22,152 Garden Web Discussions | Roses
A very recent (October 2013) example of scientists utilizing gene silencing to lessen the effect of "a devastating synergistic disease complex" of multiple viruses.
From abstract: "Multiple infections of Sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV), Sweet potato chlorotic stunt virus (SPCSV), Sweet potato virus G (SPVG) and Sweet potato mild mottle virus (SPMMV) cause a devastating synergistic disease complex of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas Lam.) in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. In order to address the problem of multiple virus infections and synergism, this study aimed to develop transgenic sweet potato (cv. Blesbok) plants with broad virus resistance. Coat protein gene segments of SPFMV, SPCSV, SPVG and SPMMV were used to induce gene silencing in transgenic sweet potato."
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11248-013-9759-7
Please note that gene silencing does not cure the plant, it only "Further analyses showed virus presence in the transgenic plants but all exhibited delayed and milder symptoms of leaf discoloration as compared with the untransformed plants."
Here is a link that might be useful: October 2013 link for above
I feel that one of the important contributions that we can make to the successful careers
of our children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, etc. is to interest them in careers that will benefit society. Unfortunately, high school counselors are rarely "up" on the frontiers of science. With the assumption that you have instilled an interest in gardening, I recommend that you build on that by discussing/ guiding them to articles as to where plant science is "going" during their professional lifetimes. One "ripe" area is to improve the immune systems of food plants.
Perhaps this very recent review will be useful:
"In the battle between diseases and plants -- constant, changing and centuries old -- scientists and farmers usually arm themselves through classical breeding, crossing varieties in the hopes of eventually reaching disease resistance. With advances in DNA sequencing and genetics, however, they may soon have a more sophisticated weapon: disease-resistant seeds.
Basic research on the genetic gears of plant immune systems has advanced so much that scientists can now begin applying that knowledge, building healthier plants to decrease dependence on pesticides, water overuse and help agriculture in developing countries, according to a paper in this week's edition of the journal Science."
The full paper is at:
16 AUGUST 2013 VOL 341 SCIENCE www.sciencemag.org
(Subscription only)
Here is a link that might be useful: link for above
This post was edited by henry_kuska on Fri, Nov 22, 13 at 1:11
Thanks y'all!
Tomorrow I am going to the UC gardens. It's the only one mentioned abve that I visited as a student, but I was not an avid rose grower then, so I imagine it will be of more interest to me now. I had been recommended seeing Fivoli in the Spring as opposed to now by a friend who has been multiple times. I don't know anyone who has been to Morcom, but it sounds intriguing and I may try to slip it in Saturday, time willing. I never would've guessed there's a 7 acre rose garden by Lake Merrit, but what do I know?
I WISH I could make it down to San Jose, but that's almost certainly not going to be possible this trip. Ditto as regards the Sacramento Historic Cemetery.
I ended up at the SF Botanical garden today as opposed to Saturday and it was quite impressive. Not a rose garden by any means, but some wonderful types of flora I had not seen before. There was a heavenly smelling Mrs. Oakley Fisher and a very lovely Reve d'Or in bloom there today though.
Jay
I had obtained it soon after it was available (in the 70s) for my northern Ohio garden. It did not give me very many blooms per season. It was not exactly a climber. Each year I thought it had died over the winter but it came back for around 5 years. My garden was no spray. I do not remember much, if any, blackspot, but that was too long ago to be sure. I do not remember any hips or success with its pollen. I wrote it off as another very pretty flower, but a stingy, weak plant. I do not remember virus symptoms; but, because of the date, it probably was virused and that could go a long way in explaining the differences between my experience and those in warmer climates.
The rose in the picture is spent and has dried severely like what happens when there is extreme heat. It appears also to be stunted also possibly indicating great heat. Here in SoCal I had some roses that fried sort of like this on 100 degree days when no matter how much they were watered it wasn't enough. Again, I attribute this to the poor soil which I haven't been able to amend nearly enough and the root systems that were not developed enough.
The rose is fried. I get fried and crispy here every year July through Aug. Sept they start to return back to nice looking roses, when it gets below 90. This happens to all of 35 of them including the climbers. The roses get plenty of water & fert and all are about 8 years old, but it doesn't seem to matter. Scorching hot is not good for the blooms, that's about it.
