22,153 Garden Web Discussions | Roses

Suggest 'Sweet Chariot' instead. Lots of little flowers, but delightfully fragrant, and happier in So Cal.

Plus, Sweet Chariot is incredibly fragrant. Kim

Seil - I am so happy that you are finally able to enjoy some sunshine and warmth and your roses, I know it was a miserable winter for you! M - I wish you could send some rain to me and Kate! I think Kate would agree, we would be glad to send some sunshine and warmer weather your way! My roses haven't been hurt by the drought yet, but they could be if things don't turn around. It would be so nice if we could all just have the right balance of everything, that's not realistic though. Jim, thank you!

The_bustopher - I know, it is frustrating. We've had hit and miss showers for awhile now, until recently they were totally missing my area. I'm not sure how far behind we are, but I would guess it's probably a similar amount to what yours is.

This post was edited by Sara-Ann on Mon, May 26, 14 at 23:21

all of California and a large chunk of Texas are in severe drought or worse.

US drought map

I had similar issues and our own root bands came back...
So hopefully your does too! :)

frances_in_nj ...give it a chance it may come back also...

frances I am sorry to hear that. I would think their advice would apply to all roses - for both our sakes I sure hope so!

Thanks everyone for the kind words & advice. I have hope now that it will!!

Add to all of the above that the majority of the Buck roses were introduced by Roses of Yesterday and Today, a nursery well known for using a contract grower who infamously used infected Dr. Huey root stock to produce everything. Years before the original nursery ceased operations (the current version is owned and operated by descendants of the last original owner/operator, and has little to do with the original other than in name), I visited them and toured their growing grounds. There were hundreds of three gallon, paper pulp potted roses and symptoms in every row of plants. I have personal experience with an Earth Song which was given to the gentleman from whom I obtained it by Dr. Buck himself, at Iowa State. It is virused. The man from whom I obtained it never budded it. He received it infected. So, if you hope to find any of the Buck roses (except, perhaps the later ones introduced in the nineties and later, but no guaranty) uninfected, it's pretty much going to have to be one which has been put through the treatment program somewhere to eliminate RMV. Like the majority of the AARS roses, which came out through Armstrong Roses (and were infected by them), the Bucks came to market infected. I haven't grown one yet which didn't show symptoms in my climate. Kim

Thank you all for the replies and info. I originally learned of Buck roses on these forums and they seemed well suited for my area as I am in Iowa. At this point, I will keep my eye on it and see whether or not it has reduced vigor and decide what to do from there. I also asked local growers about experiences growing an infected Buck roses here.

This is indeed a helpful thread for all gardeners. Using organic products is the best way to keep your skin fresh and shining.

Toi have no skin problems, I have used pure chimp super body cream which is 100% natural.

I on the other hand, found direct sunlight to be the driver in out zone 6a garden. Its probably due to the weather. We don't have the long growing season of south California and even most of May was cloudy with drizzle. So the true sunny days are precious.

This post was edited by mikeber on Mon, May 26, 14 at 22:01

I'm inland SF bay area. During the summer months, we alternate between cool weather with the marine layer and frying with 100+ weather. The heat makes thing happen too fast once the HT start their growth spurt. Ideally, the heat get things going and it will cool off so I can enjoy the blooms. We don't get as long a growing season as Scal

Bewitched can be very pretty, when it's pretty. Yours is the nicest I've ever seen! You did well! Kim

Very nice! :)

There could be any number of reasons for that funky growth but I don't think it's RRD. You got them a couple of weeks ago and planted them right away. We had some frost warnings just a couple of weeks ago, did you too? That looks like cold damage to new growth in my opinion.

As far as the thorns are concerned, some roses ARE thornier than others. I don't see anything like the massive thorniness of RRD. You wouldn't be able to see much of any green cane at all between the thrones on RRD canes.

You need to relax and be patient and let this poor thing warm up and really start growing.

Thanks for the responses,

They did not come potted - just in plastic bags to protect the roots.

I don't believe it could be cold damage as we haven't gotten below 40 degrees in some time. I was actually a little concerned because the usual ship time is in April and I didn't get them until the 6th of May. First week I had them the temps were in the 60s 70s which is rather warm for planting roses according to my reading?

Does flushing the soil mean shoving a hose in the ground and running it for a while? Sorry if that's a silly question.

The weather change should be good for the CT Rose Show, which moved up a week this year, as many gardens were bloomed out by the time to the show. While the stems might not be as long, I look forward to seeing different varieties at the show.

Funny,
I've always thought fall bloom is our best. Spring is always a fight against weeds and weather.

Fall bloom comes more slowly, bloom sizes can be huge without heavy fertilizer (just cooler days) and better color because the sun's rays aren't as intense. Also no hail storms. No late Easter Freeze. No really hungry dear and their fauns. Slower caterpillars.

