21,400 Garden Web Discussions | Roses

I don't know why it is puny, so I don't know whether it will be OK, but maybe it will. Give it appropriate amounts of water and fertilizer and see what happens. Pick off the spotted leaves. If it doesn't perk up by fall, you could try moving it during the winter. Roses need at least 5 hours of direct sun and decent soil.
I hope you enjoy your roses.

I know you probably don't know what kind of rose it is but that information would be helpful in knowing if there is anything wrong or not. It doesn't look at all unhealthy really, except for that touch of black spot, so it could be that it's just a smaller rose to begin with. Not all roses get really big and bushy. Some of them can be quite small too. If you can post pictures of the blooms maybe we can ID for you.

I can't really comment on your container questions...all of my roses are in the ground with the exception of two miniflora Deja Blu roses in pots. But the pic of your pink rose looks like The McCartney Rose to me. It's a good rose for me, but will blackspot some. I also grow Livin Easy...great, easy rose for my hot, humid climate...no blackspot whatsoever. I'm not sure how they do in containers, but in the ground, McCartney gets about 6 ft tall, but stays narrow. Livin' Easy gets around 6 ft tall and about 4 ft wide...very bushy and always blooming.

I don't think the smart pots are a good idea for roses. Like you said, they dry out quick. In your hot summer you'll have to be constantly watering them. That may be partly why they don't seem to be growing much. But from the pictures you posted they look pretty healthy.
If you can get some big nursery pots for a good price I'd go with those. I think they're 4 or 5 bucks at my local nursery so they shouldn't break the bank. You don't want to buy a bunch of expensive containers if they'll only be in them for a few months.



Also, see the thread linked below on the cutting process and also handling the cut flower and water for the vases.
Here is a link that might be useful: Options to flower feash (


That behavior is normal. The rose flowers, you cut off the flowers when they are finished, the plant rests a bit, then it grows new stems with flowers on them and the process repeats.
As the rose gets older and more established and strong, there will be more flowers and faster repeat. When young, the plant is not as strong and new growth and bloom is much slower. The young plant is growing a good strong root system at the same time and must conserve its energy for that.

That stuff is going to break down via microbial action into the most wonderful awesome fluffy rich soil on the planet, and because the material is all ground, it should not take too long...can you just cover the area with mulch, plant some annuals, and wait a year?

I thought of my grass fertilizer 30-0-0 but figured that was too easy. I will watch mrs brc & see what she does & add the 30-0-0 if needed.
I hope I dont get root fungus. The roses will be very close to the stumps or giant roots that flare out a bit. Its in the center of our lawn so it will be irrigated by our sprinklers.
Waiting a year isnt in the plans, I can maybe wait on the roses & daylilies but the iris have to go in this late summer/fall.
I just rototilled around the edge & brought up more roots. I am going to have to sift out some of the roots somehow. This is going to take a lot of effort.

This is really fascinating (I love this forum!). Once again, I have learned valuable information by just reading about folks' experience in other places, and once again it turns out that LOCATION is everything!
Who would have thought that that applies to weed abatement as well as which roses grow well where? That never occurred to me. I have always been a bit guilty that I never have tried the newspapers on the beds, now I am really glad I didn't.
We frequently have windy Springs, and the cold wind has been blowing here non-stop for a couple of weeks. No humidity - (maybe 30%-40%). We haven't had any rain since Feb, and we won't get any until next Oct/Nov. Our irrigation system has been on full time since March, but the wind has made everything so dry that I have had to water the pots every day. Moderate temps, thank heavens - in the 60s because of the wind.
Sooo glad to not be chasing dried out bits of newspaper everywhere! I have mulched almost all of the beds in the last week - three inches, and then watered it down well - it is home made compost (I would say about 50% composted this year - it depends), so it stays down very well.
By next month the winds will have stopped, and we will settle in to our normal 100% sunny but OK temps (70s, 80s, with occasional 90s) long long Summer. Just not looking forward to the water bills!
So, thanks for the info - I am so glad that I don't have to feel guilty anymore!
Jackie