Luckily my land is not THAT far; it's about a 30-to-40 minute drive from home (I don't drive fast, btw, and in any case, on snaky hilly roads,one sort of has to go slow...)I can keep tools there, in this big ,ugly metal construction built by the previous owner,but I wind up keeping the most-used ones in my car a lot of the time.Sadly, I have no place to stay over there, and in any case my DH and son have different enthusiasms!
By mounding I mean the concept of protecting a newly -plante bare-root rose with a mound of material around it's base, placed so that only the tips of the canes stick out. Usually people say to use soil for this, so picture a mound of soil covering the graft union and the lower parts of the baby canes.So, it's like a mulch, protecting the roots a bit, but it's also protecting the canes.Now, for some reason, in my garden, I have had trouble with canes rotting under the mounds: well, to be honest, this only really happened that one year that I mentioned in my first post. Someone suggested using manure/organic matter as the mounding material (I believe it was a lady in New England, USA) Well, for me, this was a disaster. I lost so many baby roses that year; they got canker or just plain rot that spread down to the graft... This really spooked me. Last fall, I tried using peat moss, thinking it would be less prone to bacteria, but again got spooked, seeing how uber-soggy it became under the mounds.So, I un-mounded all of the babies, and re-mounded them , using a mixture of wine corks, pieces of styrofoam,held in place by gravel and sand.This worked. Clearly, it's important in my garden to keep the canes fairly dry and the roots moist.I say, IN MY GARDEN, because from various rose forums, I see that for many-most?-people, this cane-rot stuff has never been a problem! I suspect it may have something to do with the climate here. I think that it's not just low temperatures that come into play.Here in Italy, we can get some wild temperature fluxes, even from day to night, just because, when the sun comes out, it can be so hot. Now, in November, it's so low to the horizon, and besides, it's been raining so much,so it's a very stable environment for newly plante roses.But our winters can offer some dramatic temperature swings. To give an idea, last winter, we had some very heavy snow; at least a foot deep. During the days after it had fallen, the sun came out, and I remember shoveling deep snow,sweating heavily, wearing boots, snow pants (because of the wet, cold snow), and only a shirt on top! But then, the sun goes down,the temperature plunges,all the stuff that melted under the hot (relatively speaking) sun freezes into ice,and then can't really start melting again until the afternoon of the following day.Do you see where I'm going with this? My land, exposed to the south-west, is going to get quite warmed up during a sunny but cold winter day, and then freeze during the night. The road that I have to travel-facing north-could remain un-passable by me for a couple of days-or more, considering the extremes we've been having in weather in recent years.Instead, I think England tends to have a more consistent climate,; I don't think you'd have the same toasty-sun issues there that we have here in Italy. As you yourself say, Campanula, "everything shuts down into a hibernating limbo". Here, it often doesn't! I still have flowers;many roses still have leaves,most of them have the little leaf buds on them...my Okame cherry tree actually RE-BLOOMED. So, it's very confusing as to what the best course might be...which is why I started this thread in the first place.Discussing things can help clarify ones ideas,and I'm grateful to you and all forum members who participate. regards, bart
Your roses do not need to be protected against cold, unless basal shoots appear at an inappropriate time. Remove the new growth buds as I suggested above.
Your roses do not need to be protected against moisture loss as long as it is cool, damp, and cloudy, but you can protect against moisture loss by applying an anti-transpirant at dormant strength at a time when it will dry quickly, as I suggested above.
There is no need to mound in your situation.
I only grow a few hybrid teas, and they are mostly oddballs, except for my two Big Purple roses, which I don't recommend. I do like very much Frederic Mistral if you have the room (easily six feet and more, both directions). Great scent, pretty light pink rose that is always in bloom. Here is Fred with his neighbor pal Jude (the Obscure). Diane
KingCobb this roses are lovely... I fall love :)
Here is a link that might be useful: importer odzieży używanej
Nice roses :)
Here is a link that might be useful: oÅrodek wypoczynkowy Mazury
That's great for him! I'm glad to see he is using his success to give back. We need more people of such character in the world.
