22,152 Garden Web Discussions | Roses

There's a quiet space on the side of my home. Pavers create the walkway and I have placed a bistro table and two chairs next to the house. Because it is a quiet place, my garden colors are soft and calming. White iceberg roses and climbers, agapanthus, blue iris, blue plumbago, and thyme which will have a soft lavender flower create the color scheme.

Around the corner is a different story. It is where the grilling area, covered patio, and swimming pool are. This area is often lively and much of it is subjected to many hours of Las Vegas heat and direct sunlight. Subdued colors cannot withstand the sun. Also, I want this part of the garden to look alive, lively, not be subdued and calming. As a result, this is where the multi-colored Joseph's Coat lives, Don Juan, America, Mardi Gras, golden celebration, knock out roses, ( so deep red, multi-colored roses that read ivory with rose pink, soft gold, and apricot tones here in the heat, and salmon pink) , and a medium/deep pink floribunda which unfortunately I do not know what the variety is. These are the lively colors. I shy away from bright orange colors in my garden because with the colors already present,
it could be too much for my senses... I prefer apricot or salmon, and use golden yellow sparingly. When I look at color, yellow can be the shockingly brightest color there is.

Contrast and complimentary colors together. (get out your color wheels!)

I live in the seasonal depression capital. I like things that are bright and cheerful to look at in the garden.
Red tone purple with coral orange and hot pink is vibrant yet works together. White to cool it and make them pop.
Softer versions for blending between colors too.

I never use yellow or true red. Always an off version.

Current combo Fragrant cloud, Sugar moon, Tropicana, Lucille Ball, leonardo Davinci and Stephen's Big purple.

Thanks for the info, Kate. For an "easy" rose it seems a bit temperamental. I have it in what I would consider an ideal spot but I'm willing to move it or do whatever I have to if at the end I have a rose that looks like yours. I don't think mine will ever have that gorgeous lilac pink color since my soil is alkaline, alas.

Ingrid

Susan, I wanted to mention how elegant your wisteria is (that's a plant not very many gardeners grow, at least around here), and the spirea is lovely, too.

Pat your roses are abundant and so lush and healthy looking. Your cute sign reminds us to focus on the beauty of roses and forget for a moment all the chores waiting to be done.

view1ny, your James Galway and Teasing Georgia make a luscious view.

Jackie, a look into your garden transports me me back to an earlier time--there has got to be a secret garden in those lush plantings, and I'd love to find it, at least in my imagination.

Diane

Or float blooms in plastic bowls so they can sniff different scents.

One easy thing is to pass a leaf on a bit of stem to each and ask who knows if this is a rose? Answer: Roses are defined by having the stipules at the bottom of each leaf.

I think Socks suggestion is a very good one.

I did something like this, btw, years ago, for a class of blind adults. It was really rewarding, to see the folks in the group examine the roses by touch and scent.

Jeri

The reason it is not blooming very much might be because you are cutting it back and "not allowing those long tendrils" too often. If it really wants to be a climber, it will put its energy into getting as tall as IT thinks it should be (no matter what you think), instead of putting its energy into blooming.

So, I would tie the long canes as horizontally as you can, and stop cutting it back (just deadhead it after bloom), and see what happens.

Jackie

Terrific picture Jackie! I think it will be many years til I have such combos mastered!!! Impressive!!!

Celeste, when I saw how small your rose growing area is I became a bit concerned. You really won't be able to grow many roses there, especially since the bed is so narrow. Given the fact that you have so much space, why not make the rose growing area much larger?Of course you can grow lots of other things there too, which will make it look much prettier and more interesting than just roses alone. Grass takes a lot of water, doesn't give shade and doesn't encourage birds and beneficial insects and other creatures. If you try some of the old roses, they get very big and beautiful and would need a lot of space. Lavender Lassie can get huge. I'm also concerned that your west-facing wall with cook everything. That's how I lost a beautiful climber, Reve d'Or, by planting it where it got afternoon sun. Roses don't have to be against the wall, and in fact will get much better air circulation and will suffer less if they're out in the open. Do you have a patio that you could plant a rose garden around? That would cool down the house area, especially if you added some trees like crape myrtle and perhaps had an arbor for growing climbers. I'm afraid the trellis is going to be much too small and flimsy for the climbers you have planned there, assuming they survive. You say you have a dry climate, which is what I have, and mine also gets very hot. Does the front of your house have a cooler exposure? That might be a good place to have roses also. Mine get very stressed by the heat, especially if there isn't sufficient rain.

