21,402 Garden Web Discussions | Roses

I love Roses Unlimited, They sent me large, robust, healthy and LOVELY plants that started blooming a few weeks after arrival and neve stop thriving. Stephanie who answers the phone is patient and lovely, even though I was this stumbling idiot when it came to roses. Pat who's the owner is also very nice and considerate in our communications via emails, though I'd recommend communicating through the phone.

I've ordered most of mine on line because the local nurseries don't carry much of a selection. I'll double, triple and quadruple the warning about Grow Quest!!! DO NOT bother with them. I am one of the horror stories out there. Other than that I've had pretty good luck with most all of the other reputable sources. Yes, even Horitico gets it right or makes it right a fair amount of the time. But all of the other places mentioned here are VERY good sources. I have purchased bare roots from Regan on line and they were fabulous plants but they've already stopped sending bare roots out for this year and they don't ship potted plants that I know of.
This is a problem that I run into every year. By the time my season rolls around it's hard to find roses available for shipping because so many of the major nurseries are out west or down south and it's getting too warm there. That and the selection is slim because they're already well picked over by the warm zone buyers. It makes it really hard to find some roses if you live in zones 7 and below. I can't always know a year in advance what I might need or want or be able to afford so I can place an early order. Makes it tough.


Also, I know next to nothing about pruning :$ I guess come fall I'll be reading up on how to prune those large pink roses. I prune off the flowers as they die so that it continues to bloom. Perhaps they are not well suited for growing in a container. I argued with my husband last year to get bigger pots, but he felt a pot slightly bigger than the one they came in would be fine. It was, but they definitely look like they are outgrowing it. The two pink roses look like they might be too close during winter, but it's pretty dry here in California. I figured being this close might help create a humid microclimate? Although humidity causes fungal problems, so I don't know >_

If you intend to keep those roses in pots, they will definitely need bigger pots soon. Terra cotta pots are fine, but bigger would be better. That will also help the heat issue. In our dry No CA climate, I would group the pots together as you suggest. It will not cause fungal problems as it might somewhere where it is humid.
I think your plants look lovely - keep asking questions on here, and enjoy them!
Jackie


I pruned all the dead canes back on my roses yesterday; most had to be cut back to only 2-3 inches, the miniatures even less. But, nearly all of the plants are showing some buds and even leafing out close to the base -- only one I think is completely dead, but I will wait to see.
I was wondering if it would be useful to feed them now or should I wait?
They are all in raised beds, but even so, it is still very soggy out there and more rain is coming, if that is a consideration. TIA

Dig a bit and see what's happening at the root level. How old is this plant? Did you plant it as a band? As a bare root? Did you make sure the soil was compacted around the roots? It is very difficult to drown a rose unless you have an extremely water retaining clay soil. I'm prepared to bet it needs more watering but only you can tell by investigating what's happening below the surface. Also, the rose recovering during the night or some time after you water it and drooping in the afternoon is a sure sign of not enough water for the conditions. It means it reacts to watering and to the hot conditions, ergo it's not drowning.
Nik
This post was edited by nikthegreek on Fri, Apr 11, 14 at 14:25

I would just rig up some temporary shade and not do anything else until they recover. The shade will keep stress on the plant's systems to a minimum. We had that three days of 90F or 90F+. That is very stressful for a young plant.
Also be careful with how much amendment you add to the soil. As woody material (even when composted) mixed into the soil decomposes, it robs the soil of oxygen. Plant roots need oxygen as much as they need water and nutients.

Unless the rose is to be a highlight in your garden spot or it gets really huge, I think having several bushes together will give it a better appearance, since you mention concern about appearance.
Personally I like a rose bush that blooms constantly throughout the growing season. In fact, I'm not sure I can say that I've seen a "regular rose bush" that doesn't bloom constantly in my areas, but of course, I can't say I would know the difference, as sometimes I just see roses that may start blooming at different times or that were pruned to encourage even more blooms again later in the season.
But at the same time, you could plant a few types so that the total imagery created by your rose bushes is that of a constant bloom in your yard, even if in reality, one or two of them were not in bloom.


I'm sure it won't hurt, just build up your trough with the mulch and don't lay it too thick on the inside so water can easily get through it, maybe an inch or so? Mom always did that with hers, keeps the roots cool and wet.
You can also find some type of ground cover to plant around it next season, or whenever you are done moving it around lol. Something that can handle being trimmed if necessary is and fast growing, but won't take all the food from the rose. There's this stuff here in Indiana that's got little yellow flowers and creeps over the ground, grows like a weed just about anywhere and can take over if you're not careful, really resistant to both wet and dry weather and can handle hard freezes and blaring sun with no worries; we put it in all of our empty-looking flower beds that have big, tall plants but it chokes out smaller things like hyacinth (don't know if I spelled that right... oops). After a quick Google search I found the name of it, Czar's Gold Sedum. The link is a place to buy it and the only one I could find that looks like ours, not sure if it will grow well where you're at but hopefully it will help give you a place to start looking if you want to give something like it a try. :3
Here is a link that might be useful: Czars Gold Sedum, takes a bit of scrolling down to find it
This post was edited by SasorisPuppet on Fri, Apr 11, 14 at 11:15


Colette is in her gorgeous spring flush right now. I do mean gorgeous. A smaller flower and smaller foliage on this romantica. One to be viewed up close. Bloom color varies from warm soft pink to peachy pink to apricot. It took me a couple of years to appreciate this rose as I'm used to larger showier blooms. It finally dawned on me I've never seen disease on it. Aphids, yes.

