21,402 Garden Web Discussions | Roses

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 just did a walk around my yard today (it was in the 60's!!! yeah!!!) and mine are looking a lot like yours :) Very excited to see some nice new leaves forming. We "should" be over the worst of winter down here, so hopefully we'll continue down this spring path!
On a funny note, I checked out my 1g pots that are on the front porch in a protected area, and there was one that seems to be crawling off the front porch...a cane about 3 feet long has escaped into the bed in front of the porch...the rose: Ralph's Creeper!! LOL Never saw a rose so perfectly named!
Tammy

I have successfully moved roses that were grafted or budded onto Fortuniana many times. Move them in cool weather, never in mid-summer or hot temperatures. Like Ken said, dig a big hole, make sure to get most of the rootball when you dig it up, water well, and don't fertilize for at least 6 weeks. I also trim them at that time, as a larger bush will be more stressed out. If they have been in the ground for more than 3 years, it will be a bit riskier. Your Papa Meilland that has only been in the ground for a year should do fine.


Well, as long as we're in the enabling spirit, I have a word of encouragement back to StrawberryHill who said Francis D wasn't hardy in zone 5. On the contrary, there was a discussion a while back in the antique forum that HMF had underrated the hardiness of this rose. In my zone 5 Nebraska yard, Francis D is consistently cane hardy and laughs off even years when we have a "real" winter.
Translation, Strawbs - you NEED Francis in your yard. He's calling to you...deep luxurious dark red...fragrance to die for...and yes, totally hardy in your zone.
Now I gotta go get me another FIrefighter to replace the one that was a weak plant to start with. Shameless, all of you!
Cynthia


If black spot isn't a problem, how about Angel Face? I'm afraid in your warm climate Julia Child might get too big for your space. I love that rose, but I have one that is 5 feet tall, and one than is 6 feet. They are both chubby, too. Great rounded shape, but quite substantial. Diane

Thanks, Henry. I followed the link and learned that Trichoderma is a fungus and then I went to Rosemania's website ( where I purchase most of my chenicals). Plant Success contains Trichoderma so I may purchase a bunch of the stuff and give it a try this year. I've been drenching every year with Actinovate SP because it is a bacteria and thus won't be affected by the large quantities of fungicides that I spray . The roses really seem to like the Actinovate but I'll give the Plant Success a try. Thanks again for the info.

Someone a few years ago said that if you can cut off the half of the root mass with the galls and separate the canes/roots that don't you can soak the gall free part in some bleach water and replant in sterilized potting mix. I did that in 2 cases and so far no galls have returned. But these were on roots not canes. I have replaced soil in two spots and have not seen it return. I replanted with potted roses that I was super careful with when I slid them out of the pots and surrounding them was a big moat of fresh soil.
Be very careful when pruning down low and sterilize tools.

They look like happy and healthy knock out roses to me. You could fertilize them with rose food if you wish, just follow the instructions on the back. Cut off spent blooms to encourage repeat blooming.
Make sure you read up on Rose Rosette Disease.
Here is a link that might be useful: Rose rosette


I usually plant my reds between a white and a pink. How about John Paul II, Full Sail or Sugar Moon for a white and/or Royal Highness, Francis Meilland or The McCartney Rose for a pink. All nicely fragrant, too. I live in the desert so blackspot is not much of a problem here. I think you'd be happy with any of the above.

I am very, very glad that I stopped using chemical insecticide spray. I used to use a systemic called Confidor; it certainly did get rid of the aphids. But every year, "paradoxically",my roses seemed to look WORSE-flowers more chewed up, and the problem with beetles got worse every year (here in Italy we have these disgusting Oxythyrea funesta. They come out right at the roses main flush, and eat up the flowers,though at least they leave the leaves alone.)Though you only spray once a season with a systemic, I still felt scared when I did it, and wore a heavy-duty paint spray filter mask, etc.
About three years ago, I had an oncological problem. I don't know if the two things were connected or not.
I stopped using the chemical and tried Neem oil. It seemed to me to be every bit as effective as the chemical.
Now, however, I've decided to completely stop spraying against insects (though I still do use a copper/sulphur spray against fungus).I learned from the people at Bierkreek that ,for example, if you get rid of the aphids, you wind up encouraging the thrip population (I think this was happening in my garden), and thrips do ruin the flowers. What harm , really, do aphids actually do? It is said that they "spread diseases", but what diseases, exactly, I wonder? As for the beetles, no spray is effective against them really at all. I have adapted a trapping/ screening-them- out approach now, which seems to be working much better than the futile attempts at spraying did. This has been my experience. regards, bart




Everyone says a 15-20 gallon pot for a larger shrub rose, but how big is that (inches)? I have some David Austins coming in the mail and I want to keep them in pots so I can haul them away with me when I go off to graduate school.
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!