|
Sun, Feb 9, 14 at 20:20
| We're in the middle of our second sopping, sodden wet winter. The rain started in early October and, except for a three week hiatus in December, it's been coming down steadily every since. With our very heavy soil, usually not overly well amended, the roses have suffered, not even the sloping and mostly steep terrain being sufficient to guarantee drainage. It's sobering to see your rose in standing water. A lot of my roses are very unhappy in these conditions: all the warm climate roses, the Hybrid Musks, the Austin roses, and the Hybrid Perpetuals, of which I have a few, are suffering. What can take the rain and the heavy soil are the once-blooming roses of European origin: Gallicas and their hybrids, Albas, Damasks, Centifolias, Mosses; and the Foetidas are fine too. Totally unfazed. I was out pruning yesterday, working on a double line of mostly once-blooming old roses with some other odds and ends thrown in, and the difference between the once-bloomers and the others was striking. I think I'll remove 'Wilhelm' and 'Moonlight' and try to find a good home for them down in the woods somewhere, and 'Ghislaine de Feligonde' I may actually destroy, as I have doubts about its health and am not in love with it anyway. And there's a most sumptuous old climbing HT, I think it is, that deserves a better home. But the once-bloomers are fine. They scramble about and sucker through the rough grass and look perfectly happy. They'll have a lovely flowering in late spring and I'll take notes and try to figure out what varieties they are, as there are several puzzles among them. But they're beautiful and interesting one and all, and about the most trouble-free roses to grow in my garden. Melissa |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
- Posted by PortlandMysteryRose 8 (My Page) on Sun, Feb 9, 14 at 20:49
| Melissa, I, too, find the OGRs to be easy and basically bulletproof. I don't advocate ignoring plants in a garden, but I frequently find myself neglecting my OGRs for several years at a time. They grow, bloom and thrive. The fragrance knocks off my socks and their forms and blooms are superb. A little suckering is my biggest challenge in my postage stamp garden. I'd love to see some pix of your antique beauties. Carol |
|
- Posted by melissa_thefarm NItaly (My Page) on Tue, Feb 11, 14 at 0:07
| Carol, I note that we both live in wet winter-dry summer, relatively mild climates with good winter chill. Evidently these roses like that. These were also among my favorites when I lived in western Washington (I hadn't yet discovered Hybrid Musks, which I suspect would also have ranked very high). Melissa Still raining here. |
|
- Posted by PortlandMysteryRose 8 (My Page) on Tue, Feb 11, 14 at 2:03
| Our snow has turned to rain, too. Seems we're gardening in parallel universes! :-) The hybrid musks can be good, especially in this climate. They maintain better color than they do in hotter regions. I'd forgotten that you used to live in my neck of the NW. Maybe someday I'll try N Italy.... |
This post was edited by PortlandMysteryRose on Tue, Feb 11, 14 at 2:07
|
| Very different climate here, but the old European roses do best here too. They are also adaptable to our cold, wet winters (sometimes snowy, sometimes rainy) and hot humid summers. Healthy and vigorous for the most part, needing very little summer water once established, no winter die-back, no spraying for disease. I just fertilize once in spring, prune in winter or early spring for shaping, and dig up unwanted suckers. |
|
- Posted by mendocino_rose z8 N CA. (My Page) on Tue, Feb 11, 14 at 8:58
| They really are a boon to those with challenging conditions along with species and species hybrids. I really hate suckers though. When I first planted Gallicas I wasn't aware of this problem and didn't place them properly. I mostly avoid Gallicas now. The Hybrid Chinas are my favorites. |
|
| I keep trying the OB-OGRs here. We really do not have enough cold for them and they eventually decline. I have sworn to myself that this last round of planting them is just that, the last. Having said that, if I ever live where there is a decent winter, I will be sure to include my favorites of the albas, gallicas, and damasks, though I would certainly grown the gallicas grafted. I'm with Mendocino Rose on the suckering issue. I want my roses to be where I want them, not taking over the entire garden. And I'm with you on 'Ghislaine de Feligonde'. It was one of the 42 roses I removed this season. Actually it was healthy here, but a completely underwhelming presence. If I am to remove roses from my garden, every rose that remains must contribute joy and beauty. Folly |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Antique Roses Forum
Information about Posting
- You must be logged in to post a message. Once you are logged in, a posting window will appear at the bottom of the messages. If you are not a member, please register for an account.
- Please review our Rules of Play before posting.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review your post, make changes and upload photos.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- Before posting copyrighted material, please read about Copyright and Fair Use.
- We have a strict no-advertising policy!
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.
Learn more about in-text links on this page here
