22,795 Garden Web Discussions | Roses
I have the Botanica roses and it is a great book. However, I find that these days my main source of info comes from this forum and Helpmefind site. Books are a wonderful source of info but the problem is you don't get to read how the same rose does in different areas especially in your local zone. The same rose may be wonderful across the pond but a source of scourge in your garden. The other book I have is 500 roses for the Canadian gardeners.
In March, I bought seventy 2-cu-ft bags of bark for a 4-inch layer of mulch to prevent weeds from growing in my garden. I want to apply the bark after I improve the soil and re-locate the roses. (Also, the bark bags are taking up valuable car-space in my garage).
Thank you on all accounts! I'll do a bit of hard trimming and see if they don't liven up a bit. I also gave my roses a banana for the potassium as a treat so i'm hoping once the weather perks up and taking all your suggestions and applying them to the bushes. I hope to see some wonderful improvements. Thank you again, for your kind words. :)
What Cynthia said. They don't look like they're dying, just look like old, somewhat neglected bushes.
I'd take out all dead wood--including trimming off those stumps of canes that have already been whacked--take off that dead stump part. Gentle fertilizing, as you've already done (bananas are good), keep them watered well so the fertilizer doesn't burn. Add more mulch before your hottest weather (but not on top of the canes).
And gradually, like one cane, once a year or so, I'd start removing those old woody canes. They're pretty crowded & if you let new basals grow up instead, the rose will be rejuvenating itself & be more productive of new growth & flowers.
I bet they'll be fine. Best wishes for your mother's recovery. Sounds like things have been rough.
All of my mail orders came in the last two weeks. It's been planting time. When I take my trip I like to start with Lowes in Dekalb. Then hit The Perennial Place in Naperville followed by Chalet Nursery. Now I can check an Ace Hardware as well. The goal is to return home with at least one plant that I have not grown before.
Hi Chris: Are these new roses or are you taking care of roses that are already established? Paul Zimmerman has many helpful videos. Here is one that got me started: Own Root First Season The title is about own-root roses, but I think much of the information applies to all young roses. Young roses need more water and less fertilizer than established roses, so that they can focus on growing roots. Here's a video on rose pruning: Introduction to Rose Pruning. Good luck. Roses are tougher than you might think and this forum is a great resource.
Flamingo Dancer is wonderful. I hope your Vick's Caprice perks up. It may just need time to acclimate. Occhi di Fata is very pretty. St. Elizabeth does best in full afternoon shade. I love the rose but in a hot climate it's pretty iffy.
Thanks Ingrid. I read about your efforts with SE after I purchased her. Now, I can't even remember why or what attracted me to her in the first place, to get her for my yard. I will let her grow for at least a year and see if I want to shovel prune her. I hope Vick perks up too. I love his flower and it makes a great cut flower as well. I am not sure what his problem is! Occhi--I have never seen a rose that is one color on one side of the petal and the same petal is a different color on the other side. One side pink and one side white. What a rose! I think this rose is going to do very well here. I am excited about this one and I was very unsure about whether or not to get him/her.
I don't think I've ever seen Lovely Fairy. Michael says it's a sport of The Fairy, so I'm assuming the growth habits are the same.
Zones alone are almost worthless. Zone + state + part of state if the state is large tells us a lot about what climatic conditions the rose has to deal with, which is why we all include it.
Thank you so very much... Aware of two roses "GN" and "Souvenir de GN" - not ordering this rose.
I am in Southern CA, about 7 miles from the beach a bit up the hill, so may be "Gilbert" wouldn't get mildew-:) here.
I've decided to order Gilbert Nabonnand and Pink Gruss an Aachen... I liked this rose so much. I will not plant either or... near my cement wall. "Gruss" will go into a big ceramic pot for the moment and "Gilbert" will go into the ground on the opposite, sunny side of the yard, where he could grow 6 ft. wide and as tall:) as he wants and be beautiful.
I left "Strike It Reach", even severely underdeveloped, in that corner. Let's see if it's looks are going to imrove in another year. If nothing good happens, perhaps a good sport of a modern rose, bought in a 5-gal. container, will have a better start and, eventually, succeed there.
Again, I thank you from the bottom of my heart... and hope you'd forgive me for being such a BIG pain.
Kindest and warmest -:))
Paola
havent tried to root any since I have so many.....what I can tell you is that the pink is the only spreading groundcover type and it does spread. the pics I originally posted of the pink were cut back in January to 1/3 the size shown (this is suggested by the hybridizer) and when the stems get so heavy with buds and blooms, they touch the ground and presto.....they root! the sweet doesnt spread like the pink but it sprawls and gets bigger and bigger and the stems root all by themselves. in fact, I've had little plants keep coming up after the mother bush has been moved. msrose and beth, I would send you some cuttings of the original white drift if I knew how to reach you.
They are darling, but probably much less so when you wake up one morning and half of your roses have been nibbled to the ground. Rather than killing them I wish there were some way to "shoot" the does with a dart that will render them sterile. Much less grief for everyone concerned.
Heirloom lists it but out of stock. I live in Oklahoma. It had covered the whole plant but it still froze. We had a very cold winter that year. I was excited when I saw buds but shocked when they were red. I've left it but really would like to have my white lightnin's back. They smell so wonderful. Thank you for the posts.
Another fan of White Lightnin' from years past, also looking to add to this garden. Plan to call Roses Unlimited (own root gallons) to check availability myself. One good thing about own roots is that if the branches freeze out, the rose that grows back will be the original & not the rootstock (likely Dr. Huey is your case). http://www.rosesunlimitedownroot.com/alphabetical_list.htm
The description at HelpMeFind lists 7b as its lowest hardiness range, but under the Member Comments tab, a contributor mentions it grows well for them in zone 5 Colorado.
I took all your photos and blew them up to examine carefully and that rose looks pretty healthy to me! If there's anything on those leaves it's not hurting it. It could just be dust and dirt. I would suggest a good hard spray of water from the hose to wash them off. I do this weekly on mine to keep the leaves clean. It's said to help prevent fungal infections by rinsing off the spores. I do it because I think a clean leaf is probably better able to produce food than a dirty one.
The new growth at the tops of the canes will always look a little different from the older growth and MANY varieties have reddish or purplish new growth that slowly turns green as it matures. Often times new growth will be a lighter shade of green that darkens with age and sometimes they will be green with a red edging. Every variety is different so watch your roses and learn what each one's new growth is like.
Rose hips take between 90 and 120 days to ripen and not all rose hips turn color when they ripen. Some varieties will remain green. You don't say if this rose only blooms once a season or repeats through the season but if it is a repeat blooming rose and you want to encourage the rose to bloom more often remove those hips and dead head the spent blooms as soon as they fade.
The canes don't look diseased to me either. They look like old canes that have gotten bark like. I really don't see anything fuzzy or fungal there. It just looks like old bark.
I do agree that you need to get rid of the stones. They're not helping things. In your zone you don't want anything that increases heat and sun reflection. A nice pine mulch will keep the root ball much cooler and moister and will not reflect more light up onto the top growth.
Thank you all for the outpour of support! I removed the stones and set mulch in their place during the weekend. I also deadheaded the rose hips and did some pruning to remove the silvery leaves. My most recent bloom has outlived the previous ones and more buds are appearing. I will look into purchasing fish fertilizer this week. I'm looking forward to seeing the plant fluorish during the summer months.