22,151 Garden Web Discussions | Roses

Yes, hard scape, topography, buildings and plantings can make a world of difference. The frost the other night didn't affect my bougainvillea and hibiscus on the hill, but the neighbor in the "hole" below me has significant freeze damage to his established bougainvilleas visible from my back yard. Same "zone", almost the same gardening space, but the cold "pooled" for him where it simply flowed through here. Thankfully! Kim

Hmmm, I am with Hoovb here - zone ratings are just one tool in a whole box. Microclimates in a particular garden can make a huge difference on a small scale whereas things such as latitude, daylight length, altitude, topology, geology (soils types), positioning aspects (facing north?, east?) and rainfall are all part of a way of describing your particular horticultural requirements. Observation and experimentation are, ultimately, the only reliable predictors.

I'm in Melbourne, so I cant give you any direct addresses, but... Peards is a Gardenworld, isn't it? There's one near me, and they have so many nice things!
They seem to get stock from all over; so If you were determined to get something specific, I would try and go to the source,.. you could try Corporate Roses (google em) based in S.A.; they seem to carry/be a supplier for a lot of Meilland roses, and I've seen their stock in garden centres etc in Victoria- you could try calling/emailing to see if they have sent anything to Sydney nurseries..
I've also seen a bit of Swane's stuff in my local Gardenworld- they have branches all over NSW, so you could try contacting them too.
Otherwise try contacting Peards and see who supplies them? They might be nice enough to tell you, seeing they don't deliver outside Victoria...


Thanks for starting this thread! I've been working out the same thing! I love my JC but she needs neighbours. I was seriously considering Hot Cocoa, but thanks to Lainey (thanks Lainey) I think I'll scrap that and go with Cinco de Mayo or maybe Dragon's Blood.
Henryinct - I love that combo of JC with Wild West! Gorgeous!



I can't say much for mine, which came as a band in Spring 2013, but I picked 'Orfeo' based upon a few good reviews. And I say "a few" not because it got a lot of bad ones, but because not many people seem to grow it -- but those who do, love it. Mine hasn't bloomed yet (which isn't surprising), but it has grown very well. If the canes weren't wrapped around a tree trunk, I'd estimate they reached at least 6' before the rose went to sleep for Winter.
:-)
~Christopher

I have all three. Moderate grower would be Perdita. LA is a largeish fountain, a little thin on foliage. Windermere is very tall and mostly vertical in growth, easily over 7' if not regularly cut back. Perdita is the rounded fully foliaged shrub of 4x4.
Fragrance? Windermere, hands down. Wonderful fragrance, citrus-y. Perdita has a little, LA almost none.
Bloom production? In this order, most first: Windermere, Perdita, and lagging far behind, LA, which is stingy.
Heat tolerance--probably Perdita first, then LA. Windermere has very ephemeral flowers with tissue paper thin, delicate petals.
Beauty of flower---Windermere, then Perdita, then LA.
And no, you don't need all three.
This post was edited by hoovb on Sun, Dec 8, 13 at 17:28

Thank you, hoovb! That is just the type of response I was hoping for. Very helpful! From what you've said, I think I'm going to go with Perdita. I had originally planned on ordering that one, but the other two looked so inviting looking out from the DA catalogue that they got me thinking...... So, for size, heat tolerance and for coming in second in bloom production and beauty of bloom -- Perdita it is. Thanks again!

Beautiful roses, everyone! Enjoyed seeing them all.
How about a 'Prospero' from this afternoon? Not a huge number in bloom right now, but because of the cool weather, they are pretty choice. Prospero is having his best year ever at age 14.



Well, it's done. It was too late to hold the order and they arrived on Friday. On the bright side, Hortico is quite close by me, so the plants hadn't dried out at all.
There were two About Face plants and one Hot Cocoa. I've changed around my bed design plan since placing this order, and since I have other roses coming in the spring, I only had designated ground space for one of the AFs - so, an experiment:
The Hot Cocoa and one About Face, I put in the ground - buried deep and mounded high - then mulched and burlapped. The other About Face went into a large pot in the unheated (but large) shed for the winter. I'll remember to water it once a month or so.
Now I just have to wait and see if the ground or the shed works better. I'm hoping they all make it! :)

Well, it's done. It was too late to hold the order and they arrived on Friday. On the bright side, Hortico is quite close by me, so the plants hadn't dried out at all.
There were two About Face plants and one Hot Cocoa. I've changed around my bed design plan since placing this order, and since I have other roses coming in the spring, I only had designated ground space for one of the AFs - so, an experiment:
The Hot Cocoa and one About Face, I put in the ground - buried deep and mounded high - then mulched and burlapped. The other About Face went into a large pot in the unheated (but large) shed for the winter. I'll remember to water it once a month or so.
Now I just have to wait and see if the ground or the shed works better. I'm hoping they all make it! :)

I would think that coffee grounds would be considered compost not fertilizer. Most everything I've read has said that using compost is something you can do all year long.
In a colder climate than you, I put a couple inches and compost topped by a couple inches of mulch in late fall after several hard freezes to put my gardens to bed for the winter.

