22,152 Garden Web Discussions | Roses
Same here, Jeri. There were frequently emails in both directions concerning anomalies in the garden; dumb things we'd each done or experienced; anything we thought the other might find interesting and, as you've received, I'd send him photos of new seedlings I found particularly interesting. When he became ill, he asked not to be forgotten, to be kept "in the loop". It wasn't difficult as the loop seemed to originate with him. Talk about a "hole"...
I do love what HMF has done with the Donations Tabs. Kim
I would be suspicious if such a puny rose as Fair Bianca produced a huge cane--could it be from the rootstock? The thorns look normal. On RRD canes, the thorns are typically awl-shaped and rubbery. It would be a good idea to post a SHARP picture of the top end of the shoot. If you take a number of pictures and display them on the monitor, you can tell which ones are focused.
yep, tanalised timber (lumber) is treated under pressure (to get the preservative, usually copper based, into the heart of the timber.
It is a highly satisfying thing, putting posts up (and yes, a 4foot level is much better than a shorter one - you can use it as a straight edge as well)
I am ambivalent about post-hole diggers (the ones with 2 blades, using a grasping movement) and always prefer a long-headed trenching spade - sometimes break up the ground with a landscaper's bar, a sort of heavy metal thing with a point at one end and a square chisel edge at the other - much easier and accurate than mattocks or picks.... and if I am feeling weak, I will get on my knees with a trowel and empty the hole slowly. Still, sounds like you are well on the case, Min, and MAC is a stunning rose when well grown and allowed a bit of freedom. My son grows it at his housing co-op and has lost count of the number of cuttings he has rooted for swooning visitors in June.
Camps, if I do the slow soak, it's very easy to dig down to 18+ inches, and takes me less than 10 minutes. Didn't go down a full 2 feet for my laundry poles, as that would make the stupid things chest high on me.... However, if I get the 12 foot poles the local lumber yard has, I will do the full 2 foot depth, for best anchoring. This yard is a really wild mix of dirt types. The side where Dr Huey has his stumps (my south border line) has beautiful soft black dirt. Diggable at any time. The driveway and the front bed of the house - rock hard pale dirt overlaid with 1" granite gravel in a layer nearly 3-4 inches thick in spots. Only soft in Digging Season, or when I run the water for a Long Time. Also the location of my only all day sun! The back yard has some of that same gravel, but even where the gravel isn't, there isn't going to be any hand digging with my trusty trowel due to bad hands and stupid shoulder. The long soak and a large shovel are the only way I'm going to be able to get a decent hole dug. I'll try and get the lumber next paycheck and get started on this.
Melinda
artisticcheese,
When to cut down roses depends upon your zone. I am in zone 9b, we strip our roses of their leaves and cut them down to force dormancy in late December or prior to about January 15th. During February, the temperature lows average in the 40's, and highs near 60, so our roses would not get a break. I own knock out roses and have used a similar, but more relaxed protocol ( no drastic pruning) with them.
We also cut the top growth down by 1/3 on all Moderns like hybrid teas, floribundas etc. around August 15th, and give the soil a good dose of organics to prepare for our Fall blooms that easily last through November. We stop fertilization in early October; by the 15th or so depending upon what is being used.
What you do can also vary according to the type of rose. There are old garden roses OGR's) that receive a different protocol.
Someone provided a link for knockouts. It would be a good place to start, as well as getting information specific to your zone, so I would really key in to the advice from the folks on this forum in "your" zone. You may have noticed, protocols vary according to the zone. You wrote that you reside in Dallas, TX which I believe is USDA zone 8A
Lynn
This post was edited by desertgarden561 on Wed, Aug 7, 13 at 11:50
A lot of what people "hear" about pruning/deadheading roses usually relates to the treatment of those in the hybrid tea class. Knock Out is in the Shrub class. It does not need (or want) a hard pruning at any time. In some zones, we do prune in late winter/early spring (March), and some of us follow when the forsythia blooms as an indicator of when to begin pruning.
The active fungicide ingredient in Bayer is tebuconazole. You may find the earlier thread below of interest.
Here is a link that might be useful: earlier thread
Hi,
my mother has a garden with various flowers. She has also roses and I know that she uses a special soil and conditioner for them. There are many variations of roses and every kind could react differently at the climatic conditions, and also may require a different care. I agree that you should go for a help to the rose society. They should help you. You can look for contact to them on this page http://plusaddress.com/ I use it very often and every time I find, what I need. I hope it will be better with your plants :-)
Henry,
If it was herbicide it would show up on other things too.But this bed was in a turf area off a sidewalk area and no Roundup used. When I saw it it had been on the plants for a few years. These plants were neglected.
I am seeing it all over town on Knockouts.My neighbor has a pink Knockout and I am keeping an eye on it!
Turf areas often have yearly weed and feed type applications.
The link below leads to the 2 videos (part 1 and part 2) that discusses the herbicide - rose rosette virus confusion problem.
Here is a link that might be useful: link for above
Thank you ladies very much! It's done really well next to the deck where I thought I would have problems with fungus. Seems pretty tough, I hope it continues to do well.
