22,795 Garden Web Discussions | Roses
The hardy roses are offered own-root more often than not. If you like to see your roses before you buy them, the local garden centres should have most of these in stock in April. (And yes, April is fine for planting shrubs and perennials, if there's no snow on the ground.)
I would advise against planting roses in April. No way. :)
If you get any of the roses that I mentioned, they should be found at the local greenhouses. They mostly sell only hardy roses for here. So when the roses come out at the greenhouses is usually a fine time to plant. Most people wait until after the long weekend in May. She'll know the holiday date - I can't remember it right now. If they're bare root, I would wait until middle of June.
Carol
Wintersowing in milk jugs, here, too. Gardening of any kind when it's below zero outdoors, snowing and blowing, is a good thing. I garden indoors, too, with a four shelf lighted rack filled with blooming African violets. In fact, I accidentally found help for my winter depression because I set up this rack in my bedroom a few years back in an effort to keep the plants safe from my toddler grandson. I have the lights on a timer and found that unlike an alarm clock, when the lights click on and bathe the room in artificial "sunshine" I am wide awake and ready to take on the world. In fact, in my new house the AV's on the rack are in the room at the end of the hall, next door to my bedroom. The doors to both rooms always stand open (I live alone now) and even though it is not direct light on my bed, if still feels like "dawn." No more hiding under the covers, hitting the snooze. I feel just as cheerful in winter as I do in high summer when the sun is up well before 6 a.m. (All that's missing is a few bird calls!)
I know everyone can't fit a plant rack in their bedroom (nor would they want one) but it does work for me! :-)
I agree with the person who said, get some ammendments and dig a trench and set the roses in that you have no time to plant or decide where you want them. Later on you can move them and you won't end up buying them over when you don't need to. Also, it's a good time to split them into several plants. If you plant one and it fails, you have another. You can plant in groups to make a big statement. Some will be rooted on every cane and you can make a hedge.
Happy Days to you on your new farm! Llamas are fun. Roses like what the llamas provide. Glad your dream is happening. Please post pictures. We love to see your progress.
Top idea, Tammy. I also went to college at 36 (history) and loved every moment. Mature students often wipe the floor with the youngsters - we are all so keen and motivated. Did 4 years of horticulture too - probably more useful than history in terms of vocational qualifications. Daughter is planning on moving into law too (although I suspect she is planning eternal studenthood since she has been in college for nearly 8 years now!)
However, your lifestyle sounds a bit too dynamic for me to get a handle on......aged collie and anti-social cat are quite enough livestock for me. Respect for your vim and vigour.
Thanks Kate. But I will be using the entire (almost former) azalea bed for the roses. The azaleas will go to a different side of my yard.
The reason I asked about the bed, is that initially, the top six to eight inches of the soil was removed and replaced with acid soil for azaleas. For the next several years the whole bed was fertilized with more acidic fertilizer.
I was hoping to remove the top 12 inches or so (azalea roots are very close to the surface) and replace it with soil from the area where I will be putting the azaleas (virgin territory) and then amend the whole 'stripped' bed with EB Stone Rose soil and added compost.
What do you think? Will that work?
Thanks again,
andrea
I got mine several yrs ago from Hortico. They don't carry her anymore. I know that Cliff Orent had her when he had his EuroDesrt Roses. There's a possibility he could've had a mother plant that Heirloom Roses might've gotten when they acquired the rest of his stock. I would call them and ask if they did get one from him. They carry a lot of the other McGredy roses that he had. If they have a plant, maybe they will propagate it for you. I imagine others would like to have her. She's a pretty rose.
Yeah, I agree it's worth a try; I'd think they'd mainly need sun whilst their tops are growing (i.e.,spring/summer). I don't know "Birthday Present", but Bantry Bay's flowers, though not single, are not particularly full,and therefore it may well be rather accepting of shade...bart
Before you cut any of it, is the plant budded or own root? If it's budded, I'd think you would pretty much kill MAC but probably have a great crop of root stock. Own root might rebound eventually, but I agree that eliminating the worst, oldest cane first then the next the following year is probably better. How do they look "bad"? If it's just thick, old, bare and woody, that's normal. If it has galls on it, I'd dump the plant and take measures already discussed here on the forum. Kim
I would suggest the slow deliberate method of pruning. I pruned a 5 year old Elizabeth Taylor that had grown 10 feet tall on 2 old 1" diameter canes very aggressively. Removed one completely and cut the other down to 5 ". I now have a Dr. Huey shooting up from the roots to deal with as the ET never resprouted.
As a general rule of thumb, when it comes to hybrid teas, I space them about 3 ft apart, measuring from the center of one to the center of the next one.
