soil, build a big ring around it, mulch heavily and soak it thoroughly with water. It just might surprise you.

....that the more time, effort and love you invest in a rose, the tastier it is to the varmints.

My Le Vesuve that I had nurtured from a band to a gorgeous plant 4'X5' (just two years old!) that covered itself in bloom last Spring, never got a chance at a second flush. The deer decimated it; then rabbits ate the new shoots that tried to form, and then voles ate the roots down to nubbins, until it just keeled over...and gasped its last. That scenario actually played out in some form (substitute and/or add RRV to the mix) with almost HALF of my roses in the last 18 months. I'm moving my favorite roses into a permanent pot ghetto.

Just call me...

Ghetto John

By the time i figure out which ones i want- they're gone. :(

I'm tempted to say, "Everything," because a year ago I knew nothing.
1) I learned how to recognize a Dr. Huey and what to do about it -- dig it up!!
2) I learned to plant newly-bought roses right away. Dig the hole before buying the plant, if at all possible. Waiting can be fatal .. as I learned from painful experience.
3) "Almost thornless" doesn't mean "thornless." Queen of Sweden is a prime example. Ouch!
4) Following up on #3, always wear gloves, and never wear any clothing you care about when gardening. This seems obvious, of course, but many times I've told myself "I'm only going out to look," and ten minutes later ended up bloodied and mud-caked.
5) Fragrance is a very subjective phenomenon, and on hot dry days, there is very little fragrance to be had from any rose.
6) Mulch. Mulch. Mulch. And when you finish, mulch again.
Sylvia

"Well, Jane, it just goes to show you, it's always something��"if it ain't one thing, it's another."

I had a chance to really learn for the first time how my roses would react to 13 months of NO RAIN AT ALL! The first winter, it rained for 2 (Nov and Dec) of our normal 4 months of rain (no rain at all in Jan or Feb - unheard of). The second winter, it did not rain at all in Nov, Dec , or Jan (even more unheard of). So, by the time it finally started raining in Feb, it had truly not rained for 13 months.

We had not turned off the irrigation system, so they were getting some water, but that is not the same as rain. The relentless glaring sun and heat in Dec and Jan was really frightening, and the roses looked very unhappy - I thought they were mostly dormant.

Well, the answer was, after it poured down most of Feb and March, all of my roses exploded in bloom. Early bloomers, late bloomers, once bloomers, repeat bloomers, it did not matter. They all started to bloom massively & simultaneously in late March/early April and have not stopped. So, what I learned was that roses are determined to survive, grow, and bloom, and will take advantage of untimely rain to do so out of their "normal" pattern. They are survivors, and appear to have taken our 13 month drought in their stride.

Jackie

In the past year I have learned to like miniatures. (Always tried to save those little giftable roses with no luck; they were unhealthy, spindly, miserable things.) Last year I got two REAL minis from the nursery: Gourmet Popcorn and Rainbow's End and have thoroughly enjoyed both bushes. GP looks just like popcorn and blooms well, and RE has a really cheerful bloom. Both are trouble-free and very cute too.

If I like a bush but it's in a bad spot, move it!!! Yves Piaget has suffered in the shade for years (tree branches grew over it). This spring I moved it to a sunny spot. Poor thing was in terrible shape (some would have tossed it), and I hacked a lot of it, leaving 3 canes leaning one way and 3 leaves too. It's in full sun now and leafing out beautifully. Looking forward to that first happy, healthy bloom.

Not that I've learned anything, but the drought and need to conserve water is on my mind every day (especially today and yesterday with 100-degree temps). The rose beds have been mulched heavily. Didn't learn much from the linked article, but it might be of interest to others. I'd feel terrible to let the bushes go unwatered until they wilted as mentioned in the article. If we don't get some rain this fall/winter, we may come to that.

I must deadhead a couple bushes more aggressively all summer (New Day and Elle). They are so big by fall that they block my view when backing out of the driveway. Probably won't bloom as freely, but oh well.

Have enjoyed everyone's input here. Sorry if I wrote too much!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Roses and drought

This post was edited by socks12345 on Thu, May 15, 14 at 17:48

Knockout Roses and kin are no match for Polar Vortex winters like this last one. They were 5' tall shrubs last year and were killed to 12" or less this year. I had to remove bushels of dead branches.

But, carpet roses did somewhat better and the rugosa had ZERO dieback. Very impressed there.

Hoovb-

I recall seeing Salet, something along the lines of White Moss, and perhaps Henri Martin amongst the mosses when I was recently at the Huntington. I saw no signs of rust on any of the roses and little mildew so the conditions are at least somewhat different there. I imagine it's probably at least 15 degrees warmer there on average in the summer and has at least some chance for frost whereas the record low here is 33.

Those mosses with basically all Damask or Centifolia in their lineage will probably grow backwards here from what I understand. I'd probably try a Moore or Barden remontant moss before one of the classics, but seeing, touching, and smelling the mossing at the Huntington left a mark.

Jay

This year I learned:
1. Don't get a puppy, they chew on rose plants even if they are thorned!
2. Don't waste your money on a short landscape fence around your rose gardens, your puppy will just push its way in through the gaps between the rails.
3. Don't waste your money on ropes you weave through your landscape fence to keep your dog from pushing its way through as now your puppy will just jump over the fence.
My problem: I love roses and puppies.

Hang in there, mzstitich. Keep pup busy with a ball, lots of exercise. He'll get better. Sounds like you are truly enjoying the roses and the pup.

Wow, so very much. . .

1. Wear suede gloves. Those pretty, flimsy ones do not protect you.

2. Mulch a LOT.

3. Water more than you think you need.

4. If it dies, you just get the pleasure of picking a new one. It'll be OK.

5. Once people know you are gardening roses, they'll start asking you for advice.

6. It's OK to give 'em time to make a comeback.

7. HomeGoods has a lot of good flower pots, and if you watch carefully, you can get them cheap - but make sure they have a hole in the bottom.

8. Shop around. One retailer's price for a rose may be $20.00 higher than another's, for the same thing, and probably the same quality.

9. Listen to advice and experiment with what works well in your area.

10. Get your kids involved.

And if you have 2 dogs, they will run through the garden and break off new growth that you have worked so hard to get going! If I can catch them in the act, next time I will turn the hose on them. I don't know if it will help, but might make me feel better!

Three years. I think that might just be what to expect from any rose.
Three years for 5g pots to spread their roots and amaze. Three years for bareroots to build their roots and amaze. Three years for bands to build their roots and frame work to amaze.

The hard part is waiting those three years.

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