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Sun, May 25, 14 at 21:45
| Hi- I'm very new to roses and am wondering about best ways to support my roses. I bought these roses as own root plants from Heirloom Roses and last year was their first year in my garden. I have a Louise Odier and an Austin Heritage rose. They are at the edge of a shady area by a picket fence. My goal is to have them be shrub size (4 feet or so), so people walking down the sidewalk will see these flowers as they look over the fence in to my yard. They (esp the Louise Odier) is very floppy now. I haven't trimmed either yet, as they started out very small. What are some good supports (either made or bought) for these roses for my goal of a shrub shape? Also, my LO is very green and pretty, but basically looks like a miniature LO, with very thin canes and small flowers. It looks healthy, except is is so petite! Do I need to fertilize more, or create more light for it? Thanks! |
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| Being a bit rubbish at supporting mine, I can tell you what I should be doing....and eventually get around to it sometimes. I use stout hazel - 6-8 feet long (but any wood will do as long as it is at least 1inch diameter) to make a wide wigwam using 4 poles (about 4feet square on a floor plan). I tie crosspieces (roofing battens or finer hazel or willow) to strengthen the uprights and give the roses something to lean on. You can build such a structure around the roses in situe. It will eventually be hidden as the roses grow over and through the poles. Since your roses are not rampant climbers or ramblers, the supports are only really necessary for a few years - the Austins especially have very lax young growth - takes 3-4 years to build up woody girth to support the laterals in order to be free standing shrubs. There are many manufactured obelisks, some of which are very pretty indeed...and the choice you make depends on what sort of garden you have - mine is definitely wild and rustic so hazel sticks are perfectly in keeping with the general air of casual untidiness....whereas such a style may be anathema to you....in which case, there are numerous cast iron, stove-enamelled metal, rusty rebar, painted timber choices depending on your budget. Best to do this now while the roses are still small and pliable. Louise Odier, can be trained to have upright growth and can also probably be supported with one 3inx3in (although 4x4 is better) fence post with a few dowels pushed through drilled holes. A nice newel fitting on top gives you the basis to pillar this rose and make a rather nice free-standing specimen feature....with the added bonus of keeping a fair bit of ventilation, suppressing powdery mildew, the bane of so many bourbon roses. |
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- Posted by mad_gallica Z5 Eastern NY (My Page) on Mon, May 26, 14 at 10:02
| You need to develop some patience. These are babies, and it is going to take a couple of years for them to grow up. A lot of first and second year own-root roses produce thin, weak, atypical growth. After they get established, and develop a good root mass, then they start making 'adult' canes. Kept at 4 ft, both those should be able to support themselves. They will both want to be taller, so it is going to take some pruning to keep them that size. If they are left to grow, they will require some sort of support like a rose pillar. |
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| Use an inexpensive tomato cage. When the rose is older and more upright, simply cut the cage away with wire cutters. |
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| At your local Home Depot or similar store, buy a green wire fence (sorry, I don't know its real name--it is found in any garden section) that is about 2.5-3 ft tall and encircle the plant with it. Or if you get fallen twiglets from your trees, stick several of them in the soil around the rose and let the cane "rest" on them. Kate |
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| Dublinbay's suggestion is a good one. Chicken wire works well, too. But MadGallica is also correct. It can take easily 3 years (in my conditions even more) for those tiny roses to reach their potential. And in some cases, the eventual size of an own-root rose may be less than that of a budded one. OTOH, it will very likely live longer. |
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- Posted by papercamera (My Page) on Sun, Jun 1, 14 at 20:34
| Sorry in the delay in responding- I was getting caught up around the house after being busy at work, so my online time suffered. I took Campanula's advice on the tee pee and used some flexible green plastic stakes for this, since they're more workable for me. I interlaced some twine to give additional support. I want the L O to get as much sun as possible and to not end up laying on the ground, or shaded by other plants. Thanks for all of the advice! I'm looking forward to these roses in years to come. |
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