22,152 Garden Web Discussions | Roses

Happy Lady Ann Kidwell.

She is about 3 feet tall and has a couple dozen buds.

Doesn't she just have the loveliest foliage imaginable?

Jeri

Many/most of the positive suggestions are familar. I can offer a comment of the problem you may experience once you have a membership built up.

What to do to keep the club from exploding? Somehow, one has to keep the rose exhibitors and the non rose exhibitors away from each others throats.

Having been a membership chair for several years for multiple rose societies, I can say there is no one sure-fire way to entice people to attend meetings, let alone join a rose society. People turn first to the internet for information so getting your local rose society on the web and linked to other local gardening groups, the ARS website, Facebook and local nursery websites will go a long way towards publicizing your society. Make sure your website is updated on a regular basis, complete with pictures, a monthly rose calendar, email and phone numbers for local CR's and a schedule of local rose activities, cost and contact info.

Join with the Master Gardeners and other local gardening groups to set up info booths at public gardening events, tours, nurseries, etc. Make sure your group has small fliers and membership applications available every place you go.

Offer a half-year membership, gift memberships and maybe a free rose bush, garden utensil or booklet with extended memberships. Don't be afraid to offer a pro-rate or complimentary membership to local nurseries, churches or other garden groups.

Send your electronic newsletter to local homeowners groups so they can include your events to your neighbors.

Visit local nurseries, hang posters, volunteer a 'rose' day when bare roots come in. Make sure you know what the local nurseries are ordering and don't send all your members to mail-order instead of supporting the local guys. Recommend roses they can purchase locally.

Support, volunteer and advertise for your local public rose garden. Establish workdays and use limited street signage to publicize.

Print media advertising is really expensive but sending your newsletter and information to local garden writers and editors can get you a freebie mention in the paper or some coverage for a rose show.

Prepare to spend many, many hours a year trying to encourage people to grow roses and join a rose society. Long past the time you no longer hold the membership position, continue to be committed to membership. Some of our newer members took up to five years before deciding we didn't bite, scratch or cost them an arm & a leg.
Most people I've given programs to said they walked away with new info and a better understanding of their gardens.

Once you get new members, make sure they get introduced to your CR's, get them a mentor if needed and don't try to push them into holding office right away.

Jeannie Cochell, Phoenix Rose Society

Thank you! I was worried. It looks cold to me. Lol.

Update. Recovered from too much water, iron imbalance.

Good choices.

I am near you - about 3 hours from Galveston in east Texas. I love my Tess. I have her on a huge fan shaped trellis - she has very healthy foliage and lots of nice blooms. Two of my favorite Austins are Carding Mill and Abe Darby. Wollerton Old Hall, new for me last year, does get really big, don't find the blooms fragrant like Austin says, but they are pretty. Sophy's Rose is a really good one - healthy foliage, lots of big pretty deep pink blooms. Bishop's Castle is good. Lady of Shallot looks to be big. I have quite a few new ones that are healthy and growing - they will do better next year. Great big for me are James Galway and Scepter d'Isle - like them a lot. I have Lady Emma and Munstead Wood planted where they get full sun until 2pm - hope they like it there. I really like Ambridge Rose too. Love the blooms on Jude......mine is very small though. I am getting another Young Lycadis - my chickens were scratching in that bed and killed it. The color is a different, brighter looking pink that I really like. Englands Rose was new for me last year - it started off looking and blooming fantastically.....then it starting dawdling around. Am hoping it will get going again in the spring - it was really nice. I want to try Princess Alexandra of Kent - have heard good things about it.

Do any of you all plan to try the new Austins? I want Boscobel, The Lark Ascending.......not sure about the others.

caldonbeck, the photos are fabulous!
Judith

Great suggestion, Jeri. Just got to work and don't have a scanner at home. But will take leaves to work on Monday and use the scanner.

andrea

Good! I do this frequently, to show something specific.

Jeri

Oh Ingrid! How sad that Earth Song is not happy for you or China Doll. I looked at the wonderful photo Kim posted of Earth Song, bet that photo could sell a lot of plants! what heart break when you see that photo and then look at your plant.

I love my Weeping China Doll Standard. Mine is full of new shiny growth.

Interest note: when we went to the Otto n Sons rose days, the weeks rep was speaking about Bolero when I took a seat. (we had not realized there were speakers) He spoke very highly of Bolero BUT one thing he noted more than once was how superior Bolero was to Iceberg as it did not have any pink shading. A touch of creamy yellow was supposed to be the only not white color.

My weeping china doll tree rose is a prolific bloomer. I love it and would recommend it for my climate. My regular China Doll was a good bloomer but I moved it and it has not done anything since.

Bolero is very tempting and I don't have much room either but I might have to make room for it. Glad to hear about it; I have not paid much attention to the Romanticas (which Bolero is, I believe).

I have had a Sun Sprite Rose for several years and have up rooted it and replanted it 3 times. It is a robust and generally trouble free rose. I never had any problems with it. I love the bright yellow blooms and its strong licorice aroma. Mine blooms when it wants to, usually three times throughout the spring and summer. Here is a pic of mine.

My 2 bits:

I've never grown Sunsprite because of reports of health issues.

In another thread, I confessed that "I am quite keen on Kordes," but I should have said then and I should always emphasize that I'm referring to 21st century Kordes roses - particularly 2004 onward. EVERYTHING I've read on these very modern Kordes roses says health is NOT an issue. Criticisms presented are usually a matter of personal preference for certain characteristics. Sunsprite is from 1973 and definitely isn't in the same category.