I hate to sound so negative, but I've had to toss or give away any number of roses because they couldn't stand my heat. Lavender Lassie is very beautiful but from what I've heard the rebloom isn't particularly frequent, so don't be distressed if it doesn't rebloom like some other roses.

We're always here for you with advice should you need more information.

Ingrid

duplicate

This post was edited by desertgarden561 on Sun, Jul 7, 13 at 17:39

Sabine, I live in a hot, dry area in San Diego County and have noticed that, with the little rain we've had, many of my roses are suffering, in spite of watering every second day. The other day I dug down into the dirt around some of the roses and discovered that, although the top was moist, one or two inches down there was no moisture at all. What I'm doing now is putting the hose to each plant with just a trickle of water coming out and leaving it there until I can see that there's moisture further down when I check with a trowel. Have a look at the soil around your roses; you might be having the same problem. Other than that I can't imagine what could be causing the dieoff. If it is a lack of water I would also put mulch around the roses, if you haven't done so already, to keep the sun from sucking up all the moisture.

Ingrid

Thanks Ingrid,
This rose is so old and established I never really had an issue with water, I just recently started to let the area soak. The part that concerns me is that it is the only rose in my garden that is behaving this way. I think I am going to take soil and tissue samples in to get tested

Correct me if I am wrong, but I think Preen is made out of corn gluten. It's not a chemical. Diane

Treat yourself and hire some extra help even if it's just for a day. This can be an early birthday, anniversary, Christmas, etc. gift. Good luck!

Finally getting mine under control with the active ingredient in Orthene, spraying the tops every other day 3 times. The brand is Bonide, not Ortho.

Most of my buds hadn't opened, but I did spray it inside a couple -- didn't notice any negatives.

There is some information on bioworks website related to small volume applications which calls for about 1 tbsp/gallon. Plus they are very responsive to consumer calls/questions.

The thrips here have been virulent for about the last 4 years with no end in sight. I'm convinced the bastards have decided to make Maumelle, Arkansas their permanent HQ.

I did the Orthene treatments. And yes Orthene will kill them, but my residual results have been far superior with BontaniGard. With Orthene, I only felt like it was effective for 24 hours. Plus the Orthene just smells so awful. Botanigard is odorless. If you have roses that are blooming, the last thing you should want is the sour death stench of Orthene (or the additive mercaptan which supposedly makes it smell so bad). I'm not saying this product is for everyone, but for me it's a dream come true. The image of lifeless thrips in a bloom is beautiful!

The fungicide timing is tricky, but with a little scheduling it's not bad. Bioworks has a list on their website of compatible fungicides and the time intervals for application. I'm thinking of going with Cleary's 3336 and alternate with Mancozeb or Banner Max (is it best to mix in a contact fungicide every couple of weeks or alternate between 2 systemics?)

Please don't take this personally or feel insulted, but I did indeed get a pop-up while trying to access that link. .I'm not trying to start a war over this, but I'm also not saying anything that isn't the case. I should say that it is privacy settings, not security settings - my error.

This is the pop-up:
:

"This website uses the digital subscription service Press+ to manage access to its content. In order to bypass the message you are reading and access our site, we need you to enable your third-party cookies or switch to a different browser. This will enable Press+ to store small bits of information in your browser that enable the site to function properly.
(followed by technical geeky stuff )"

Please let me also say that I do appreciate the links to articles in your other posts..

This post was edited by nickl on Sat, Jun 15, 13 at 9:25

nickl, my e-mail address is kuska@neo.rr.com. If you e-mail me an address that will accept an attachment, I will send you a copy of the article.

Tammy, it does, thank you! I keep forgetting that while I ask, "Will it survive the summer?", most others are asking, "Will it survive the winter?" :)

Melanie, my answer is in your post on the antique rose forum.

Ingrid