22,795 Garden Web Discussions | Roses

Beth, yes, the ones the lawn guys weed whacked: Cardinal de Richelieu, White Pet, Miami Moon, and Conundrum. Especially Miami Moon, cause only Hortico carries it, and my Conundrum was stunning. I'm hoping that they will come back, but it will be weeks until the snow melts and they break dormancy. They also got to one of the Soroptimist Internationals, but I have another one. Sorry to hear about your losses, sad to hear.

Mine have been lost to galls mostly but I did almost lose Paul's Early Blush to being shaded and overrun by fast moving Charles Lawson. I was able to save him and split him into two and so now I have an extra just in case. You never know when something will happen. I've started double planting the HTF kinds. I used to move my roses around more, but after losing a few that I really loved, I am being very careful about it now. Quatre Saisons layed down on poor Louise Odier and she is just now bouncing back. I let my Reine Victoria get so tall that I didn't see Louise getting smothered.



I checked the one on the right - am seeing feeder roots but nothing close to the bottom. The smaller one was potted up in the fall and I seriously doubt it has made much progress. I stuck in its photo to compare the older potted band. Glad to hear you say they look good! The tiny one is a Vintage band from fall out of their import group. The other is Braveheart from Heirloom. On the older bands, I have dribbled a bit of Rose Tone and I watered with a VERY dilute solution of rainwater and Maxicrop seaweed/kelp.

I find it interesting that I keep seeing a similar pattern. First, people recommend NOT providing fertilizer for new bands. Then, I see people posting about their bands taking so long to grow. I understand that water-soluble fertilizers can burn tender band-roots if given in excess, but I tried mixing my own nutrient-rich potting mix for my bands last Spring.
In a wheelbarrow, I mixed equal parts (by volume) of peat moss, shredded hardwood mulch, and Bovung dehydrated cow manure (all from Home Depot). For 1gal containers (tiny bands), I sprinkled 1/2 cup of Jobe's Organic Knock-Out fertilizer in layers as I filled the pots. For 2gal containers (larger bands), I used 1 cup. When fully potted, each received its first soaking with fish/seaweed emulsion diluted in water at half the recommended rate, then set out in mid-Spring to get all the rain and sun. Where I am, beat-down hot sun doesn't really arrive until June, and by that time, the bands were growing well enough to have been put in full-sun, anyway.
I did get some "really tiny bands" with my order, while others were more substantial -- virtually all grew like gangbusters. My 'Jaune Desprez', a yellow Tea-Noisette notorious for being a slow starter own-root, came as a thin twig but soon put out a new cane from the roots that grew, sprouted further, and reached over 6' tall by the end of Autumn. I posted about it on the Antiques forum, with lots of before and after pics.
Addendum -- the 'Sweet Chariot' I received was mislabeled, and turned out to be some mystery Multiflora hybrid yet to be identified.
:-)
~Christopher
Here is a link that might be useful: Some before and after showing growth so far

It depends, roseseek. I've been given some of those potted minis for Valentines for the past three years and they live quite happily on my kitchen table till about April when they make their way out to a bed I have dedicated to them. I now have two plants that have been healthy, doubled in size every year, and bloom happily all season and a brand new one waiting to go out this year. They are completely unlabeled, under $5, and apparently quite tough.
I've also had some other potted plants from grocery stores that didn't perform well, but I've been really lucky with the mini roses.

I think I purchased Moonstone from Edmund's the first year that they offered it. It is winter tender some...not as much as Falling in Love and St. Patrick. Each spring I prune Falling in Love close to the ground. It amazes me how it will grow back....if it ever dies I probably won't replace it because of the thorns...love the bloom. Moonstone is a more vigorous bush in my garden and lots more blooms. You probably just got a not-so-good bush. I think that happens to me sometimes. Definitely bury the graft/bud union a couple of inches deep. I'm anxiously awaiting to see what makes it in my garden. I did NO winter protection!


Here's a hint that may help. I remember years ago when I moved to Texas--2 states over. I had lots of medium and large houseplants and wondered how to move them. Dad grabbed a couple of tall wastebaskets and a (clean) garbage can out of the stack of items to be moved and put a plant or two in each one. They rode happily to Texas, well-protected and some guaranteed air space around them. (I used the same method when I moved to Kansas three years later.)
I would think that would work for potted roses also.
Hope that helps.
Kate

I think Twilight Zone fits the definition of bluish purple. It's not reddish. I'm sure it's available somewhere in Canada, possibly even locally for you, since it's a popular rose right now. A bluish lavender rose is Blue Bayou, which, at this point, is pretty hard to get. Here's a pic of Twilight Zone. Diane


The two darker purple roses with the "bluest" tones are Blue for You, which is only available right now from Chamblee's Roses, and Rhapsody in Blue, which is more readily available. Greenheart has Blue for You in production to be sold to growers who will then grow on the plugs to retail size plants. I'd think you should then find it in big box stores and perhaps other nurseries. Both of these can give you some pretty "blue" tones. The alternatives are newer lavender roses such as Novalis (Poseidon) and Blue Bayou which appear to be pretty much sold out from most sources from what I've seen. Kim







Thanks, Henry.