22,153 Garden Web Discussions | Roses

I blew it, too. I swore to myself I wouldn't order any until I had planted everything in the pot ghetto--until Roses Unlimited notified they were shipping a replacement rose and did I want to add some to the box. And you know how that goes.
Jay, my Baronne Prevost had buds for the first time. I've been eagerly awaiting the opening, but when I went out this morning, two of my horses had gotten out and chomped off all the buds--Rose blooms are like crack to my two Tennessee Walkers. I'm still steamed.

Well I just blew it again. Ordered from Regans now. Well, I have an excuse, sort of. We have to have our septic system replaced, and need to have two very large trees cut down beforehand. Had to dig out about 60 roses in two beds in order not to lose them when the trees go down. Plus we're not sure exactly where the leach lines are going. (most likely right where the larger bed was) Anyway, in the process of digging out the roses, I discovered I lost a few of them. One was ROCK 'N' ROLL. So of course I have to replace it, and had to order two more to make it worth the shipping, and get the 10% off. So I also ordered BIG MOMMA which I just fell in love with after seeing Sara-Ann's pic in the "B Roses" thread in the Gallery. And the third one was yet another replacement attempt at SILVER STAR. (it always dies on me) One of the other roses that died I'll have to order from Roses Unlimited. But I think I'll wait a bit and figure out what else I want (but don't really need)....

I would keep a shovel handy. If after two years it is still moping, place the shovel by the plant. After three years use the shovel. The rose store is still open.
I agree it is best to compost from the top down. Let the earthworms do the digging for you.
I try and pick a rose with a zone or two hardiness than the zone I live in (in my case the Mudwest.)
Contact your local ARS rose club ( there are a few left) and pick their brains. Keep in mind many of them are HT nuts.
I like Standing Perpetually. You may not.
What ever sets your heart afire.
Here is a link that might be useful: Stanwell Perpetual

I wish to retract and apologize for my uncalled for crack about the ARS. I can think of no other organization in the last few years who have tried so hard to broaden their coverage of roses of all sorts.
Give them a try. Their Magazine has lots of good info and advice.
If you are lucky you could join a local organization and get a few ideas, all sorts of stuff.
On second thought, the best advice IMHO that I could give a newcomer to roses would be to join the ARS.
Here is a link that might be useful: four-month trial membership for only $10

Yes, unless there are only a few bushes the only practical approach is to either plant clean kinds of roses or spray them.
The latter is definitely not an option as far as I am concerned, let alone am I going to go picking leaves off.
When I had a rose collection here I had no trouble identifying and acquiring kinds that were not disease magnets. Now I just have several kinds, due to taking most of the front garden out and putting in lawn, in order to regain control and make the property more conventionally appealing (in anticipation of when the time comes that I am not here anymore).

Some do, some don't. Interesting replies, and as a plus I learned about teas...that they are, sadly , too big for my smallish garden....and they are verrry prickly. I also learned I've not been taking off enough branches: all under pinkie width. Thanks to all of you, expect I'll have a better roses year. Oh, and if the winds don't kick up this week, I will remove all the ugly leaves and sweep them up before composting. I feel like such a slow rose learner. Love this forum's generous members . :)


I also wonder if the vector mites prefer to be far from the soil.
I know they'll infect potted roses that aren't that far off the ground, but in the real world, where there are mixed elevations of plants, I've seen a number of times where the smallest wimpiest roses haven't gotten sick while the honking big roses above the wimps have. With the wimps, we put them on my totally unpublished list of roses that didn't get RRD; only, when we started looking and asking, we saw the same cultivars getting RRD in other gardens.
Could the vector mites have a locailized altitude preference? Don't know. But this spring I go into my species garden and see if the ground hugging R. wichurana is still there and healthy (while a certain rose in the immediate vicinity is no longer RRD free.)

When there are reports of RRV mass infections that die quickly, I wonder whether Weed and Feed and / or Round-Up type herbicide damage was ruled out as a cause.
"Now that scientists have been able to identify the virus, a specific PCR virus test is available (the current fee is $25. per sample.) from Oklahoma State University . However, the following suggests (to me) that many "apparent" RRV infected roses may actually only have herbicide damage. In 2013, the Texas Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab received thirty-one symptomatic samples of different rose varieties that were tested for Rose Rosette Virus. Of those thirty-one samples, only ten returned with positives finds.""
https://sites.google.com/site/roserosettevirus/
Here is a link that might be useful: link for above



I grew Del Rio many years ago and remember it as being easy care, very full with quilled petals and not a lot of fragrance. Then I got interested in Austin roses. Having limited garden space I gave it away, later wishing I hadn't.
I think you'll enjoy it. If I can find my photos of it I'll post them.


