21,402 Garden Web Discussions | Roses

You took the words from my mouth, Henry! In reading these forums and learning of the struggles with Japanese beetle, how often people spray, BS, rust, etc....honestly I just would NOT bother with more than a very few bushes, facing all those threats. I wouldn't dream of spraying anyway. We have some mildew on certain bushes and aphids too, but I mostly ignore except for hosing off aphids. In July it all goes away. I do feed regularly.
I've been to the Huntington when the roses looked bad, nothing deadheaded and bushes looking scraggly. My fingers itched for a pair of clippers! It might be volunteers who do the deadheading, and maybe it was an off week.

I haven't paid any attention to the 5-leaflet rule for twenty years. It is OK (not necessarily optimal) if you have only hybrid tea roses, but harmful with some cluster-blooming roses, where it can lead you to discard half the plant unnecessarily. These are varieties that form large trusses and candelabra.
Deadheading only helps the plant if that variety sets a lot of hips (fruit), and many varieties do not. Many roses do just fine without being deadheaded.
If you want to fuss with your roses, just pop off the blooms as they fade. When the whole cluster is gone, you can either leave the branching stem tissue or cut it back some, but don't sacrifice a lot of cane unless the plant is getting too tall. The branching stem tissue is capable of producing shoots wherever there is any kind of leaf or leaflike bract. Once the rose produces new shoots, you can cut off the stem tissue above that if you want.
The only rule I follow in deadheading is to remove the minimum stem tissue until the roses gets as big as I want it to be, and to take long stems if the rose is getting too tall or floppy.

I, too, am mystified by the popularity of the old pruning rules since I have observed that growth most certainly follows the knife and when deadheading back on the cane, the rose will push out an enormous amount of fresh green non-flowering growth which will only have to be headed back later in the season or at pruning time.
The only advantage to this (I could see, in my limited experience) was an increase in photosynthesising material.....and as I rarely grow the large flowered sparsely leafed climbers....or HTs, then, this extra foliage is not really any advantage at all.

Thank you all very much for the info. I read at some point that damasks seem to be well adapted to desert conditions.
I'm still suspicious of watering too much, but I have no clue... aren't damasks highly adapted to desert conditions? it doesn't make much sense tho I guess that water would dilute the aromatic molecules like it can the flavor of fruit. I'll keep tryin to find some more info.
I just found this site BTW that suggests rose fragrance peaks in early morning and when blossoms are half open.
Here is a link that might be useful: Rose fragrances info

That's interesting. I don't know whether the areas where roses are commercially raised are high desert or not, but that would affect ambient moisture.
There was a good discussion some time ago re. commercial attar production in Iran:
Here is a link that might be useful: Iranian rose production




I don't spray Rugosas here in Zone 6a. Therese will bloom at about 2-3 feet high, never fear, and I've never seen blackspot on her.
Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Musings blog on Therese Bugnet

Just curious how she did for you? I got mine at a bargain last year. She immediately dropped all of her leaves and I thought she was a goner. But she's back with her first flush of blooms. Very very pretty. I had to kill off the pesky caterpillars so I sprayed with an organic fungicide today. Before I read the rest of this post oops.....

I think Paul Zimmerman has a great video about transplanting roses.
Here is a link that might be useful: Moving roses video


Our winters are very mild, so my roses almost always get taller than their labels say they will. We've had an uncharacteristically cool spring, so most of my roses are blooming later than usual, but they are getting tall already. CdM is already chest high (I'm 5'6), so might exceed 5ft this year. The others I have in Weeks Easy Series with the exception of Julia Child, which I try to keep shorter, all get at least 6 ft by end of summer (Easy Going, Easy Does It, Livin Easy, Hot Cocoa). If you are looking for more no spray roses, this whole series is great. Easy Going, Easy Does It and Livin Easy are all as bulletproof as knockouts when it comes to disease even with our high humidity here. Hot Cocoa and Julia Child, like CdM, will get a little bit occasionally, but doesn't stop them and they recover quickly without it spreading through the whole bush. All of the series are covered in blooms continuously no matter what the weather...heat, rain, etc don't phase them a bit. Here's another pic of CdM from this morning...more and more of those buds are starting to open.


Just to play devil's advocate I'd like to point out that there are plenty of rose bushes that will grow as tall as or taller than a standard rose. There is a Mr. Lincoln at my Mom's house that has flowers peeking over the 8' fence. At my house I have a standard Julia Child and a bush Dream Come True next to each other and the top flowers are at the same height.
Standards will give you height faster however, and a line of them can be especially attractive. One of my neighbors has a row of rose trees planted along her curving front walkway and I always admire how nice it looks.

The Complete Book of Roses - Gerd Krussman
There are no shiny pictures in this rather old fashioned book.....but when the Beales (Peter and daughter, Amanda) claim this book as their most essential guide, it does suggest that it contains a wealth of information. As well as sections on the rose as a cultural artefact, it contains the most comprehensive description of species roses in any book or manual I have found. It is exacting, clear and highly practical, dealing with all aspects of rose culture, from lineage to rootstocks, genetics to social history. By far and away, the most useful book for serious gardeners. Last updated in the mid 80s, it obviously has no information on rose developments after that time....but is still a highly comprehensive book which has become an essential addition to my library.

Andre, your lettuce or your life? One of what you sprayed is labeled as "systemic" (incorporated and, to some degree, more or less, mobile in plant tissues), the other "mesostemic" (long term residual, also seems to be mobile in plant tissues). Call me queasy, but I wouldn't eat it, personally (and I'm a notorious glyphosphate defender...).

OK. Don't do bugs, so don't know what kind of spidey this is, but it looks like a lentil with legs, very much at the ready! There are spiders all OVER all my roses, so I figure I didn't do TOO much damage with the neem spraying a few months ago. No sign of all the ladybugs and praying mantis babies I figure should be there, but also not too many aphids anymore, so life appears to be OK.
I just wondered why on earth my bright yellow rose would be so pastel and have so much pink on it. I mean, it's NOT a band, it was a big honking bare root, even though it IS new to me and just in the dirt 3 months now.
Ignorance is very much not bliss!!!
Melinda




When my wife was growing up her mom had roses planted near a huge statue of Mary.
They suddenly changed from there original bloom color to red blooms.
Seeing this my wife always thought that Mary had the power to turn roses to a red color... lol
I tried to tell her it was just the Doc paying a visit but she will not believe me...lol
LOL...it really is funny in a way! I completely know it can happen, but it still surprised me :)
Yes Mzstitch, she was grafted onto Dr. Huey and when the Marilyn part died, the rootstock took over. Not an even trade.
I had thoughts going through my head like "poor Marilyn has turned into a man!!!" and kind of like Merlcat's thoughts "nice quiet Norma Jean became a fierce Marilyn Monroe" ...only with her colors switched! LOL
Jim, I can totally see my grandma thinking the same thing! She's a devout Catholic and always on the hunt for miricles :)
Oh well, on the brightside, that gives me another spot to plant one of my potted roses.
Tammy
This post was edited by TNY78 on Sat, May 18, 13 at 14:08