21,400 Garden Web Discussions | Roses


This is a first year rose for me, but wow, I've been really impressed. It's on its second flush right now. It's been very BS resistant in our Florida humidity and looks absolutely beautiful. It's easily one of my top favorites :) As mentioned already, blooms are small, but numerous and very pretty.
As for the BS, I have a pretty dedicated spray routine, so that may be why. That being said, even with the rigid spraying, some of my roses just aren't handling the humidity and moist rainy summer well at all. At least I know which ones will be meeting the compost pile when we move!

I have 12 free roses this year from RVR. All but 2 of them have significantly different foliage. Of those that have bloomed, one looks identical to the posted photo. I also identified it as Sophisticate. Mine had a mild, sweet scent. Weather was high 80's. Five petals and mostly 7 leaflet leaves. I also have one identified as Fellemberg and another as Angels Mateau. Two are different Gallicas. One looks identical to RVR's "Carol's Favorite Gallica", the other was similar to Gertrude Jekyll blooms when fully opened but with a darker reverse and dark purple guard petals.

Thanks so much for chiming in with your IDs from RVR, roseybluemoon! I've looked up the roses you mention from your mystery batch and it'll save me on additional questions if it turns out to be any of those you mention. I can't say that I've ever gotten a Noisette or Tea mystery rose from RVR, so it's possible that they send those likely candidates off to warmer zones than mine. I'd be pleased if any of these roses turn out to be Angels Mateau, though I've had poor track records with overwintering Dot roses.
Good to know there are a variety of mystery roses possible each year - that adds to the fun of the process!
Cynthia


I agree with Kate that Eutin is a very hardy good reblooming rose for zone 5 and colder. Mine is in my zone 4 pocket, and it definitely wants to be wider than it is tall. Mine's about 4 years old and I'd call it waist high with a spreading habit not quite an arm's distance, which makes Kate's measurements pretty representative of mine too (didn't remember you were a Cornhusker Kate!)
I also bought my Iobelle from Roses Unlimited, and I have to agree with Seil that it's one of the least hardy Bucks I've grown. It died a pretty rapid death after its first winter, and I do winter protect. You might consider a warmer zone pocket in your yard or keep it in a pot and take it into an unheated protected space for the winter. Prairie Harvest is a more traditional Buck and should survive fine in zone 5 in the ground. I get the various "Prairie" Bucks mixed up a bit, but I'd say it's probably 4 feet tall and not too wide, perhaps 2.5 feet.
Sweet Intoxication is one that has failed to overwinter for me once already, but that might have been from a weak plant (it sounds like you're having the same problem). In general, I find that if hybrid teas like that survive they're not as tall or wide as indicated on HMF usually, at least in my zone 5. That's the one on your list that's most liable to stay relatively narrow, if you're trying to place it in an existing spot - my guess would be 4 feet tall by 2.5 feet wide again, but it's only a guess since it's a pretty weak plant for me.
Have fun and let us know how they do!
Cynthia

Kim's right about the barrels. 20+ years ago, we planted probably 8-10 roses in barrels, in various locations. It seemed like such a good idea at the time.
For the first few years, everything was fine. The first things to go were the metal bands. We replaced those. But the barrels began to disintegrated by maybe Year Four, and by Year 6, they were history.
As far as I can see, the only practical way to use those wooden barrels is to put a plastic "liner" pot inside the barrel, and use it for something like petunias. NEVER again for a rose!
Jeri

I have a Red Eden in a cedar half-barrel...which is a little more resilient to the moisture (though I don't know how many years that will last)...and it's doing wonderfully. Granted, I keep it as a large shrub and may train it on an obelisk eventually, but the canes are too stiff to really peg or bend. Otherwise, I love Red Eden. It's not what I would call a "prolific" bloomer, but the blooms are so romantic and gorgeous and last FOREVER. It does repeat, it's just not a workhorse like some of my other HTs or Austins.
In that other thread, the one by jujujojo with the rooftop garden, there are a couple climbers in containers.
I think you could do it.



