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| Yesterday I took advantage of what was forecast to be the last day without rain for a week, and did something that had been in the back of my mind for a year or two: DH and I dug up rose suckers and planted them in the propagating beds. This is part of my project to have at least two plants of every variety of rose in the garden; a goal that I am far, far from having reached. There are many roses in the garden I've never succeeded in rooting from cuttings. But the more vigorous ones have these suckers. There are also some roses planted in a truly miserable bed that have never done well in spite of years of digging and amending the soil; a couple of these have suckered out, and I want, not only a second plant of these roses, but also finally, good specimens planted in more acceptable soil. The suckers are mostly not rooted, but past experiments makes me think they will take. I gathered the following varieties: 'Mme. Boll'/'Comte de Chambord' (not sure what this rose really is; what looks like the same plant arrived in the garden under three different names) R. gallica 'Splendens' 'Petite Orleanaise' 'Duchesse de Berry' 'Gloire des Mousseux' from Schultheis, which I suspect may actually be 'Mme. Louis Leveque'. This one we planted straight into another spot in the garden. 'Incomparable' 'Nouvelle Pivoine' 'Agar' 'Pink Leda' a scraggly shoot of 'Winchester Cathedral' 'Gloire de France' 'Miranda' 'Celsiana' 'Kazanlik' a possible 'Mme. Zoetmans' which arrived wrongly labeled and two or three others. I've never fought the sucker battles that other gardeners like mad_gallica report, being almost always happy when a rose gets off its rootstock and begins to travel. With the heavy soil and summer drought they have to contend with, they're slow to sucker. However, yesterday I saw that some of the more vigorous suckerers look like they could threaten weaker roses near them. The Damasks and their kin seem to be particularly powerful sorts: 'Petite Lisette' and 'Pink Leda' are both spreading and putting down mighty root systems. I don't know exactly which varieties are involved, as I also have 'Quatre Saisons' and 'Coralie' in the same area, and the leafless, bloomless suckers of the various plants all look pretty much alike. But in spite of the looming threat to roses like 'Capitain John Ingram' and 'Blanchefleur', I appreciate these vigorous roses and their spreading roots. These roses are concentrated in an area where the adjacent land below them, our neighbors' property, has dropped ten vertical feet in the last several years, and I suspect it's only the roses and their roots that have kept our garden from following. Lord knows our land is steep enough as it is. We've also been planting ground-holding trees and shrubs, but while they grow I certainly am glad the roses--those thorny Damasks in particular--are there. Melissa P.S. The "roselust" in the title is because digging up these suckers seems to have awakened a longing for roses that I haven't felt for months. Greed, too. There's nothing like a bunch of new roses getting started in the garden to make a gardener feel opulently wealthy and impatient. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Melissa, your last comment is so true. Yesterday we finally got rid of Earth Song which has been a disaster for me (of course everyone else has had brilliant success with it). Putting Wild Edric in its place was immensely satisfying. Mutabilis and Belinda's Dream arrived two days ago and will be in the ground within a week, and La Reine de Violettes should arrive any day. Spots are being filled that have been divested of roses that have been given every chance but have failed to grow and/or satisfy, and Mutabilis is going next to the studio, where no rose has ever grown. All this seems like a very satisfying ending to a period of culling diseased or non-growing roses and replacing them with what I feel are sturdy, healthy and drought-resistant roses. The exception is Reine de Violettes which is going to be in a morning sun-only spot where I hope it will prosper and lend elegance and depth of color to the front garden. The wind is still blowing and we're in a record heat and drought situation, so I'm thumbing my nose at the elements, but these roses were needed to complete the garden picture and I'm going to do my utmost to help them to prosper. Ingrid |
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- Posted by damask55linen none (My Page) on Fri, Jan 17, 14 at 11:42
| Melissa, that sounds like so much fun, and hard work. Sometimes i wonder why I do this to myself making more work than i can possibly keep up with. Then in summer when the air is sweet, our dog is sitting drowsily in the sunshine , and 6 year old granddaughter Lizzy is cutting a bouquet, then every thorn in my fingers was worth it. Linda |
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| Melissa, Your garden is one of my favorites out of all those I've seen on the boards. I can't wait to see photos of your work in the spring. If only I lived close enough to you to pick your brain on design and rose selections. Josh |
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- Posted by melissa_thefarm NItaly (My Page) on Sat, Jan 18, 14 at 1:01
| Ingrid, a normal winter here is wet, but this is our second unusually wet winter in a row, and I sure wish we could give it to you where it's needed so badly. Good luck with your roses: I hope they flourish! And I hope your wise water use strategies work as well. It's hard to imagine now, but the day will come when you'll be wallowing in mud and here the winter hills will be bright and dry and I'll be despairing about the following summer. These situations come, and go again. In the meanwhile we just have to hang on, playing the hand we're dealt as best we can. Linda, that's a pretty rose: I like the color and texture of those petals. I think it's very good for children to grow up with a garden, and with much contact with the natural world if it's at all possible. Here in Italy at least this part of people's education seems to be greatly neglected. Your granddaughter's lucky. So is my daughter. Josh, you have no idea. I would so love to have an enthusiastic and curious gardener close by, to share information and swap ideas with, and plants, too. I find it really frustrating that I garden in such a vacuum: I feel like I'm sitting on a hoard of gold, with no one around who desires gold. Loaded with plants, and no one who wants plants! or hard-earned knowledge! Terrible. Melissa |
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