21,402 Garden Web Discussions | Roses

Check out the Nashville Rose Society's web site. I think they can help you on HT's. In my area, some of the best HT's are; Louise Estes, Crystalline, Gemini, Let Freedom Ring, Elina, Moonstone, Peace, Chicago Pease, Dark Night (needs afternoon shade). This is just a small sample of good HT's.


If a rose is notorious for sporting frequently, and if those sports are notorious for reverting, does it make sense that the change is due to a genetic mutation? Of course not. The DNA is the same, but the level of expression changes.
Otherwise, what the claim is really stating is that a random mutation occurred, changing the DNA sequence such that now its flowers are different, and then randomly mutated back to the original DNA sequence, but everything else remained exactly the same. The odds of that happening are astronomical -- clearly not the accurate explanation of something occurring frequently. What's more likely is that as cells differentiated to form new top growth, the 3-D structure of the DNA (but not its sequence of nucleotides), which had to change anyway during cellular differentiation, didn't EXACTLY match the same 3-D structure in one branch as another, resulting in some genes being expressed at slightly different levels from cane to cane. Since the 3-D structure of DNA in the cells repeatedly changes as the cells differentiate (from stem to bud, or stem to root), there's much more possibility of this kind of variation going back and forth than that the actual DNA sequence changes and changes back again. If the DNA was that unstable sequentially, the plant likely couldn't survive.
:-)
~Christopher
This post was edited by AquaEyes on Wed, Apr 24, 13 at 23:15

Deer love roses. How they can eat those stems is a wonder. Stopping them is difficult but not impossible.
Fencing is the best single alternative. Using some sort of fencing or barrier along with other strategies may increase your chances.
Along with fencing or by themselves, Deer Repellent Packs provide a fear barrier to keep deer away from your precious roses and other plants. You can find them online at www.DeerRepellentPacks.com
Here is a link that might be useful: Keep Deer Away from your Flowers

Socks, but you need to have something *underneath* the mulch.
I had my complete backyard dug up last summer, and the landscaper used the fabric with mulch on top, which is what *I* asked for. My dog runs thru the yard, so consequently the mulch 'flys' as well as the fabric getting torn. Had I of known cardboard and newspaper were the 'environmentally correct' materials, I would have used it instead. I was also talked out of the crushed stone(instead of mulch)by my landscaper, now wish I hadn't listened to him re: either product, especially the crushed stone since I had used it in a previous home.
I would recommend NOT using fabric landscaping material or mulch under your Rosé bushes~just 2 cents from a novice gardener. ;o)

I'm with everyone else here. I almost lost 3 Mme Antoine Mari's that I'd had for years because over time leaves packed down on top of it and weeds grew on top of it, and heavy rain didn't penetrate it. It's a b**ch to remove, too! Nearly killed me!
If I use that stuff at all now, it's to put in the bottom of flower pots to cover the drain holes.


It is a month later and they look fabulous! Still short to the ground but flush with leaves and new buds. Perhaps this was not such a bad idea after all! Have started my first ever batch of alfalfa tea and will feed them that this weekend. Thanks to those of you who gave advice (as opposed to making snarky comments about my husband) ;-)

If you pinch them out when they are about the size of a chocolate chip or smaller, you can just use your finger tips, but acissors works just as well. You want them removed asap, before the plant has put a lot of energy into forming them.

I love these kind of accidents. I imagine you have more survival success in your climate.
Something similar happened to me. I was moving so I planted my roses in styrofoam coolers. When I was ready to move 2 years later I tried to lift the pot I fell back on my backside.
The determination of these roses were the coolers were on a cement patio but the roots had traveled out of the pot through the Fall leaves on the patio and found their way to the ground beside the patio. That soil area had a mini-pond so I guess the fertile soil in that area also made a perfect well feed environment.
Because of that incident and because I have survival issues due too my extreme climate I grow my roses in styrofoam coolers for the first 2 years before I plant them in the garden. The styrofoam seems to give them the insulation needed to get a good root system and they are a stronger plant when placed in the garden.

Soap takes 24 hours to kill--probably longer when the weather is cool and moist. It does work on rose slugs, but of course you have to reach them on the underside of leaves. That is about the same amount of trouble as flipping the leaves and smushing the worms.
Do an image search for rose slugs to see what kind of damage they cause. Young ones just scrape off the lower cuticle of the leaf, leaving translucent white windows, angular in shape. Larger ones eat all the way through and can skeletonize the leaf.

Thanks so much, Michael. I have mostly tiny ones. But there are definitely some bigger ones munching too. I tried my best to get to the underside of leaves with soap, smushing as I went too. I don't mind a little damage, it's part of the process after all. But on the other hand, I want to prevent bigger problems later on in the summer too -- and grow a healthy, good looking rose. I'm glad to know that it just takes a bit of time for the soap to do its thing. In the past, I've been pretty much hands off with any treatment of the roses - just developing their soil. Most do fine but look a little raggedy in late summer. And now that I'm trying to grow some of the older roses, I want to give them the best treatment I can :)


Is this a real window box, hanging below a window or is it on the ground? If it's hanging I think you'd have to stay with minis, and small ones at that. If it's on the ground a full size rose should be OK. But even then I think you'd have to keep it on the small side because of the size of the box. The problem is knowing how big something is going to get in your climate. You should probably check with a local rose society to see what they would suggest for your area.






Thank you so much for the suggestions. I had thought about having just roses or just perennials but for some reason never thought of having roses and annuals. That sounds like a great idea for lots of colour without expecting to much from a rose all season. Also, the annuals can be changed out the following year for variety. Now I just have to decide on the roses. I'm going to look into polyantha and miniatures as well.
Not sure of hardiness, but 'Gruss an Aachen' or 'Pink Gruss an Aachen' are wonderful very free-flowering little floribunda-like roses that should fit nicely into that space.