21,401 Garden Web Discussions | Roses

The shipping costs to PNW is high. I don't blame the sellers (they have to charge the buyer the price mandated by postal carriers).
I wish postal carriers would give small businesses a break with the shipping charges. It would really help the buyer and the seller.

Oh, I didn't realize you had amended the topsoil so well already. So you only need be concerned about the subsoil. If you judge it is too bad for roots to penetrate at all, then amending it might help your roses during the California dry season.
I would treat the topsoil and subsoil separately rather than mixing them. Remove the topsoil from the rose holes, reserve it in a pile, and use a pick to break up the subsoil into chunks. Add some manure and compost and a cup or two of gypsum and mix a bit. Then replace the topsoil so it is uniform across the bed. This is the old technique called "double digging."
I would till the Turface into the topsoil of the whole bed. Again, it is best if the soil is fairly uniform across the area.

I (with a lot of help) will do as you suggest.
I just picked up my 7 new beauties at Regan's. The first were purchased from a friend...NOT A GOOD IDEA. The first 6 looked like weeds compared to these.
I also purchased a good (I think) pair of garden shears, ARS brand. I hope this is a good selection.
I will send photos as soon as all roses are in place.
And thank you all once again.
andrea

yep, absolutely, turnbuckles - we call them straining wires and they are essential to avoid the saggy wire look and can be tightened as the wires will be ductile and stretch a bit over time.
I have spent too much time prising plant material off splintered timber trellis to want to take that route again - whereas a quick snip with wire cutters - sorted......and the whole horizontal support can be restrung with new (and cheap) wire.


Knockouts here in our town are just now starting to bloom...
Maybe give it alittle more time...
But a photo like roseseek said would help a lot in case something else is wrong....
This post was edited by jim1961 on Mon, Jun 3, 13 at 23:16


Here's today's pic of the leaves, etc. Sorry for the double posting. I purchased it online bareroot at Garden Valley Ranch and their website is closed this time of year so I can't look at their offerings. It had a white nursery tag that said Kardinal.






If it was a body bagged rose, there is a liklihood of it being a rose that is not named - just a rose that was bagged up and given a name. Usually not the correct one. I bought some beautiful potted roses from Walmart a few years ago, was excited to get roses like New Year, Old Timer, cant recall the rest. I put them in a great raised bed, coddled them all winter and when spring came - they were all the same orangish colored rose and were most certainly not what they were supposed to be. Worse......even with the best of care, they all sickened and died. That did it for me on the bagged or potted roses from stores like Walmart. What a waste of time. My guess would be its an unknown, unamed rose and unless some more knowledgable than me can come up with a name - I would just enjoy it and not worry about a name. Hope I am wrong and it can be identified - but I have become suspicious of bagged/potted roses from box stores since my experience. Good luck!

Thanks, guys!
Good information, Cynthia!
Alameda -- I had no idea that there were just random roses out there, I thought they were all something named (possibly mislabeled, but still named) unless you were growing from hips/seeds yourself.
This is only my second year growing and I kind of threw together this bed with body bags from Lowe's and online orders from Heirloom and Rogue Valley so I'm hoping I didn't mix anything up although I'm pretty sure that the Gene Boerner was a bagged one.
Anyone grow Carefree Beauty or Neon Lights or do you all think this one is just an unnamed mass produced one?







