21,400 Garden Web Discussions | Roses

A Shropshire Lad did not make it through the first winter. Brother Cadfael is the ball king. Gentle Hermione smells bad. Abraham Darby doesn't bloom very much. I would recommend Evelyn, Sharifa Asma, Gertrude Jekyll, Charlotte, Crown Princess Margareta, Mary Rose, and Tradescant

I love my Sharifa Asma, Glamis Castle, Jude the Obscure and Eglantyne. They do well here no spray but as for hardiness, I'm much warmer. I chose these based on scent.
They seem to blow really quickly though in the heat and don't do well for cutting.
I know there are other Austins that do.
I ordered two Cymbaline in little bands. I'm looking forward to watching them grow.
If you don't have the Austin catalog, request it. There are rose recs for climates, placement, uses, etc. It is great eye candy and full of great inspiration.
Susan


Or... you might think of getting an invisible fence with collars for the dogs. My neighbor says they work very well.
My deer fence has been held up for years by wishful thinking. So far, no matter how big their racks are, none of the deer have toppled the thing over. They don't jump it because from their side, it doesn't look like their is a place for them to land. Lucky me.
Smiles,
Lyn

Lyn, Same story here: if the deer cannot see where they are going to land or if the other side looks too steep for them to land, they do not jump. Six-foot fences have worked here for 10 years for both reasons (previously, deer damage was outrageous).
~ Debbie

Kim, Black Bacarra is just the sort of rose I no longer grow.
Give me "Grandmother's Hat" any day -- or 'Niles Cochet' -- or 'Mme. Berkeley' -- roses that will just grow and bloom, and not make unreasonable demands upon my aching knees.
:-)
AND, you ARE welcome, Scott!
Jeri

Something you can do for them is to find some free aged horse manure and put that down and then cover that with a layer of mulch to preserve water in the soil. If the roses had diseases last year, covering the soil will also help them stay healthier. Every year that you do this will improve the soil that much more. You will need to add more mulch in summer because it breaks down so fast but that's a good thing too because it is making food for the roses.

Your best resource would be the San Diego Rose Society. They are a society with active participation, and good consulting rosarians from all over the County.
(And no. I'm not a member, but I know a good rose society when I see one.) :-)
Jeri in Coastal Ventura County
Here is a link that might be useful: San Diego Rose Society

Thanks for the encouragement Seil. They are currently out of their bags and soaking in water. Here is a photo of the jubilee celebration (the bucket next to it has some bare roots I got from lowe's).
I see we live in the same zone (6b). When do you think is a good time to plant the bushes? I was planting them in containers to hold them over until it was "safe."


Those look fine. The canes are good and green and not wrinkled. Just prune off anything that's damaged or unhealthy looking.
I don't know exactly where you are but it's too soon to plant here. The ground is still frozen. A rule of thumb would be to plant when the forsythia bloom in your area. That usually means the soil has thawed and warmed to a sufficient temperature for growth to happen. For me that's usually mid-April weather permitting. Although lately the weather has that all screwed up, lol.
Yes, you can pot them temporarily. If you have a garage keep them there. If you have to keep them inside put them under lights if you can. Any fluorescent light will do. Either way keep a close watch on watering. You do not want them to dry out. Pot them with good potting soil in pots that have good drainage. I wouldn't suggest fertilizer until they are planted. You don't want them putting on a ton of new growth until you can get them outside.


The largest pots at Lowe's (24" diameter, I think) are more than big enough for my roses. Admittedly, I only have one established rose in a pot right now, but I've got 5 new roses in them and they seem very happy - be forwarned, the ones I got (terra cotta colored plastic) need a few side holes placed near the bottom for better drainage in my Florida spring rains. Poor SdlM nearly drowned this week!

I wouldn't hold out too much with the Serenade - it is specifically targeted at botrytis cinerea and has been fairly useless for blackspot.
Having said that, Harkness roses do get better year on year (my Cardinal Hume took 4 years to become a respectable rose) as they seem to possess a fair bit of adaptability but, they really don't do terribly well in areas of high heat and aridity, nor are they as hardy as may be claimed - I think Z5 is a tiny bit hopeful.
Moreover, the earlier Harkness oeuvre seems better than later varieties - anything from 60s - 80s and even then, BS is often an issue. But, by and large, although many of them defoliate completely, they do grow back very rapidly and overall, there seems no loss to the general health of the rose.
Harkness are based 15 miles down the road from me so I am a little biased since they are probably the only floribundas (and a couple of Legrice roses) I have.

