22,153 Garden Web Discussions | Roses
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
Wait until it blooms so you can see what is rose and what isn't ... then select the oldest (usually darker, rougher bark) shoots and prune them off close to the ground. Prune half the newer (smoother, greener or reddish bark) ones to about 3 feet above ground and leave the rest alone.
Next year, during rose pruning season, you'll have a better idea of what it needs to stay in shape.
You need a better trellis, too.
I know what you mean Seil, especially after the polar vortex from last year (and the current one in Chicago now). I have a list started from someone here for cane-hardy roses in Zone 4 (the title was 'ridiculously hardy roses' or something). I had minimal die back on the Austin's but still enough to prevent them from reaching the top of the arbor each and every summer.
I think planting now is likely to be best. I live in a different kind of climate from yours with probably less sharp winter cold than you have, but still zone 8 with snowy winters and hot dry summers. If you plant now your rose will have a chance to get established before the summer heat arrives. In my experience even tender roses are not bothered by temperatures in the teens (though during our biggest cold snap in recent years we had a foot of snow on the ground). The biggest danger, I guess, would be a hard freeze with bare ground. If you give your rose a good mulch (organic matter that doesn't compact down and not touching the trunk of the rose) and give it some protection in the event of sharp cold with no snow, I think it will do fine.
Melissa
I remember reading about making a collar for bare root roses planted early made of heavily folded up newspaper that wrapped around the canes and stapled. Inside was filled with mulch or leaves. It was left on until the plant started leafing out then slowly removed. Kept the canes moist while insulating and protecting them. I tried it, it worked great and now when I order bare roots, I use this method. Never had a problem. You could do this, mulch the ground heavily and maybe get a big plastic tub from Walmart and put on top of that, could remove on nice days. There are rolls of silver foam insulation that could be wrapped around the protected plant. Doing these things, I think the plant would make it fine. Good luck.
Among the first Kordes roses you listed, I've had Beverly and Golden FT for several years and they're reliably hardy and nice bloomers, particularly Beverly. Golden FT blooms well but they fade pretty quickly to creamy yellow. I've had Savannah in its first year now, but it's too soon to see if it overwinters. The rest of the ones you list from Chamblees are new releases and also too soon to see if they overwinter. I have Wedding Bells, First Crush, and Heart Song on order, and I'm pretty confident they'll overwinter well.
All of the Kordes Fairy Tale, Veranda, and Circus roses are bullet proof and hardy for me. Poseidon is a rock-solid mauve, and I agree that Roserium Uetersen is a reliable low climber. Champagne Wishes is a blush Kordes that is a profuse bloomer and very hardy, and almost all of my Kordes roses are from Roses Unlimited or Chamblees, so they're own root roses and have overwintered well.
Cynthia
Thanks for the link Agnes. Eyes playing tricks on me.
I have fallen in love with Beth's pictures of 'Broceliande'. Sorry I don't know about fragrance of these. My one and only stripe ('Swirling Orange' - cheapie pot from Home Depot) has no fragrance my nose can detect. Maybe Nippstress is right about the striped cultivars.
If you want a good stripey... try PHILATELIE. Got it from Palatine last season, and OMG what a great rose it was for a first-yr plant! Gorgeous huge striped blooms in corals, red, and white. My favorite rose of last yr I think! Don't remember if it had any scent tho. But I'm guessing not...
Some tomato seed mats, sealskinz warm waterproof gloves, 3 blocks of organic, fair-trade compressed coir, a pair of lovely Razorsharp Spear & Jackson secateurs, a Crocus gift certificate (already ordered a viburnum, Charles Lamont) and three roses of my choice (postage included) from Peter Beales, which I am pleasurably dithering over. Deuil de Paul Fontaine, Deschamps, Golden Moss, Alfred Coloumb, and Enfant de France are all on the short list.
Seil, I have one of my Double Knock Outs planted in mostly shade--several hours of sun in the earlier morning, perhaps a couple hours of sun late in the day, but I'm sure it doesn't add up to 6 hours of sun--more like 4-5 hours, I'd guess.
No disease problems, but less abundant bloom than my Double Knock Out planted in the sun. Looks nice when in bloom (not spectacular, but nice), but takes a rather long rest between blooming cycles. Like mad gallica, I'd move it--if I had a better spot left open.
Do consider the hybrid musks. I don't know if they all can take part shade, but many of them can. I have Felicia out in back where there is more sun--it is really lovely--you'll have to check on how shade tolerant it is. However, I ordered a new HM for a spot that gets part shade--can't remember if I ordered Cornelia or Penelope, so I'll be surprised when I get it in early spring, but they are both wonderful HMs. Whichever one I ordered, it is supposed to tolerate partial shade.
Here's an idea. How about Ghislaine de Feligonde. She grows usually as a climber, but you could let her ramble and just fill up that space. (That is how I grow my Buff Beauty, as a free-standing shrub.) Ghislaine is listed as a "Hybrid Multiflora, Hybrid Musk, Rambler" at helpmefind.com, and tolerates shade. It is hardy to zone 5 and is disease-resistant. I planted one last year--hasn't bloomed yet, but sure is taking off like a good vigorous rose. Mine is way out in back, so I intend to let it sprawl and do whatever it likes. That area gets part-shade.
Like someone said above, it you are after bright colors, hybrid musks also come in some rosy reds shades, but I don't grow them, so I can't tell you anything about them. I also do not know if they are as shade tolerant as their lighter cousins. But that's what helpmefind.com is for--answering all our questions!
I really think you would be happier with a HM in that spot--or depending on how big the spot is, maybe you could combine a lighter HM with the brighter Double Knock Out.
Let us know what you come up with--but a word of warning on the supposedly re-blooming hydrangeas (macrophylls). They don't always do a good job re-blooming--spring freezes tend to destroy the first bloom. Most macrophyls have that problem. On the other hand, the Annabelle hydrangea can take more cold, but needs more sun.
Good luck with your planning. Do look over the hybrid musks. I really like them.
Kate
Thank you, thank you! I hadn't thought about anything else and I should have. I've never been all that fond of the KOs but I was in desperation mode since this is a difficult spot I guess. Shame on me, lol! I'm so glad I decided to ask here first.
I did a search on HMF for HMs, very hardy, shade tolerant and it came up with a great list! There are many really lovely ones to choose from so I'm off to do some pickin' n choosen'!
No, leave them alone. Don't even try to take the snow off. Let the snow melt on it's own and the branch will come back up as it warms up. I tried to clean the snow off once and the branches were so brittle from the cold they instantly snapped. That's true for any plants you have too, evergreens, bushes, trees, etc. leave them alone and let them recover naturally. It's much better for them.
Last summer I purchased 3 Ralph Moore miniatures from Mountain Valley by mail ('Andrea', 'Torch of Liberty', and 'Redwood Empire') along with some hard-to-find herbs. There is maybe only one other place listed on HMF to purchase 'Torch of Liberty' in the U.S., which has the most charming pale yellow petal reverses! The rose plants that arrived were small but healthy and well-rooted and can't beat the price. They are actually all in bloom out in the yard at the moment...
This post was edited by catspa on Mon, Dec 29, 14 at 20:06
Hi
Is it ok to ask for recommendations? I am looking for something that includes micro-nutrients. Sorry if this is considered as "hijacking"..
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.