21,401 Garden Web Discussions | Roses

Before you cut any of it, is the plant budded or own root? If it's budded, I'd think you would pretty much kill MAC but probably have a great crop of root stock. Own root might rebound eventually, but I agree that eliminating the worst, oldest cane first then the next the following year is probably better. How do they look "bad"? If it's just thick, old, bare and woody, that's normal. If it has galls on it, I'd dump the plant and take measures already discussed here on the forum. Kim

I would suggest the slow deliberate method of pruning. I pruned a 5 year old Elizabeth Taylor that had grown 10 feet tall on 2 old 1" diameter canes very aggressively. Removed one completely and cut the other down to 5 ". I now have a Dr. Huey shooting up from the roots to deal with as the ET never resprouted.

As a general rule of thumb, when it comes to hybrid teas, I space them about 3 ft apart, measuring from the center of one to the center of the next one.
I don't find a lot of different widths when it comes to HTs, but if I knew a HT was a bit wider than "normal," I might add .5 ft or so to the spacing. Elle, for instance, is a somewhat wider-spreading HT, so a little extra space for her.
Kate

kstrong, thanks for posting about this sale. I would never have found out about it. Like growing_rene, I ordered lady of shalott & munstead wood. Also ordered Love Song & requested 4/1 as the date for delivery.
My local nurseries don't carry these roses, just a few out-of-patents (and of course KOs) so I saved myself a lot of frustration & gas driving around looking for the roses I really wanted. I'm really looking forward to adding these to my garden. Can't wait.

I grew Serendipity. Just took a look at Dr. Rousch's Blogspot Blog, which has a useful table. Blackspot ratings run from '0' (which actually is shown as a blank instead of a Zero) to '3'. A '3'-rated rose gets severe infestations of blackspot. There was only one '3'.
Serendipity is rated at '2', while most roses on the Buck list are at '0'. I planted quite a few Serendipitys, since the color range schemed with the range in our house's brick, and assuming that a Buck rose would be disease-free.
My experience (and that of the young surgeons who bought the house, then of the young attorneys who bought it from the surgeons) is that there is a huge spring burst of bloom and growth, followed by a late-spring defoliation from Blackspot. Collectively, we've learned to allow the defoliation, and then, when temperatures are about to stay above 90, to fertilize and drip-irrigate. High temperatures inhibit Blackspot. Thus, with high summer temps, we could keep the roses leafed-out and blooming.
Too, one can leave the roses leafless until really cool weather is coming, and water/fertilize in time to have a second burst of bloom in October/November - even a mild December. Serendipity likes sun, a lot of water, and constant attention (much deadheading needed). The Attorneys are now judiciously removing the original canes, one-by-one (i planted in '06), which are quickly being replaced by new ones.
Serendipity blooms best after a hard winter, and will keep its leaves up until winter gets really cold. The Siberian component in its makeup is quite evident. Anyway, this is a portrait of one of Buck's "worst" roses (disease-wise). Eight years in the ground, and they're still doing quite well (own-root, BTW).


I'm in zone 6A, just outside of Kansas City and chose to get 3 Buck roses as my first roses after much reading. Quietness came from Antique Rose Emporium in TX, and this will be it's 3rd spring at my house. It's a gorgeous rose, lots of blooms very pretty and long lasting. Healthy foliage, no blackspot at all this year. Distant Drums and Wild Ginger are a year younger and from Heirloom Roses. Both started out small but grew to a respectable size this year and bloomed a bit. Distant Drums is an awesome color and a pretty bloom, only a little blackspot. Wild Ginger barely bloomed and had quite a bit of blackspot (but still less than the miniature roses bought the same year). If it does the same this year I may replace it with Westerland, since my sister insists we need an orange rose.


In southern CA I'm more or less in the same boat as Jackie. I hadn't heard the dismal news about it not raining at all this winter, was still hoping for something in February through April.
In spite of that I have so many new bands or plants that are going into their second spring that I'm eagerly anticipating some blooms from a lot of little roses. I know it often takes the bands three years to really take off but even a few blooms will be something to enjoy greatly. Right now not too many roses are blooming but I do have repeat blooming irises that are blooming. I really recommend them if your season is long enough.
Ingrid

I hope your drought situation comes to an end soon, Jackie! It's odd how we had the rainiest summer that I can recall and on the other side you guys are suffering miserably, without the rain. Good luck pulling your ideas together to help with the water supply.


This is odd because I was just thinking today that I had not heard from him for a long time. I hesitated to email him because I knew how ill he had become. I have been to his home and bought roses from him. He would tear around on that little electric scooter he had with a long tool in his hand picking up this and that, and like all of us gardeners, he could not stand to see somethng wrong without fixing it. My daughter will be sad because she had driven me up there and was really inspired by him. It makes me think of something I read today.
"Christ wants us to share His happiness to live happily ever after. Until then, He gives us a sudden splash of happiness here and there so we can wet our toes in what we'll be swimming in for all of eternity" He's in good hands. Barb


when you plant it in the ground, put it where it will get full sun. If it is a climber, that place should also be next to something it can climb on, like a fence or building.
Then, don't be surprised if it takes a while to recuperate, and start putting out new canes. At first the canes may be short - don't worry about that. Climbers take a while to start putting out real climbing canes.
Pls post pictures of it next Spring, especially blooms, and someone on here may be able to identify it for you.
Also I want to agree with everyone that I am amazed it is still alive, as roses HATE being indoors!
Jackie