I wish I could make a specific suggestion, but I don't really grow yellow roses. I have Molineux and at its best Molineux is a delicious changeable blend of pink, apricot, and yellow - a trait shared by some of the most famous Austins - truly beautiful. Molineux was only pure yellow for me in the heat of summer.

Molineux was lovely here, no spray, for about a year and a half - then boom; it completely defoliates annually now. Molineux certainly doesn't get my endorsement for a no spray environment either.

As others have already mentioned, and I agree: if you want a reliably healthy yellow, please look to the more modern yellows.

You might get a great deal of information from my favorite rose book:
"TEA ROSES: Old Roses For Warm Gardens."

See:
http://www.amazon.com/Tea-Roses-Old-Warm-Gardens/dp/187705867X

This was THE book that those of us who garden in warm climates hoped for, for years.

You might also like to visit the web sites of the Heritage Roses Group and the Gold Coast Heritage Roses Group to read articles, and to read back issues of Newsletters.

http://www.theheritagerosesgroup.org/
and
http://www.goldcoastrose.org/

You can ask questions through either website. And by all means, visit the Antique Roses forum here.

Jeri

Here is a link that might be useful: TEA ROSE BOOK

Thanks Jeri. Books about rose gardening are hard to come by here so that one's gonna be a treasure! I'll be on the lookout for it next time I go to a book store.

Thanks again for the suggestions and references!

prairiemoon, we do have more bs than you. In my garden, when a rose begins to lose leaves, if I spray with fish emulsion, new leaves pot out within a week. I use a little one quart hand sprayer.

Diane, that is one vigorous rose! What a lot of rebloom you had with it and especially for a first year. Very pretty photo.

Lainey, I'm so glad you told me that, because I've never tried that and I wouldn't have thought that you could see new foliage that quickly. I have a sprayer I use fish/seaweed emulsion with too. I'm going to have to try that. Thanks.

Carol,

I most certainly wouldn't be building the room if it wasn't for already having the materials to do so. The most expensive thing I had to purchase was a specialty thermostat.

What size are the pots you get from Costco?

Beth,

Those are some stunning roses that I am adding to my wish list.

SCG

Beth - James Biddle!!! GASP - your pictures are wonderful!!!! Oh, I'm glad I ordered it. And Lucille Ball has potential - that's great to know - I don't know much about it except that Digger Dave (once upon a time here) loved that rose. Hmmmm Anna Pavlova - so-so rose. Well, I'll give it a whirl and see who she grows. No, it's supposed to be Jessica with a "c."

SCG - Hubby says about 22" X 17" (WxH) Glad that I helped add to your addiction :)

re Boscobel. I never spray new releases (until I know how they perform), just because I'd rather not spray if I don't have to and it has remained clean. I don't think I'd call the flowers small, they're smaller than Jubilee Celibration say but bigger than Queen of Sweden. It is an interesting rose colour wise, we had a warm summer this year and it was more orange, I'm expecting it to be slightly more pink in cooler weather. I can see it becoming one of those roses grown by most people who grow austins, if that makes sense, another munstead wood.

Thank you, caldonbeck, for the additional info. on Boscobel.

I'm out of space for new roses, but just this morning thought of another open spot that could hold a smaller Austin--like Boscobel--just maybe. I'll have to mediate on this a bit, but yes, I'm responding to it like I did to Munstead Wood (which I'm mad about!).

The main thing I'm wondering about now is the orange shades in hot weather. Got lots of hot summer weather here and I'm not usually partial to orange.

Must think some more about this--but anyone who wants to add more info or pics, please do in the meantime.

Kate

The link below is very complete:

http://www.cancer.net/cancer-types/eyelid-cancer

Mine is a Basal cell carcinoma type.

Here is a link that might be useful: link for above

I had basal cell skin cancer on my left cheek about 11 years ago. Took 2 operations to remove it all...
I have been careful being in the sun ever since.

But eyelid cancer sounds dreadful....on the eyelid... yeeee

I don't have the name but believe it is probably a hybrid tea rose. It has flowered since spring. When one bloom was starting to go, I cut it off and in no time there was another one came from new growth where I had cut it off. Very beautiful. I don't have a pic.

thanks. I''m glad I had not already pruned it.

As soon as you can in the spring before the new growth starts and then probably one more time. For me in CT it was mid-March.

Thank you for your informative reply's. I will start using it in the spring. Moroseaz what is Dispersul? I tried googling it and find any information.
Thanks
Garyt

Dispersul is a locally manufactured chelated sulfur product. I add it with the bone meal (phosphorus) and DPW (dried poultry waste) because each product benefits from the others in our alkaline clay soil. Our soils can range from pH 7.0 and up. If you live in an area with a lower pH average and/or your garden has been amended with humus for quite a while, you can probably get by without additional soil sulfur. A soil test, even one of the simple pH kits sold at big box stores, can usually give a fairly accurate pH of acidic to alkaline. Knowing the basic composition of your local soil can eliminate the need to guess and waste time/money. Any amendment/chemical can throw off a well-balanced growing environment and you don't want to make your gardens toxic. I can't advise you on your local soil but the Master Gardeners, rose societies and agriculture universities in your area can give you a very informative overview...Google is your friend :).

A reminder that bone meal (phosphorus) applied as a top-dressing is pretty much useless since it stays where you put it and even when put into the soil should be applied as a 'clump', not mixed with other amendments or soil. Many soils do not benefit from additional phosphorus. We also add Epsom Salts (magnesium sulfate) and chelated iron... again amendments you may not need.