22,152 Garden Web Discussions | Roses

This scientific article reports that ". Cats fed PG had a dose-related increase in Heinz bodies within 2 weeks, and the increase persisted throughout the study."
"Mean RBC survival was decreased in the groups fed 6 or 12% PG by 30 and 55%, respectively, compared with the control group."
H. Kuska comment: Although they only had three sets of data 0%, 6%, and 12%, the finding of a dose dependence and persistence of damage may be important as it suggests (to me) that exposure to lower doses for a longer time period may be of concern regarding the long term health of the cat.
Here is a link that might be useful: research paper

In my first reply I should have been more emphatic about this point: "micronized" sulfur is more effective than "wettable" sulfur and so you can use less to get the same result. Micronized is finer and so gives more thorough coverage. "Garden sulfur" that doesn't specify "wettable" is the coarse grade and is unsuitable for spraying. It can be used to acidify soil or repel ticks and chiggers. This grade also might be labelled "flowers of sulfur."

How much fertilizer is needed depends on the soil type. Soils with substantial clay or organic content hold nutrients. Sand (especially) and silt do not. Roses in very sandy soil can use a dose every 4 weeks. Roses that are heavily pruned each year need more fertilizer than those that grow as they will. Repeaters need more than once bloomers. I have a once bloomer that has grown larger and bloomed heavily for twenty years with no fertilizer or irrigation. It is on a clay bank.
NPK ratios from 1-1-1 to 3-1-2 are suitable. Roses use more nitrogen than anything else. If you have pretty good soil and get it tested, chances are the report will say you need only add nitrogen on a regular basis. Mulching with yard waste may provide enough for shrub roses like KO.

We have an exhibitor in our rose show that has won all the national trophies to be had--he uses 10-10-10 on his roses.
I got a soil test and figured out that I can use even cheaper fertilizer. And, because I have clay soil, my roses grow well with just a fraction of the fertilizer used by those who roses in well draining sandy soil.
This post was edited by zack_lau on Sat, Jun 8, 13 at 15:40



For containers you really need to get real potting soil. Garden soil is very heavy and dense and will retain too much water and roses do not like to sit in wet soil. Next, those pots do not look big enough for a full size rose. find some larger pots and I'd recommend plastic or resin ones too. Clay or ceramic pots can also absorb water and hold it from the roses. It also looks like it's against a brick or block wall. You don't say where you are at but if the weather has been very hot it could be getting too much reflected heat from that wall. The rose really doesn't look like it's dying, just a bit stressed.

Inkspot does fairly well in my garden as a "black" rose. I think it's eligible to be included on the list of others mentioned such as Black Baccarra.
No offense to those who've mentioned them, but there's still a big difference between roses marketed as "black" versus dark reds such as Oklahoma, Taboo, Kardinal, etc. Heck, Mister Lincoln is as dark as my Oklahoma sometimes while still in bud. Nevertheless, Inkspot is several shades darker and stays that way in full sun. While in near bud, there's no comparison.
My only complaint is that while the bush is very vigorous and healthy, it's very lean and tall. Inkspot flowers are borne exclusively in singles, on top of thick, 4-5 foot long canes. This can look a bit odd when the flower is only 3-4" dia. at most.
If you want something definitely blacker than the "blackest" reds, it might be a good choice. I've had no issue with the bush and except for the lean form (think a taller and slenderer ML), it doesn't lack in vigor at all.

So I ended up canceling my order for the Ebb Tide a couple of months ago, because they kept sticking it on backorder, and I was leaving town for a few weeks in May and didn't want to miss it. The same day, I stopped by a local garden shop and happened upon a super-healthy-looking Twilight Zone.
The thing has dwarfed all the other tea roses in my garden in the past month and a half, and has about two dozen buds on it, which appear to be a day or two away from blooming. The sepals have already fallen away from two or three of them, and the buds are the most amazing reddish plum. I cannot WAIT to see what this guy does over this season - and I have NEVER seen such a healthy monster of a purple rose!
Thank you so much for all of your help!
(oh yeah, and speaking of new cultivars, I impulse-bought Love Song last weekend, too - we'll see how it fares!)