I don't find a lot of different widths when it comes to HTs, but if I knew a HT was a bit wider than "normal," I might add .5 ft or so to the spacing. Elle, for instance, is a somewhat wider-spreading HT, so a little extra space for her.
Kate
kstrong, thanks for posting about this sale. I would never have found out about it. Like growing_rene, I ordered lady of shalott & munstead wood. Also ordered Love Song & requested 4/1 as the date for delivery.
My local nurseries don't carry these roses, just a few out-of-patents (and of course KOs) so I saved myself a lot of frustration & gas driving around looking for the roses I really wanted. I'm really looking forward to adding these to my garden. Can't wait.
I grew Serendipity. Just took a look at Dr. Rousch's Blogspot Blog, which has a useful table. Blackspot ratings run from '0' (which actually is shown as a blank instead of a Zero) to '3'. A '3'-rated rose gets severe infestations of blackspot. There was only one '3'.
Serendipity is rated at '2', while most roses on the Buck list are at '0'. I planted quite a few Serendipitys, since the color range schemed with the range in our house's brick, and assuming that a Buck rose would be disease-free.
My experience (and that of the young surgeons who bought the house, then of the young attorneys who bought it from the surgeons) is that there is a huge spring burst of bloom and growth, followed by a late-spring defoliation from Blackspot. Collectively, we've learned to allow the defoliation, and then, when temperatures are about to stay above 90, to fertilize and drip-irrigate. High temperatures inhibit Blackspot. Thus, with high summer temps, we could keep the roses leafed-out and blooming.
Too, one can leave the roses leafless until really cool weather is coming, and water/fertilize in time to have a second burst of bloom in October/November - even a mild December. Serendipity likes sun, a lot of water, and constant attention (much deadheading needed). The Attorneys are now judiciously removing the original canes, one-by-one (i planted in '06), which are quickly being replaced by new ones.
Serendipity blooms best after a hard winter, and will keep its leaves up until winter gets really cold. The Siberian component in its makeup is quite evident. Anyway, this is a portrait of one of Buck's "worst" roses (disease-wise). Eight years in the ground, and they're still doing quite well (own-root, BTW).
I'm in zone 6A, just outside of Kansas City and chose to get 3 Buck roses as my first roses after much reading. Quietness came from Antique Rose Emporium in TX, and this will be it's 3rd spring at my house. It's a gorgeous rose, lots of blooms very pretty and long lasting. Healthy foliage, no blackspot at all this year. Distant Drums and Wild Ginger are a year younger and from Heirloom Roses. Both started out small but grew to a respectable size this year and bloomed a bit. Distant Drums is an awesome color and a pretty bloom, only a little blackspot. Wild Ginger barely bloomed and had quite a bit of blackspot (but still less than the miniature roses bought the same year). If it does the same this year I may replace it with Westerland, since my sister insists we need an orange rose.
In southern CA I'm more or less in the same boat as Jackie. I hadn't heard the dismal news about it not raining at all this winter, was still hoping for something in February through April.
In spite of that I have so many new bands or plants that are going into their second spring that I'm eagerly anticipating some blooms from a lot of little roses. I know it often takes the bands three years to really take off but even a few blooms will be something to enjoy greatly. Right now not too many roses are blooming but I do have repeat blooming irises that are blooming. I really recommend them if your season is long enough.
Ingrid
This was a very interesting post, Nippstress! I had never thought about viewing my list of past roses by breeder before. So I went into my spreadsheet and re-sorted by that column...and my, did I have a varied assortment of breeders represented! Largest group for any one breeder was Buck, I'm sorry to say (this was from when I gardened in a real zone 4.) I had many Buck's that just got smaller and smaller, weaker and weaker every spring - until one spring they were dead entirely. I grew just about all that were available in commerce back in the early 2000's, but have very, very few today. Out of the 24 past Bucks on my list, 3 were given away and 21 died a slow sad death. I only have 8 Bucks left in the garden now, of which Applejack is my hands down most iron clad hardy Buck rose.
That said, I've lost several Bardens and Kordes, too, but most of the failed Kordes were climbers - always problematic in zone 4. I keep buying new Kordes roses though, and I do like to try anything by Ping Lim or Radler these days.
This is interesting thread, I have had poor luck with lots of breeders and it's all my fault, I expected more than the poor plant could deliver...some are just not 'bred' for this climate...now I just stick with the tried and true, Chinas, Noisettes, Old Teas....very few 'modern' roses can survive in Florida heat and humidity....I can't enumerate how many times I have tried to grow a beauty that was gorgeous for several winter months but gave up when June July and August rolled around....sally