I only planted my Eden last spring and it looks good so far. Had a few nice blooms (not profusely but it is the first year)and it only got bs near the end of summer. I think it is from the Swan lake beside it. The whole plant is beautiful and the overall impression is soft elegance. It stands out in my cottagey, romantic garden theme. I will see if it survives this year.


Hi Eden, rosey questions are always welcome! A good granular rose fertilizer with micronutrients that is widely available on the east coast is Espoma Rose Tone. I can purchase it at Lowe's I'm not sure about organic granular rose fertilizers available on the west coast. Try to avoid combination products that include fertilizer, pesticide and fungicide - they don't work well and they're very toxic to pets & wildlife.

I started my rose growing experience in SE FL (Hollywood) back in the mid 1970's. Then moved to Winter Haven for 20 yrs before spending 9 yrs in Port St Lucie. Retired in late 08 and moved to the NE GA mountains. Most of my time growing roses were in hot, humid FL. Am I an expert?? NO. But I did lean a few lessons while living and growing roses in FL.The own root roses you will be getting from Chamblees will have to go into pots. The nematodes will destroy the root systems of these roses in a mater of a few years. I grew several large roses in pots. I sank the pots into the ground with about the top 2"/4" above ground level. All of my own root roses were started in 3 gal. nursery pots for a year to get a good root system under them. Then moved into 10/15/20/25 nursery pots, depending on the variety of the rose and how big it will get. As far as disease resistant they will be for your area, I don't know. Belinda's Dream is supposed to be disease free but mine always got a little black spot by summers end. Some OGR's stay clean all year long. The best people to see for easy care roses in FL are Florida Southern Collage in Lakeland. They have a very large garden there that is cared for by the school. They will be having a pruning party sometime in February. If you can make it up to the school for their "party", you will learn a TON about growing roses in FL. Over in the Antique Rose Form, Dr. Manors has the dates posted.

My experience in a no-chill climate with the Kordes roses is that most of them have excellent disease resistance but in a no-winter climate grow huge and would rather grow huge than bloom.
That is only a general observation--there must be some that do well, just haven't found any yet. And BS pressure in FL is far higher than in Europe.
I would do as Ken suggests and check out the collection at the college to see what will perform best for you no-spray.

High Country lists R. canina, see when they will have it in stock again. They can give you good advice about what species would best work in your climate. R. canina is only listed to zone 6 on helpmefind.
I'd go with R. glauca myself, prettier and hardier.
2. A sunny location with good drainage is best. Loosening the soil a good distance around the plant rather than digging a small hole will allow the root system to spread easily and give the rose a better start. Do not over-amend the soil; more is NOT better.
Here is a link that might be useful: high country roses

Farmerduck, it's good to be back and so much fun seeing what everyone is up to. Love it.
Michaela, could you show us a photo of your front entrance? Maybe we could make a few suggestions. I think there are lots of interesting garden design possibilities for an entrance at the side of a home. Diane

JJPeace, thank you! I know, it's definitely a dream right now but it's fun to plan until we can make it happen. Yeah I'm trying not to plant anything that would be difficult to move or replace until we can get that done. I figure I have lots of other places in the yard I can focus on until then!
I sure will! It's so fun sharing gardening adventures with people who understand how exciting & rewarding it can be!
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Farmerduck - thank you! Her blooms are beautiful! I'm hoping she survives the winter.... it got down to -8 at 10 pm last night, not sure how much more it dropped. Thankfully (I can't believe I'm saying this) we got a lot of snow so I'm hoping that the thick layer of snow is protecting my roses.
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nanadoll, I don't have any right now but I will take some in the spring and see what you guys think! I'd love some suggestions. :o)
Michaela




Dr. Windham also spoke at the joint Deep South District and Carolina District Mid Winter Meeting this past weekend. I'm sure it's similar to the link above. But the advice is to remove bushes with RRD immediately. Also things that are being worked on are a 'stick' type test for RRD, natural predators, some miticides that show promise and the new grant for RRD Research. And as always, constant vigilance in your own garden is the best preventive to keep RRD from devastating your roses.