22,153 Garden Web Discussions | Roses
This depends on where you live. I personally would not use Miracle Grow. It's like crack for roses and that bloom comes with a price. I would use some good compost and organics in the soil..get that soil healthy. Cut anything off the rose that looks diseased or dead and hold off anything else until next spring..unless you live in a climate that prunes in the fall. Here in the Pacific Northwest we prune in the spring
Since you live in CA, the tall one is probably a hybrid tea, they just get that big there unless you prune twice a year. Adding a layer of mulch (shredded bark mulch is available bagged at big box stores) will help conserve moisture. The foliage looks great, especially for neglected roses in a drought prone area. Congratulations on your new home.
Sara-Ann, we are in the same zone, but you must have been far more diligent than I last winter. I doubt if I will have too much to show for about a year. I do have isolated blooms, and some of my older roses are fine, but for most of the garden -- I will have to wait.
My blooms are so small that they are not very pretty. When I asked about this problem, Ann said that she needed to work on the roots this year, then the roses would be larger next year. That perfectly describes my situation. I did not water in the winter, and am paying for it now.
Sammy
IâÂÂm trying to catch up on posts IâÂÂve missed lately, and just now seeing some of the pictures youâÂÂve posted of your new roses. All are beauties, but I think these two are my favorites! Btw, you did inspire me to add a few singles to my garden this year, and IâÂÂm really enjoying their simple beauty.
If your looking for information on doing rooted cuttings or on growing roses from seed there is a ton of information over on the propagation forum. Do some searches and you'll find many different ways to do both. There may even be instructions on doing bud grafting if that's what you're looking for.
Here is a link that might be useful: Propagation and Exchange forum
Unless you want to win HT Queen, hybrid teas aren't the best roses for your area. It takes skill, luck, and a mindset that enjoys replacing roses early and often. There are reasons the northeast considers HTs to be zone 7 plants. A big one being that their performance much into zone 6 isn't very good.
These are not hybrid teas in a public garden near the Hudson River in zone 6a. They were planted last spring, and the picture was taken by somebody else a couple of weeks ago. These not hybrid teas were not winter protected. They also have not been watered, and the only fertilizer is some granular stuff sprinkled around. Next year, I am probably going to have to teach people to prune because we will be into that local unknown, pruning for size.
And Diane, if you are reading this, yes, those are the Fairy Tales. The red roses in the middle are polyanthas that have been around for about 15 years, but the others are that Fairy Tale order.
Like Adrianne said, BS shouldn't stop you from enjoying these roses. I've learned to tolerate BS. It's just reality unless you want to spray. I don't spray.
In late June, I strip the leaves from the bottom of the bush to about 5" or so (as suggested by Stephen Scanniello). I also plant cranesbill or nepeta around their feet. You really can't see the BS.
Susan
Thanks for responding. The bottom leaves were paler than the later (top) sets of leaves but... the dark green veins only showed up after I sprayed a few days ago. Makes sense the cold wet soil could have created a deficiency. I still can't explain the veining issue.
Plants with iron deficiency normally have darker green veins against a paler background. I wonder if you just overlooked that when the early leaves grew in. Or maybe the lower leaves are just now starting to develop more chlorophyll.