Also, nanadoll, thanks for the compliment on my photography...I use my cell phone of all things, because I don't have a digital camera. These new phones are really something else!
Just about everything said so well above resonates with me, except for mirendajean's tenacity in nursing back roses from the brink of disaster. I've been all too ready to send unhappy roses to rose heaven, usually without regret, but not always. Lack of patience is one of my faults, and that's why I've always said I'm not a gardener in the true meaning of the word.
What can I add to the above? Almost nothing really, that would apply to all gardeners. One quality applies to me, and it is my driving force, but I'm sure I'm not alone in this. It's a vision I hold deep in my heart of creating an earthly paradise that is uniquely mine, which will satisfy all my senses and make me eager to go outside every morning and make it the last place I long to see before it's dark at night. Sometimes, in a few magic hours or days, I feel I've come close to my vision. It's always fleeting, and soon the weather, disease and non-performing roses blur the picture. But the memory lingers and I keep on trying.
Maybe that's a sort of patience after all.
Ingrid
I had to chuckle, reading your post, Ingrid. Perhaps the "persistent vision" in the face of frequent opposition is a type of "self delusion"? I think we've all pretty much faced that kind of opposition. Diseases which appear from nowhere and refuse to be controlled. Vermin which seem almost supernatural, appearing out of the blue and disappearing back into it after munching the roots, flowers, hips or canes, leaving only their handiwork as evidence. Promised rains which never materialize. Yet, in our optimistic delusion, we stubbornly soldier on in hopes of creating reality of that vision! I devour the sumptuous photos of densely planted borders, full of texture and color. I have to keep reminding myself they can only exist where there is actual "soil" and the rain totals significantly more than about a foot a year, many recent years, only a fraction of that. Kim
I got my plant from Hortico several yrs ago, and it got off to kind of a slow start. But it seems to be a pretty consistent bloomer now, if I keep it deadheaded. It's is in a giant ceramic pot next to a metal arbor and has taken to climbing up and over the arbor. The blooms were a good bit larger than usual this yr. So maybe it just takes some time to get established & do its thing
Here's a alfalfa recipe...
Manure Tea
Cow tea, Alfalfa Tea and Fish Emulsion solutions still work the best with roses of all types, including Miniatures. The mixtures feed the soil, supporting the organisms that convert nutrients into forms available to plants. A long chain but a simple one. Food value is built in as well, but the primary boost comes from activating the soil organisms. If you don't have access to natural manures to use for a tea you can make an artificial manure. It can't burn and tiny root hairs love it. If you haven't brewed up one of the teas, your roses haven't enjoyed a natural treat.
Equipment Needed:
32 gallon , leakproof , plastic garbage can with a TIGHT lid
Alfalfa mealor pellets [about 12 cups per barrel]
OR a 10 pound onion sack of cow chips or horse apples[sack of manure]
Fermenting Method:
Add the active ingredients to garbage can, fill nearly to the top with water and stir. Cover tightly. Let steep for 2-3 days, stir again. Recover. Stir and steep off-and-on for more than a week. the result will be a green fermentation solution with a foamy consistency. Its ready to apply. It also smells really bad
Application:
Use an old bucket to bail out a gallon or so per bush. Minis can use about half as much. Can safely be used every six weeks during the active growing season. Works great on all sorts of plants in containers. Leaves green up, new growth appears, bloom take on a richer hue. When the garbage can is nearly empty , there will be a rich sediment left. Fill with water, steep a day or two or so and apply again. One loading of organic will make two batches.
What Happens:
Alfalfa contains a growth hormone Tricontanol and organic base on which organisms can feed. Alfalfa meal or pellets broadcast or scratched in the soil do the same thing, but tea works much faster.
Fortified Tea:
This post was edited by jim1961 on Wed, Aug 7, 13 at 21:15
Click on the link below for the American Rose Society Color Classes. Kim
Here is a link that might be useful: American Rose Society Color Classes
And after you read that remember that there are many shades and blends of each class too. Mauves are different shades of purple. There is NO BLUE roses so do not get taken in by adds for roses of that color. There is one called The Green Rose but it doesn't really have green petals . Instead it has a large cluster of sepals. For some strange reason it's classed as white?
The only Boerner rose I can recommend for no-spray gardens in the East is 'Aloha,' a large shrub or short climber that is resistant to blackspot in many gardens. The blooms are sumptuous, fragrant, and good for cutting, although sometimes I get bull nosed or proliferated flowers in the first flush. It repeats well. It should be marginally cane hardy in zone 5b, depending on the particular winter.
'Ivory Fashion' produces elegant sprays, but it was extremely susceptible to blackspot in my garden. I currently grow 'Apricot Nectar' and it is susceptible, but I like the large, very fragrant buds. 'Gene Boerner' needs fungicide here, but is not the worst BS martyr. Mike Shoup said it can be a no-spray rose in Texas, so maybe in Wisconsin? It is still an outstanding rose for prolific bloom and flower quality.
BS martyr? Lol