Mines more of a permanent pot ghetto too.
Speaking from somewhere it gets pretty hot in summer, its always a good idea to mulch. I tried mulching a few with lucerne hay (alfalfa) this year, and it seems to have helped.
That and get them up off the ground a bit ( especially if they are resting on concrete paving). I rest mine up on bricks to try and get some airflow underneath, and discourage the ants from setting up home.
Getting the watering right- its very easy to skip a few days here and there 'cos the weather isn't "that" hot...or the forecasts keep promising rain that doesn't materialise) then your pots start to dry out. The rose wont die..it just stops growing and flowering, starts looking skanky, and becomes susceptible to disease.
Not sure how feasible climbers would be here as permanent pot residents; I spend far too much time thinking about DIY movable trellising and how to rig up cost effective versions. Your Pat Austin is giving me ideas again Daisy :)
Buff Beauty mysteriously ended up on last years bare root order. 10 months later, shes looking ok, but would be happier trained on something..
No inspring pics from my ghetto, but Seil always gives me hope that one day I can master the art of growing in pots, hehe

In zone 9 I don't know how big a climber or rambler could get so it may not be possible to pot them. But in my zone 6 they never reach the size they can where you are so I had no problem potting my Blaze for 6 years. I have a Dublin Bay in a pot right now because I want it to get larger before I plant it in the ground. Hoping it takes off this season!


Dani; you could try Frederic Mistral - he is similar in colour, and according to HMF, rated to zone 5. The the comments and ratings there seem to attest that he does well in colder zones.
Sadly we don't seem to get Belindas Dream here, so I cant compare the two, but I can confirm that Freddy is very strongly fragranced.

Thanks everyone!
Yes, if you want to do some transplanting, and the soil is digable, now is a good time. Otherwise we need to just wait some more. I know it's hard. I'm as itchy as everyone else to get out there but it's still too soon. I checked my forsythia today and there isn't any even any signs of growth let a lone bloom on it.

Wise advise indeed, Seil! Lots of us northerners have been through brutal winters followed by our old nemisis by which I mean cycles of disappointing spring thaws followed by chilly temps which included dreadfull wind chill factors to make growing our favorite plants (which are roses of course! :-)) all the more challenging. In past years I have been frequently been pleasantly surprised by roses that I've thought were gonners fully reviving into satisfying plants that have gone on to give me years of joy! Rosarians know that roses are FAR much tougher and easier to grow than many nonrosarians know! I'm gratefull that this spring in Spokane, WA has seen some nice and toasty days up to 70 F so far!! :-)

I never heard of mildew going away after june. I am concerned because some recently planted europena and Dublin Bay both have mildew problems. I was going to go after it with spray this weekend or toss the roses. They are both located in the same corner where I had America growing last year and it was filled with mildew and never went away. I welcome all advice. Judith P.

Both Chrysler Imperial and Europeana are well known for their mildew issues here in California. Mildew can be caused by several factors, as well as combinations of any and all of them. First is the genetic proclivity of the variety to mildew. Those genetically susceptible to mildew will require spraying for it in most climates. Immature plants are often more susceptible to diseases, so some may (or may not) out grow them. Weather conditions/time of year can trigger mildew (rust and/or black spot) if you go through short periods where the conditions are more favorable to foster the fungal growth. Siting plays a huge part in many cases. Not providing sufficient air flow or sunlight can create micro climates where diseases proliferate. If you can keep the air flowing (without creating a wind tunnel), and at least five to six hours of sunlight (here in the west, particularly), you may help alleviate the issue. One of the most unbelieved causes of mildew (and other diseases) is water stress. If you don't seem able to eliminate the issue, check the water to make sure the plant is receiving enough. I can force just about any rose in my garden to rust or mildew just by keeping it chronically too dry. If you've corrected all the other possibilities and the plant still offends, and you don't want to spray, change the rose variety for one which is known to be more resistant to the particular disease. Kim



To me, the yellow looks exactly like rose mosaic virus. And yes, lots of roses can exhibit it, especially if they are grafted hybrid teas. In fact, I seen comments more than once on this forum that most of the rootstock in the US has been infected--which means that most of the grafted roses we buy have it--unless the nursery has taken special measures (expensive!) to get rid it. And most of the nurseries have NOT done that.
The good news is that usually the symptoms of rose mosaic virus just appear for a short time (spring seems to be a popular time) and then they go into hiding. I have an Earth Song--about 6-7 years old--that every once in a while exhibits leaf symptoms. Rest of the year--it looks and blooms just like any other rose would. So I don't worry about it, and if a leaf with symptoms gets on my nerves, I simply remove it so that I don't have to look at it.
Here is my rmv Earth Song--bright pink, and blooming well, in my opinion.

Kate
This post was edited by dublinbay on Sat, Apr 12, 14 at 12:29
Often when the subject of rose viruses comes up, there are comments from growers with hot summers that an infected rose is not a big deal. The early research appears contradictory on this point, The following link is to more recent research in Poland.
http://www.up.poznan.pl/ptfit/pdf/PP44a/PP_44_027-035.pdf
In their introduction they appear to recognize that higher temperatures reduce the effect of infection:
"On the other hand, Wong and Horst (1988) have not observed any effect of viral infection on stem length and total number of rose cut flowers among âÂÂBridal PinkâÂÂ, âÂÂFragrant CloudâÂÂ, âÂÂGrand MasterpieceâÂÂ,
âÂÂSamanthaâ and âÂÂSimplicityâ cultivars. The plants were grown in greenhouse, and the elevated temperatures may have alleviated effect of PNRSV."
The Polish research is consistent with the theory that roses have an immune system against PNRSV that is more effective at higher temperatures.
http://home.roadrunner.com/~kuska/high_temperature_effect_on_pnrsv.htm
Here is a link that might be useful: Polish rose virus research