21,402 Garden Web Discussions | Roses


I know this does not answer your specific question about Miracle Grow, but I use Rose Tone too with great results.
The thing I like about it most is that it does not harm the beneficial organisms in the soil in the way that products like Miracle Grow can. I find RoseTone (along with an annual top-dressing of leaf compost) promotes better soil biological life and this keeps my roses happier and healthier.
To me soil health is just as important in my book as providing food for the roses for them to grow vigorously and stay healthy. The soil is their home after all.

I am not expert, but the NPK ratio seems right for roses. But I think (and may be wrong) that there is more to enriching soil than these 3 components.
I mostly use Mills Magic Mix, sometimes Rose Tone. These organic, slow releasing fertilizers work well with my bushes. They are not as strong as miracle grow (low numbers) and don't work in seconds, but for me that's fine.
Unless you perform a systematic experiment, its hard to determine what works best for your roses, in your conditions. There are so many variables, from pH of the soil, to weather, humidity, sunlight, other plants in close proximity, bugs, etc, etc...
This post was edited by mikeber on Thu, May 22, 14 at 2:02



While a number of this type have stayed 3 feet tall or less for me (own root), even in the ground, Pres HH has not been one of them. I think of it as one of the old HTs that is able to show some vigor on its own roots, even if it was not originally intended to be grown that way. My PHH is still not very tall at all, but its canes are more robust than some others that seem destined to remain somewhat spindly. Mine was from Vintage, and I potted it up to a 2-gallon pot and then put it in the ground about 8 weeks later (I think). Maybe try putting it in the ground?
I do pamper the old HTs, meaning especially in the water and compost department. The one that I have had success with under some neglect is Lundy's Lane Yellow, which grew over 6' tall, lost some leaves to blackspot but never went completely bare and always rebounded. I would think even LLY would need a little pampering until it's established though.

I love their colors but don't have much experience with them yet.
My Pres. HH from Vintage seems quite vigorous so far. It came last fall as a good sized band & is in a 2 gallon pot with rich soil in full sun. I've let it throw a few blooms & they are beautiful.
Got Condessa de Sastago from Burling last fall, also. A good well rooted band that I started in a gallon pot but grew so quickly I had to re-pot to a 2 gallon very soon. It has also thrown quite a few flowers--very pretty.
Don't know how wonderful they'll look once full summer heat hits, as I recall Kim's comments that they are "30 minute blooms" that blow quickly in heat. So I think I'll move them to a part sun area soon, in maybe 7-10 gallon pots. But the blooms in the cool weather of this unusually cool spring were very lovely & lasted pretty well.
Is Talisman a pernetinia? Certainly is colored like them. I have a sentimental love of it, but it has been real puny as an own root plant. Got it as a very small plant from Greenmantle--Marissa was most reluctant to even send it at that size & didn't even charge me for it. It is building up very slowly. But I have rooted cuttings from it, & budded it onto a Ragged Robin. That bud immediately made a shoot taller than the entire own-root plant & wants to make lots of blooms. So very pretty! Can't wait to harvest more buds to graft on RR this summer.
I hope that within the next couple of years that I can share cuttings.

.Agreed that Crocus Rose is an outstanding rose, where I live. Mine was a band planted in the ground three years ago in unamended, poor soil. It was slow in gaining size, but has been tip hardy here in Zone 6b NJ and blackspot free. I donâÂÂt spray. The cane are very lax, with thorns relatively sparsely spaced, and are thus easy to peg. It is not a beauty queen, but, in my garden, it is one of the few well-behaved, easy going roses.


Yes, patience. You've already applied some chelated iron in the fertilizer. I wouldn't buy it because you'll probably overdo it. But it should be on most garden counters. Don't look for "iron" in the name--it will be named GREENsomething or somethingGREEN.


Now you've got me considering Coral Dawn again for this garden. Searched GW & found the linked thread. The member familiar with this rose, zjw, doesn't seem to have email enabled, but perhaps you could flag them down on the Antique Roses Forum. And wow! 5,000 roses on order from Vintage in 2012.
Here is a link that might be useful: Anyone grow climbing Coral Dawn...?

I haven't yet grown Coral Dawn but I'll go for bonus point on Mme. Carolyn Testout. She's a moderate monster in my zone and like more so in yours, so plan accordingly. She is on one side of a maybe 8-9' arch here in zone 5, and most years she'll stretch fully across it to the other side. Even this year after being cut to the ground a few weeks ago, she's already 2 feet tall and climbing. The thing to watch is that she has very stiff canes quite quickly in her growth, so be sure to shape the canes horizontally as soon as possible before they harden up. She can put out monster thick canes when mature and they're a real bugger to try to bend at that point.
Hardiness isn't an issue for you, but in zone 5 she's a consistent trooper and one of the few that will reliably cover an arch in that color range.
Cynthia

I believe the extraction method for "rosewater" is glycerine. Rose otto, the essential oil, is made by pressing huge amounts of petals and stamens with things like olive presses.
You can also extract essential oily compounds from plants by soaking in alcohol, drinkable or not, and vinegar. I think this also works for non-oily parts, too.
A good book on making plant botanical salves and such should give you more detailed information.

jasminerose4u, rich soil, a thick mulch of good compost (keep the compost from coming into contact with the stems) and never, ever, ever let the soil dry out. Don't drown it of course, but dry soil is fatal. Try a weak fertilizer like fish emulsion at half the recommended strength every couple of weeks. They like fertilizer.





I used to just keep putting down new mulch over the old--but after years it wasn't completely rotting into the ground & it was nasty, so I raked it all off & started anew. Now, like I said, I use the mulch in the rose collars when I winterize.
You don't need to change your zone because of an atypical winter.
Another rose you might look at is 'Les Sjulin'. It is definitely high centered, but doesn't hold form as long as most HTs.