I keep telling myself not to order any more... but I just can't resist. I've already made my list, now I just have to decide how many I should tell them to send. These sales where you can't know for sure which roses will actually come are kind of fun, I always want more than I can have so just telling them the ones I want and waiting to see which ones I get is kind of exciting.

I sent my order in promptly for my time zone. Put in a long list so hopefully I will get some of the roses on it. There are only 1 or 2 of each rose, so chances arent great of getting them. Still, it will be fun to see what I get. I am so glad they are extending their sale time - and adding more roses.


I'm not too anxious to get the giant blooms and won't disbud much, I find the scent intoxicating and am also willing to keep her around for the cut flowers rather than good appearance in the garden, as long as I can isolate her from the rest of the lot.
The way our lot is, the southern side is the part of the yard which we use the least, a 20ft wide strip of land really.
Nobody goes back there but I'm guessing the beds are ideal for roses, my peonies grow like gangbusters over there in any case.

Last year I lost roses to drought. Knockouts at that. This year I am losing leaves to lack of sun...and we had another inch today already. I am not complaining really. But areas that have been dry for as long as I can remember are swampland again and the egrets and herons are back in numbers I have never seen them in. My grandmas wetlands are so swampy we cant get to the pond. Lol its scary really. Rain predicted all week at a 40-70% chance.

This year so far I've seen more cercospora than blackspot, probably because it has been cooler than usual. I currently have leaves dying from infections that probably started in May. In your own garden, try flipping over a few spotty leaves and see if the spots go all the way through.

My roses are very clean this year, with few exceptions like Fragrant Cloud, in spite of the almost constant rain every few days. I removed almost every cane at soil level this spring, thus supporting the idea of spores overwintering on the canes causing the blackspot. I do not pick up leaves, nor spray. By autumn, I expect many will start showing some infection.
Steve

Right, thanks. I found the nasty little critters, but I barely saw them, so tiny. They are apparently all over. I don't have the time and the stomach to squish them, is there another way to get rid of them? What are the "good" predators, where are they coming from? Can I buy some? While the leaf on the attached picture is almost devoured, many new leaves are being attacked right now.

I've seen sparrows eat rose slugs here once in a great while... Wasps eat em when there very tiny. But
after they get bigger nothing eats them here that I can see..
Good predators can not keep up here...
I've used Garden Insect Spray (Spinosad) with good results..
Safer Insectide Soap has been so so this year...
Spinosad can kill bees, etc. and can burn leaves on hot days (contains oil)... Follow directions....
Here is a link that might be useful: Spinosad




According to your description, you don't actually have clay soil. You have 12" of sandy topsoil over clay subsoil. I gather your yard is in what used to be pine flatwoods. This type of low, flat land routinely floods mildly during the Florida rainy season because there is no place for the rain to go. If that is the case, your problem is not the soil per se but the lay of the land. The only solution is to raise the beds. I gave you my suggestion about soil in a post above.
When I mentioned a ditch, I just meant a transition zone between the slope of a raised area and the turf. You can see what I mean by looking at trees planted on slight mounds by competent professional landscapers. If you use hardscape, don't mortar it so water can leak out.
This post was edited by michaelg on Sun, Jul 14, 13 at 13:14
Since we are engaged in long-range guesswork here, there is something you should do to determine whether there is an extreme drainage problem. Just dig a hole between the roses and see if you have a high water table. The water table is the point where water begins seeping into the bottom of the hole. It will be at nearly the same level all over a flat yard. In Florida the water table will rise during the rainy season and drop during winter and spring. If it is within, I'd say, a foot of the surface in July, then the beds should be raised. But maybe someone with more direct experience can comment. Where I lived in Florida, we had good drainage.
This post was edited by michaelg on Mon, Jul 15, 13 at 10:55