My only issue with the article is that the remarks made are so critical of roses, saying they have a "well-deserved finicky reputation," and that they, "require weekly spraying."
Not I, say my antiques. Cramoisi Supeurieur, Duchesse de Brabant, Crepuscule, Souvenir d'Elise Vardon, none of them have a speck of disease on them or require coddling. And they have fragrance to boot, unlike Knockouts. Rattled my cage a bit there. I sincerely hope people begin to understand there is more to roses than just Hybrid Teas.
If this negative belief continues to be propagated because rose growers will not branch out and grow roses which inherently have disease resistance, form, and fragrance such as Rugosas, Teas, Chinas, and Polyanthas, then the general public will continue to believe roses are not worth the time and we will see more small nurseries collapse like Vintage. Then we will have no choice but to buy from places like J&P which use pesticides and fungicides like life support to keep their roses alive enough to bloom.
It's a shame, really.
Josh
People do that all the time here without to many problems besides them growing back slowly the following season.
But it is a bad practice for sure and one I do not personally follow...
So I agree with what Michaelg and others have said.
My parents have the mow and blow guys whack the ever loving heck outta our Knockouts each year. They always rebound with a vengeance. Knockouts are extremely hard to kill. I wouldn't repeat the procedure, but I seriously doubt they'll kick the bucket.
Josh
Andrea, just in case you are interested in another option for dealing with Agrobacterium tumefaciens, I'm posting the link below, which is basically suggesting rotating a resistant species in the area where the galled plant was. According to the article at the link, "Growing a nonsusceptible crop, such as grass, for three years can essentially eliminate the bacteria from the soil".
Melissa
Here is a link that might be useful: Virginia Exten., Crown Gall of Woody Ornamentals
Thanks Tessiess,
I've seen that option mentioned. Actually at that very site. That site suggested letting the soil 'rest' for a few years. I really like university sites. The problem is that it's a raised bed with only roses. It's probably the best option for the soil. But it wouldn't look great with 7 roses and a bunch of pansies. (a joke, of course)
The spot is the furthest back in my yard and is behind other roses The pot would therefore be 'hidden' from view.
Thanks so much for answering,
andrea
Further clarification:
There were two truths in the "It Ain't True" fun.
It is true that Roses Unlimited has a 96% customer satisfaction rating.
(And really, does anyone not understand what that means?) Although I don't participate in such surveys, I completely agree. So my vote would help take the percentage HIGHER.
It is also true that Roses Unlimited is regularly listed on the Watchdog Top 5 list for roses.
This means they are in the Top 5 most highly regarded sources in their specialty. I also agree that this recognition is well deserved.
Thanks for clarifying, Sandandsun. You're right that I didn't catch the humor the first time around, though I can see it now that you point it out. Sometimes the printed word doesn't carry those nuances of meaning as easily (we need an emoticon for "eye roll" or "wink wink" I guess). Anyway, I figured you had good things to say about RU and I'm glad at least Susan caught the humor on the first bounce.
I like your confirmation of the two truths, since they are such a good company. In case newbies log into this, they will hear a clear vote of approval from this thread. It never hurts to err on the cautious side out here on the web.
Cynthia
Roderick, just remembered that there is a yellow Carefree Sunshine that comes from the same breeder and is very disease resistant--looks kind of like the Sunny Knock Out. I don't know much about it--maybe it isn't quite tall enough for your purposes--not sure. You might check it out below and post a query here if you are interested.
Kate
Here is a link that might be useful: Carefree Sunshine at helpmefind.com
My two Julia Child roses are 6 X 6 feet. I can't believe those puny size predictions even in zone 6. In this pic, the smaller rose down in front is Bernstein-Rose, about the predicted size of JC. The actual Julias are farther up the sidewalk. You can see the size difference easily. Diane
Perfect for a gloomy day in zone 5. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you everyone. During those years I enjoyed my roses so much, then right after that we had a terrible drought and then I had other obligations and didn't have the time I needed to spend caring for them. I don't want that to happen again, I enjoy them too much.