Hi Jackie,
Thanks for the information! I was wondering what to expect, once I plant it.
Thanks for the suggestion. I will definitely post pictures in Spring, as I'd love to know what type it is. I'm keeping my fingers crossed all goes well until then.
I'm not sure why it survived so long indoors, and I feel just horrible that I almost killed it. It was actually quite beautiful at our other house, but took a turn once we moved. I assumed it didn't like our new place.
Maria

I live in a summer drought area and am decidedly frugal in my habits. I've had water conservation on my mind for about a quarter of a century now.
I don't water my garden during drought, except for plants that have been in the ground less than a year and, of course, those in pots. It must be said that we have heavy soil and usually get a fair amount of winter rain. The garden lives, no rose deaths. I don't know if casualties would be higher if a summer drought followed on a very dry winter. No doubt my chance to find out will arrive sooner or later, but for now I can't say.
I usually take rather scanty showers anyway, but in really dry summers I've set up a shower head out in the garden and showered there. You can do it wearing a bathing suit if the neighbors can see. Big secret: you can also pee in the garden--always if no one can see--and save yourself a lot of flush water, as well as adding nitrogen to the soil. Poop has to go in the toilet, however, for sanitary reasons.
I also carry out water for rinsing vegetables and use it on the potted plants. Water-efficient washing machines, shower heads and toilets, turning off the water while brushing your teeth, and so on, go without saying. I find I need to shower more in summer than in winter: I sweat more, and have more bare skin that can get dirty. There is the useful sponge bath if a daily shower isn't enough. There's also the cooling power of washing, important for us as we don't have air conditioning and don't have any swimming to speak of either--only the tepid town swimming pool.
Mulch helps, so does shading, from bigger plants, buildings, perhaps structures erected for the purpose of providing shade to particularly valuable or vulnerable plants. I greatly value my wisteria pergola in summer, when it shades most of my potted plants, as well as the ground floor of our house, and me.
My garden is predicated on the idea of no water in summer, so I've always tried to get plants that are adapted to my climate. No one can change their plantings in a heartbeat, and plants that do need summer water are going to suffer, no doubt about it. But if the drought is as bad as you Californians are dreading, and let's hope it won't be, you'll get some surprises, and some of them may be happy ones.
Melissa

We have regular 'hosepipe bans' in East Anglia - on sandy soil this is a pain. However, the only things I water at the allotment are potatoes and one deep watering for the tomatoes - perennials and roses are always on their own. Of course, my allotment does not look as lush as some of the pics I see on GW.....but once you go down that route of watering, you have to keep it up (a bit like ironing - another no-no as we all get addicted to smooth clothes).....so I just grow everything hard. It certainly winnows out the wimps and needy types - almost a whole 'prairie' garden gone, along with a number of precious species glads, schizostylus, primulas.....even stalwarts such as scabious....but on the other hand, the shrubby salvia collection is a source of as much delight as the roses (and they bloom longer, continuously and effortlessly) while most bulbs are absolutely stellar, loving the summer baking and winter chill.


I start pruning as soon as the holidays are over, weather permitting, and keep on until either all the roses are done or spring is well under way. I have several hundred plants. Most of my roses are old or older varieties, and the reliably deciduous, cold hardy kinds--Gallicas, Albas, Mosses, etc.--can be pruned as soon as they drop their leaves, usually in late fall, so I do them first. Those kinds that want to be evergreen, like the Hybrid Musks and the Wichuriana ramblers, follow, then last of all come the warm climate roses, the Teas and Chinas and above all the big climbers, Noisettes, Tea-Noisettes and climbing Teas, that require a major annual pruning. These last I do in March when there's little danger of more snow or a hard freeze.
Pruning weather has been good this winter, unlike last year when the ground was covered by snow for much of the winter. Last winter I never pruned many of my roses at all, so they're due and overdue for a survey and cleanup. Also I have an assistant this year, a woman who comes one morning a week and clears or trims weeds and grass in the beds while I concentrate on pruning. She's a big help. And I find I enjoy the company while working.
Melissa


If there was a true blue rose on the market it would hit the big headlines and it would be on the cover of the American Rose Magazine, as they are in charge of all new rose registrations. Being a member of the American Rose Society, I would think that we might know it before the public.
As far as i know the prize money has not been paid.
As I recall the rose on the cover of the American Rose Society's Magazine was a almost sky blue.

Mulching is only done for 'summer' mulch. The kind of mulch that is put down for water conservation and weed suppression that goes *around* the rose and doesn't touch the canes.
If you must pile stuff on the roses, pile snow. It will obediently disappear when you don't want it, and does have a strong tendency to show up when you do need it.
If you bet on snow covering when it gets cold, you win most of the time. In more than 20 years, I only remember once when we had an open winter, and the roses didn't seem to mind that. If you bet on no January thaw that will cause fungal problems under some sort of winter protection, you will probably lose more than half the time. A lot more roses here have been killed by winter protection than cold, and I am north of you.

Boy, are you dreaming about the plants blooming by July in their first year
I don't get any good bloom for three years! Get yourself some nice annuals and plant them. You'll get tons of blooms from them. You won't with the roses ! Your zone 6, and not many roses are blooming at that time of year. It is too hot!


Sounds like it grows like Evelyn. I might have to rethink this as I do not have room. My Evelyn is 5 ft wide and 6 ft tall.
Does fine in my Los Angeles garden. Really a pretty rose. This one is a bit faded by the sun.