Just thought I'd respond to your wish list from another zone 5 roseaholic. I doubt that Duquesa de Peñaranda or Angèle Pernet would survive well in your yard, as I've had bad hardiness from the Pernetianas and Dot roses in my zone. I also have had Belle Epoque die on me, but only once so far (which means it has two more tries) and since Mike grows it in his Michigan yard it should be fine. Jocelyn's another notorious wimp that isn't likely to get another chance with me.
Among the other ones, Black Lady is a sturdy rose that mostly laughs at winter - the blooms are small but that elusive dark red I seek out. Peggy Rockefeller doesn't bloom as often but her blooms are delicious dark red and larger, and she survives in my zone 4 pocket. Aloha is tall and narrow and just in its fourth year growing beyond the 6' pillar it has been - reliably hardy, healthy and well formed blooms. I have both Polarstern and Paloma Blanca in the same bed, and Polarstern is definitely hardier and taller. I'll have to try Paloma Blanca on a warmer side of the house.
Savoy Hotel has been a reliable tall bloomer, very healthy, though not as much rebloom as I'd like. Scarlet Velvet blooms off and on in my HT back bed and isn't particularly memorable for me, but that also means it's trouble free. Chic is a nice blend of colors and relatively modest grower so far in its 3rd year. Roberto Capucci is just in his second year, but a friend in my zone swears by him for regular fragrant double blooms.
I'll bet no one in your neighborhood but the rest of the rose fanatics has heard of any of these roses, so in that sense they all are "rare" roses, and worth bringing to broader circulation. The more we grow these roses, the more excitement we hope to build in your average gardener to try them for themselves.
Cynthia

Basically, something would be considered "rare" if there are few to no nurseries offering it. Take a look at the 'Buy From' tab on HMF. if there are only one or two nurseries in the US offering it, and you think it interesting and potentially successful in your garden (or worth fussing over) consider it as a possibility. But, I agree. I've collected things simply because they were rare and in MANY cases, they are rare for very good reasons. Some simply didn't receive the hype they needed to enjoy a wide distribution. MANY more are rare because they aren't good garden plants. They lack vigor or they are very susceptible to diseases or they just don't flower. My collecting days occurred in a place which was generally quite good for most more modern roses and any type of China, Tea, Noisette and their like. It was not good for cold hardy, European, once flowering OGRs as there was too much summer heat with too little winter chill. The season was too long with insufficient winter to trigger the plants to shed their leaves. So, "rare" doesn't always mean suitable, or even "good". Kim

Andrea, I prune my mature HTs to around 18" every spring when growth starts. For tall-growing varieties like Frederic Mistral and Elina, I may spring-prune to 12" once they have developed a whole lot of basal canes. However, I understand most California growers prune to 24" or 30", so I guess they find they get more flowers that way.
Understand that I don't have experience in California--but, If you think Pristine's bare knees are unsightly, I think you could cut her back to 18" at the end of spring or summer flush, but then she'll be bare for three weeks. The caveats that occur to me are that green bark could sunburn if it is very hot, and, if you don't irrigate much during summer drought, that could interfere with refoliation. Of course early next spring would be fine.

sara--the nurseries that sell roses grafted on Dr. Huey? Everybody else. In other words, most of them--with some of the notable exceptions listed above.
Personally, doesn't make much difference to me whether my roses are own -root or grafted. They all grow well here. Perhaps there might be a weakly growing rose here or there that could use an extra-vigor boost by being grafted, but most of the ones I grow, it doesn't make any difference. Perhaps it makes a difference on the OGRS--I only grow a handful of them, so I couldn't say for sure. I guess those with alkaline soils have some problems with certain kinds of grafts--but that isn't a problem that most gardeners face.
Kate

I am surprised to admit I most roses own root in my garden. They seem more even and possibly more vigorous after 2 years. Plus it just is so much easier not having to fret over my bud unions getting damage from borers, freeze thaw etc. My own roots are much broader plants at the base and have better overall shape by 3 years.