For some reason, this idea appeals to me. I have used coffee grounds all spring and summer but stopped due to the earthworms attracting moles that destroyed my lawn. Maybe a winter application would be better. I think coffee grounds are an excellent soil amendment ..if you can tolerate the side effect of mole tunnels. That probably would not be the case in winter.


Hi Michaela,
We planted CS in our present home around 3 years ago. This is a spectacular rose in our garden and it produces enormous flowers in the fall,at least 6 inches across. I grew it when it first came out around 15 years ago in a different location. I know some criticized the fragrance of this rose, calling it "phenolic". The leaves are dark green and waxy and does not suffer from any foliar diseases that I can remember. The plant itself is vigorous and grows around 5 feet high and across. When I bring flowers in to the lab at work, most of the lab technicians think the blossoms are wonderful.


I have to leave my bands outside - my greenhouse wont hold them all [however, I have several really special ones from Vintage that I do take inside]. Our temps can fluctuate here in east Texas - earlier in the week it was nearly 80 - now its in the mid 30's. Our winters usually can go down to 25 for a few hours occasionally. Mine have wintered fine - although I worry. In spring, they revive and leaf out beautifully. Since you only have a few, what can it hurt to bring them in the garage? Some of my smaller bands that cannot be replaced are going inside - then out again when its warmer. Really wish I had a huge greenhouse where I could house them......I always worry when they look like sticks - I do top the gallon pots with mulch, don't know if this helps. Would like to hear how others overwinter their bands.......
Judith

You're welcome, Jasminerose. Of course you can have "just one". You can have all you want. It's simply the more you let her expend that energy flowering, the longer you WILL wait for the climbing growth. She's like any other climber...she's going to follow that three year cycle of "sleeping" the first year; creeping the second then beginning to leap the third. Own root, she'll take longer and the more you let her flower, the longer she WILL demand before she begins climbing. So, let her flower all you want and enjoy the dwarf plant. Eventually, she will develop all the roots needed and she'll start to climb. Preventing flowring simply gets her up on the wall or fence sooner. Kim

Might be cheaper to drive to Tyler - Chamblees charges $9-12 for their roses. I used to live in Dallas and frequented North Haven Gardens - always a class act. When I was going through my begonia stage, I loved going there as they had so many unusual varieties. If you want roses early, ordering is fun. I am looking at the new David Austin catalog and see a few I want. Have fun!
Judith

Judith, thanks for the idea. What I was thinking of is slightly nuts: I'm planning on being in Dallas in April, when bareroots are just hitting the nurseries here in NY & the selection is very limited. I don't want to order in advance as I've been disappointed in the past when I got puny plants in the mail; I want to see the plant in person to check out the canes & blooms. It's also much more fun to make a selection that way.
SO I got this idea of shopping in Texas & either shipping them back home to NY or somehow pack them up for travel & sneaking them into my suitcase. DH thinks I'm certifiable. It might work. or not.




Andrea - what NORMALLY happens to roses in mild Northern California winters is that they get rained on relentlessly. I live in the North SF Bay Area. In a normal winter (which this one IS NOT), I do not water at all from when it starts raining in late October/mid November until when it stops sometime between March and June.
This winter we have had exactly .80 inches of rain so far (they start measuring on July 1), instead of our "normal to date" which for this date is about 15 inches. So, we have been turning our irrigation system back on every time it is dry for about 14 days. Not right now however, because everything is frozen (also NOT normal), and my DH noticed that I "blew up" one of our timers by turning it on the other day.
We are hoping that things, or at least the temperatures, will get back to normal soon (not freezing every night), at which time we will start irrigating again unless it rains.
Your question is a good one, but this year is so weird that I am not surprised that you are getting different answers...
Jackie
Oh thanks Jackie. That is exactly what I wanted.
I have sprinkler systems also, but since I only have about
30 roses, I water them by hand. And it's is cold out there to be playing with a hose.
Another place where I find conflicting info is the weather forecasts for California this winter. Some say we will get water some say another drought year.
So, as you suggest, I will water unless it is freezing.
Thanks again,
andrea