Thank all of you for the great feed back. I have decided to use the wet newspaper in my rose garden. I'm getting on in age and it makes difficult to pull the grass and weeds at times. However it turns out in a few months, I will post the success or failure of the project in the fall. Thanks again and have a safe and happy Memorial weekend.
Jack

Only "The Great White Hunter" damages any plants. She strips the foliage from the golden bamboo and eats it. The other two don't pay any attention to any plants. I'll still take all three of these instead of the finally useful cat (who is now fertilizer). There is no room in my universe for an animal who deliberately urinated on others and ME in the middle of the night. He would sneak down from the kitchen, where he was banished for his misbehavior, jump on the bed and pee all over you. Fortunately, he finally died and is fertilizing a shrub out back. Good riddance! Kim

My dog loves to chew on sticks whether they are attached to a living plant or not. And, unbelievably to me will chew on thorny rose canes. I don't get how that doesn't hurt. Of course, he also barks at the squirrels he has chased up the trees. A "great white hunter" he is not!
Anne

Grafted roses (bud union) are usually planted 4" - 6" deep in your zone.
Own root roses I always plant 1" deeper then it was in its original pot. It would probably adapt planted deeper though..
I do not know the exact reason that certain rose is coming along slower than the others...
But If it's coming to life it should be ok...
Let us know how it's growing later in the season... Thanks

Minflick - your photos of this rose are gorgeous. I've passed this rose by a handful of times as I've heard less than positive comments about it. But it sure is happy with you. The blooms I have seen are very pretty, and the fragrance is marvelous. Looks a lot better than my Scentimental!

Looks fantastic, Minflick! As your rose matures, you might plan for it getting pretty dang tall. My Rock & Roll is never much below 6 feet, tall and narrow, even in zone 5, and I can't think how tall it will get in yours. You're wise to have it in a large whiskey barrel for now, but even that might get tricky down the road if it grows to full height.
Regardless, I love this rose and it's one of the more reliable big striped roses I grow. Keep up the good work!
Cynthia


Pickering Nurseries carries Gold Stern.
http://www.pickeringnurseries.com/web_store.cgi?cod=07gst
Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.pickeringnurseries.com/web_store.cgi?cod=07gst

To make a standard, you take a long whip of the trunk stock you intend to use and remove every growth bud from its length, except the top two or three. This is then rooted. Once sufficiently rooted, the rose you desire is budded below the remaining growth buds. Once these grow, the top growth from the trunk stock is cut off, leaving only the desired rose to grow. Ideally, there are no other growth buds on the plant, roots to the budded variety.
If the HT you want to train to be a standard is budded, you have that bud union which has many possible buds which may break into growth as new basals. Each one has to be removed, not just cut off, as it grows or it becomes a 'sucker' for the standard.
If your HT is own root, it still has the ability to produce new basals from its crown as well as new growth from the stem you try to train as the trunk. All of these growth buds have to be removed to the point where you want the head of the trunk to begin, or they will eventually grow and ruin the effect you desire.
Add the problem of HT wood just not being durable enough to be used as a standard trunk. It gets very old, very quickly and has to be continually replaced so the plant is rejuvenated and continues producing the growth and flowers you expect. IF you successfully eliminate all the basal and stem buds so there is no "suckering" of the original plant, the remaining standard would grow and flower for a few years and eventually begin to decline from age, like you see from "one cane wonders".
Standards generally don't experience this geriatric decline for many years because the types used for the roots and trunks are far more durable. Their wood is much longer-lived than the average HT. Doing what you describe for a pretty potted specimen you want to enjoy for a year or two, then discard, could be a fun experiment. But, not for a long term garden subject. Kim





It grows and gets blind shoots? Or it doesn't grow?
It gets adequate water, correct?
If it's throwing blind shoots you don't need to prune it back that hard to get new growth. Just prune back the tips to the first leaf set and see if it puts on some new buds. As for why it only blooms once or twice I don't know. It may just not be a very heavy bloomer. I have a few that only put on two flushes a season too. I don't worry about it because that seems to be their norm.