22,795 Garden Web Discussions | Roses
thanks for all the comments. Will have to do further investigation on plant. The only bud on plant is the red one lower on the plant. The rest of many canes do not have any sign of buds. May dig up to see what root stock looks like and decide from there. Stay Tuned for further developments. Pembroke
" three to four feet deep"
Holy mother of god, and you call that "the lazy way?' LOL My back hurts just from reading that. I dug trenches last year, not as wide and deep as recommended, but as wide and deep as I was willing.
I started with compacted black clay and basically threw the kitchen sink at it. It still has a lot of clay, but it seems to be doing OK. It gets mulch and compost, but it's still young.
Okay, it's easy to forget about the digging since we only do it every two years or so. If you want a permanent compost hole for waste collection and composting, you'd only have to do the digging once. After that it's so convenient to blow or sweep or toss our healthy garden and kitchen waste in -- much easier and better for our gardens and the environment than hoisting it up into the garbage bin. We don't turn the stuff in these holes or do much of anything else for a year or more as they transform from waste into beds with lovely friable soil.
The miracle gro did that. A high nitrogen chemical fertilizer will give big plants without fruit.
Compost and or balanced natural fertilizer is better. Right now a teaspoon of fish seaweed concentrate in a water with will be gentle and get you some blooms will be a good treat for the plant.
UPDATE.. pics show what has happened to my beautiful knockout since my last posting. My husband had to use a power saw to cut off the main stems they were so hard, like oak. Pics show the interior of the cut off stem. Our extension agent says most wilt will show discoloration inside the stem and this did not. Note the new growth coming. We plan to keep observing and see if the remaining stem dies like the others. If it does, we will submit the plant and soil samples for testing. It's a real puzzler, wouldnt you say?
What hasn't been mentioned is the rest of the pruner, beyond the blade. It's easy for resins, etc. to accumulate on the blades. They need to be cleaned off and they need to be so smooth that nothing accumulates there.
Then the blade (for a secateur) needs to be sharp, as sharp as you can make it. And the side it moves past needs to be equally clean. Clean of everything from plant gook to rust because rust can hold and then spread microscopic problems.
To me, the most important to stop and clean secateurs is when you're working on a rose that has a problem. It's bad that that rose has a problem, what is worse is rushing through and spreading the problem (and I have spread fungi and worse from one rose to the next by rushing stem cuts in spring.)
Karen, I'm glad your roses did well! Queen of Sweden is one of my favorites, and Lady of Shallot is newly planted in our gardens.
Well -- I did it again. After three months in the hospital I was so revved up to create beauty (and also had a 25% discount code), I ordered a number of David Austin bare roots, mostly own root, and they arrived a few days later. I was still too incapacitated to inspect or plant them myself, but they're leafing out and one has even bloomed -- Princess Alexandra of Kent. They were planted in April with temps in the 90s, and I figured if they failed it would be a learning experience.
I had another bout in the hospital last week, and since I didn't get my fingers burned with the first round of roses, I ordered again after I was dishcharged (I suspect David Austin's marketing team has taken control of our hospitals here, and they hypnotize patients into uncontrollably craving their roses). Last night I found the bare roots on my doorstep, and with help, I inspected them and bucketed them in pond water. I thought they looked fantastic -- lots of green canes, good, long root systems. I'll post a picture later if I can. At Humpty Dumpty House we get donations of plants other people don't want -- roses that don't bloom, puny bare roots, and this year we even got my dream plant -- a bare root David Austin rose tree with a big greenstick fracture. So I'm used to looking at things that don't look so good. Our philosophy is to take take things (and people) that are considered broken and useless, and give them a new life; a chance to be beautiful and to serve a worthy purpose. Not saying that anyone who pays good money should have to accept an inferior plant. But reputable companies will replace it, and you can send the bad one to us (big smiley face symbol) because those ugly ducklings really can become stellar swans. I find the challenge bittersweet, and it makes me love these gardens and plants all the more. Plant donations are tax deductible, and your facebook likes are helping us reopen the gardens in June, after my lengthy hospitalization. Lots of pretty pictures, design ideas, garden advice:
https://www.facebook.com/HumptyDumptyHouse
Princess Alexandra of Kent. Planted from a David Austin bare root early April with temps in the 90s. I know David Austins don't do well everywhere, and feel sad for those who can't grow them 'cause they're magical here -- at least the ones we've planted so far. All our roses get fertile soil which we've been amending several years, and drip irrigation. Hot, blazing afternoon sun with morning shade. Many are planted against a white wall with a great deal of reflected heat. No spray. Great soil and adequate drip irrigation seem to overcome the negatives, because the roses are heartbreakingly beautiful. Many came from bad looking bare roots. Please see our website and facebook links in the post directly above.
I have the three Austins mentioned. Two will not do well not sprayed. Teasing Georgia won't defoliate, but gets spotty. Plus it's a monster. A friend has Julia Child and it does get spotty. The other yellows I have are Golden Showers, which is a climber. It gets blackspot. I have Kordes Caramella Fairy Tale, and that also gets BS. I just bought a bunch of yellows, but I plan on spraying them. It depends on what your tolerance for spotty leaves is. I haven't tried Carefree Sunshine, if Michael says it's good, maybe that should be the one you try.
I am growing Sparkle & Shine(The Golden Child) here in Australia for the first time and have found it good in my climate, I thought it might suit, here is a link to it,
Baking soda has a mild effect on mold but the sodium is bad for plants, bleach definitely kills mold but it's toxic to plants. The safest product is 3% hydrogen peroxide.
I'm going to have to look at the label of a Scotts outdoor cleaner and see what is actually in it! It may be some of these cheaper every day products! Thank you all for great advice.