Hello, all! Very happy to find this thread today!
I'm having an indoor rose aphid problem. I read through the posts - and some other pages as well - and am going to try the garlic w/ 1 tsp soap mix on my rose when I get home. I will post about how it turns out!
For now though - this is the infestation I've got. :/
I am a little bit new to gardening; I always helped my Father with his rose garden when I was growing up, but this year is my first year with my own. I've had indoor potted roses for a few years, usually minis. I've never really had many problems with them before though. Minis are pretty tough lil guys. (I actually have one that is planted in my garden that is still blooming despite the snow on the ground!)
This time I have a David Austin Charity rose that I'm attempting to get started indoors. I purchased it late in the season, and I did not think it was established enough to survive outdoors with my planted minis during the winter. Therefore, I am not trying so much to get a lot of blooms, but rather keep it alive and as healthy as possible until spring when I can transplant it to its permanent home.
I just wanted to post this picture before I go spraying things in case there were any suggestions specific to this. :) I'm fairly certain that these are adult winged female aphids. Before I left for Thanksgiving vacation I found the little green aphids all over it, and I gave it a hard spraying and pruned it back hoping that would help. When I returned, it looks like this now. :(


I grew a hybrid tea (Black Madonna, zone 6) a few years ago in a very large clay pot outside. I was overwintering it in the unheated, attached garage. It had done well overwintering in there the year before. I brought it out into the living room, (I think it was in February, I was starving for flowers!) where there were large South-facing windows. It leafed out, and produced two beautiful blooms that helped with my February-rose Fever! The blooms hadn't faded yet, but already in a few days they were quite heavily infested with spider mites. Once it was safe outside, I brought it out. It suffered for a while that summer from the spider mite infestation. I think I might try again this winter, and prune/pinch it to prevent it from being leggy, apply insecticidal soap, mist it, maybe I'll keep a bag of manure in the garage to feed it once a month or so... Boy was it great though to have such big beautiful blooms for a bit in the dead of winter! We get alot of snow and usually a week of -40C every winter. I'd be willing to try it again.

Alison, make the distinction between canes (or stems) and leaves. You can remove leaves without cutting the canes.
Leaves use water at a prodigious rate until they wilt. Canes lose relatively little water, and they contain stored nutrients that will help restart growth once the roots can get enough water. I'd suggest stripping off half the leaves, starting at the top, because new growth will come later at the top. If it's a big awkward plant, cut the canes back if you want to. If digging left few roots attached to soil, remove more than half of the leaves, or even all of them.
Lawn or deck chairs are handy for shading transplants. If you remove all the leaves, there is no need to shade.

I'm sorry some people misunderstood the article I referred to - it does not refer only to trees. .
I agree that more work might need to be done regarding transplanting roses in dry climates like SoCal. The research that I am aware of was done in moderate climates - places like OH (where the OP lives) and NJ (where I live). That was the context I was replying in - I would not tell someone who lives in a place like SoCal what to do.
BTW, for a long time I DID top prune woody plants at transplanting time - not just roses - because that was the way I had always done it. I didn't base that on any science or on any real research behind the practice - it was just the way it was. I never questioned it until I became aware of the work that had been done on no-prune transplanting. . For about five years now, I have not top pruned when transplanting roses, and haven't had any problems doing it that way.
Here is a link that might be useful: MYTHS ABOUT TRANSPLANTING ROSES

In my experience with Bayer Disease Control for Roses etc, you get good control by just covering the top surfaces. I recommend that you try that to reduce the amount of fungicide used.
When I used sulfur, I was careful to spray both surfaces, because sulfur washes off easily and isn't super effective.
The great majority of particular local blackspot infections occur on the upper leaf surface. How can you tell the difference? Such spots do not usually bleed through to the lower surface. But spots that start on the lower surface do bleed through to the upper a few days later.

Well a just-planted body-bag is likely not going to have mature flowers. Give it time to settle in and you may get many many more petals and better form and a more accurate ID.
Babies can't run marathons; baby roses don't produce the flowers they are capable of producing when established.

I often wonder about this. I planted a Garden Party and a Peace rose at the same time (same source) and both have flowered, too. They are both very full, petal wise. I understand they are also related, which may explain the habit.
I guess some roses just have to grow into themselves! I will give it some time and see if this one does the same.





Wait for the predaceous thrips population to surge. It happens every year once the thrips populations are there.
Low impact yellow sticky traps (yellow Dixie cups with stickum on them) can make a difference.
Light blue sticky traps also attract thrips and don't look as bad. Light colored bowls of water on the ground in the garden will also catch some thrips. They aren't real bright.