I guess Fall for the win.

To add to mg's comments, if you can get out there and wipe before too much damage is done, they don't multiply and make things worse. Quicker you can smash them the better. Wear some thin nitrile gloves if squishing bothers you.

thanks guys!

You could always pinch off the blooms and float them in a crystal bowl. If you remove the buds the first year, the plant can focus on root production.

Here is a link that might be useful: Removing buds on first year plants

Hello everybody, and thank you all for the replies :)
Despite what it looks like, the rose bush is 3-5 years old.
The reason it is so small is because the fools at brookfields nursery kept pruning them EXTREMELY hard, all the time!
I already cut the flowers at the sides leaving one-third of the stem with a few leaves. sorry... >_>
I left the middle stem untouched, tho.
It does not seem to have suffered any shock, tho.

This post was edited by NOACCEPTANCE772 on Mon, May 26, 14 at 11:36

Ah! We have a winner! Fragrant Delight! This is exactly it.

Thank you so much for all the help- I now need to find a supplier, as my local grower does not carry it, to my surpriseâ¦Its one of the best in the midwest, and alas- no luck

Wonderful! You're welcome, happy to help. The endearing image of you & your children enjoying this rose in your garden, completing the circle of nostalgic past with unfolding present, brings a smile to my heart.

Roses Unlimited in South Carolina lists Fragrant Delight. They supply gallon plants growing on their own roots rather than grafted & are well-respected, earning a Top 5 rating at Garden Watchdog.

Fragrant Delight is an all-around winner in many ways - beautiful & generous bloom early to frost, delightful fragrance & health & won several awards at the time including the Edland fragrance medal. Thank you for reminding me of its charms! Now I'm seeking this truly delightful rose for this garden, too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Roses Unlimited Roses A-Z

I remember doing something similar with a Peace rose years ago! But now he is a total enabler and doesn't say a word if I say I need a particular rose. Makes life easier!

I love your choices. When I was using spray, I had a red and white front garden. I had a circle of white roses, and on the outside of the circle in beds or alone, I had my red roses.

Europeana was outstanding, Chrysler Imperial was also a beauty, and reminded me of my father's garden in Indiana. Oklahoma is also beautiful, but did not like me garden.

I had other colors in the back or side of the yard. I do not remember Intrigue or Fragrant Cloud, but do remember the names.

I think you have some real winners in your roses.

Sammy

Hi Jameya

Boy - things move quickly when I haven't logged in for a day or two! You're right that most of these canes need to be pruned down. All three canes in picture #1 probably need to be taken down to mostly at the ground, though you might be able to stop just before the growth I see at the base. You want to see mostly green cane with mostly cream colored centers after you prune. In picture #2, you can see the growth dying off at the end of the two smaller canes and these need to be taken down to the ground. The center cane might have an inch or so of good cane left - you could try cutting just above a swelling I see toward the base of the cane and see if it will resprout. So far, it isn't showing many good signs of growth. The last picture has a little better cane on the back larger cane, but those brown streaks look like trouble in the making. I'd cut that front shorter cane all the way to the ground, and you'd need to at least trim the back cane down to where the growth starts to the right. In my garden, I'd trim further down to where the growth starts to the left, but some of those streaks might turn out OK. Usually it's a sign of something that gets worse, so if there's still healthy cane below it, I'm always prone to cut more so there's less danger of spreading.

Hope this helps
Cynthia

From what I understood, "catnip" and "catmint" are somewhat interchangeable terms for various species in the Nepeta genus. The species that's more specifically known as "catnip" is Nepeta cataria, and that seems to be the one in your seed packets. I agree that it will spread, and isn't particularly attractive (at least, compared to other species in the genus). I planted a few cultivars of Nepeta here in my new garden:

'Dropmore Hybrid'
'Little Titch'
'Six Hills Giant'
'Walker's Low'

There are a few others out there, but a piece of frugal advice -- if you're a patient gardener, don't buy more than one per cultivar. They are easily propagated -- in my last garden a few years back, I'd simply snip stems and stick them in the ground in Spring, and most rooted and grew. I've tried this a few times again here, and so far, so good.

One other piece of advice regarding any species in the Nepeta genus -- while N. cataria is the one most commonly grown specifically as a "cat tonic", cats will often find other species attractive as well. Keep this in mind when planting them in the garden, because cats will often roll around in the plants and squash them to the ground. I've been battling that issue here (a woman a few doors down feeds strays.....grrrr), and found that what seems to work is to build a "fence" around each plant with some tree branches stuck in the ground. I think that as my roses mature, I'll start sticking Nepeta stems in the ground at their bases -- the Nepeta will cover any naked legs on the roses, and the roses' thorns will (hopefully) deter the cats. We'll see....

:-)

~Christopher