I only have three Harkness roses and the results are mixed, though none of them were particularly vulnerable to blackspot. (I do spray a bit with organic sulpher or copper-based sprays, but some roses still languish with BS). Caroline Victoria was a disapointment--I purchased it mainly as it was a white rose with the highest fragrance rating from Rogue Valley, but the fragrance turned out to be not that strong and the rose was otherwise unremarkable. The miniature Letchworth Centenary was pretty good, a nice ornate blossom that was present most of the summer--I liked it enough it was one of only two roses to survive my purge of grafted roses. (I gave them away--too squeamish to actually kill a rose deliberately). Judy Garland, however, was wonderful. It bloomed almost continiously all thru the very hot summer, in full sun no less, and had no blackspot to speak of. I had it placed in a large pot near the main parking lot at my jobsite, and everyone there was amazed and commented on the profound color changes each blossom would go thru as it progressed. It starts a bright yellow and becomes a dark red, appearing bicolored thru much of the cycle.

Russelliana (David Austin). I have one planted on a bank. Very hearty and doesn't get a lot of sun. It was one that I have let go native, no care other than watering.
(Multiflora) Thought to be R. multiflora x R. rugosa cross. Small, semi-double, crimson-purple flowers. Free-flowering, producing little clusters of blooms which create a pleasing effect. Old Rose fragrance. This is a very robust, thorny rambling rose, ideal for difficult conditions. Sometimes known as 'Old Spanish Rose'. 20 ft.

I have been very pleased with Rosarium Uetersen in its first year. Perhaps others can comment about whether it is too rampant. The color is strong, but not garish to my eye, and I believe it would look good against the gray background.
I'm not a New Dawn fan--overbearing growth, little repeat, and a bloom that doesn't hold that well here. Colette has disappointed in its first two years because it hasn't held that well in some very hot springs.


Thank you both - ptboise and hoovb - for your advice. Especially about it not getting that 'large'.
All the data I've read about this rose show it growing to 12-15ft....it sounds more like...only if you are lucky!
It's really a beautiful rose.....and some parts of my yard is extremely sunny and other parts are not.
I'm assuming if it's in a sunny//semi-shade spot it just won't get that many blooms?
Oh yeah, and we do have Nematodes! ....

I hope no one will think that I am hijacking this conversation. ^^;;
I also bought the climber America. I was hoping to put it out by my mailbox in full sun. My mailbox is encased in brick structure about 4 ft tall and quite a bit around (over 4 ft parameter). Could this be an adequate spot for America?
I live in south central Kentucky, Zone 6b.
Thank you for any advice or information you may provide.

Hi Aviastar,
You might check out the fabulous photos of a forum member whose user name is thedarklady. She posts in the Rose Gallery Forum. Marina has over 2000 roses and lives in Amelia County, Virginia. I have no idea how far that is from you. She has just unbelievable roses, including many unusual European varieties.
I am liking my Colette climber very much. Check it out on HMF. Diane

Mine may have been budded from a blind shoot, producing a plant that produced a lot of...blind shoots. That's all I can figure. It had a stupendous root system, fluffy loamy soil to grow in, years and years to start blooming well. It never did. After all that time I realized it was a waste of precious and expensive water and gave it the shovel. 'Wildfire' right next to it blooms like crazy. I'd rather give the water to 'Wildfire'.

I really enjoyed reading all of these posts. I feel much less guilty now. My final analysis is that we all have our own solutions, but I have to say, I remain a no-spray, organic enthusiast and take the easiest route, preserving my bees, birds, good bugs, with the least amount of work and still get rewarded with beautiful color. Thanks all. Barb

Sorry about the brain freeze on the NPK. I did mean Phospherous, although our Potasseum levels are extremely high too. The point is, get a soil test. I don't need anything other then nitrogen in my soil. I even went to the expense of testing for micros and there is no need for anything other then perhaps some sulpher to lower our alkaline ph (which is a slow process). I used blood meal one year, but my dog went crazy digging in the dirt it was added to, so I quit that practice the next year........And again, good for you if you don't have the insect that drills holes in your unsealed canes. But like Kittymoonbeam, I do, so sealing them is not just a prissy thing I do because I've got oodles of time to revisit a cut end more then once..........Maryl




I agree with the other comments on considering Distant Drums! An amazing rose...with interesting changing colors.
I just got a Thornbird last summer, now I want to plant it next to my DD :D
Here's my DD last year...first bloom just peaking open...
And the same bloom fully opened 24 hours later...
Cheers!
~Anika
Here is a link that might be useful: GothicLibrarian.net
YUM! Gorgeous. I guess I'm going to have to get Thornbird! Do they bloom together.
Susan