21,400 Garden Web Discussions | Roses


Well, think about it a minute. If you are going to put down an "organic" fertilizer such as alfalfa meal, it takes time for the alfalfa to break down into something the plant can actually use. So early is okay, because it's going to be a while before the plant can use it. The stuff might not break down for a long time depending on your climate--how moist, how humid, soil temperatures, etc.
On the other hand, if you are putting down a fast-acting chemical fertilizer like for example Miracle Grow, it is going to work right away--does it need to work right away in early March? Maybe not.
And then there are slow-release chemical fertilizers, Osmocote being an example. Osmocote is temperature-sensitive as far as the release goes, so if the soil is still fairly cold, nothing is going to happen for a while anyway. So if you are time-pressed later on in the spring, you might get it done now and be done with it.
Something else to take into account is the weather and your climate. If more frosts or snow are expected, of course wait.
Don't worry too much about the exact right time. After you've been gardening a while, even getting around to putting down some fertilizer is a major accomplishment. ;^)
If all else fails, read the directions on the package. They are usually pretty good.

Thank you. I have never used alfalfa meal, didn't even know it was good for them. I did read about blood meal last year but thought it was a little late for it. Would now be a good time to apply that? Should I use alfalfa meal instead or since I am new to this just stick with the commercial fertilizers? So much to learn and everyone seems to like something different. I think the only thing agreed on is that black spot is the bane of everyone's existence and it is terrible in Alabama. I would like to do anything I could now before the other yard work starts to take much of my time. The only thing I have done is spray for black spot. Didn't know if it was early but had rather be safe than sorry later. It got ahead of me last year and I never got it under control.

I'm glad that side path conversation was productive. I think it is OK to have them occasionally, after all, this is not the good ole girls country club where one is shown the door for behavior not comporting.
(Flags down the country club garcon and orders another squirreltini, where a decorative brushlike appendage is stuck in the olive with a toothpick.)


Don't get too much powdery mildew here, but then anything is possible. Black spot, silvery leaf is common after monsoon and then theres the Thrips. We did get a couple of good rains about 2 wks ago and of course the weather has been real screwy. Got snow 3weeks ago and now the day temp is in the mid 70.
I will go ahead a spray for mildew just to be on the safe side. If you can think of any thing else please let me know. Thanks

We usually have a good selection of striped roses, including those three, in our rose society rare rose auction, which is held in November every year. If you don't find them before then, please stop by our website www.ccrsauction.com in, say, August, which is when we usually figure out what we can sell for that year. Right now the information on the website mostly concerns last year's auction.
I also collect suggestions from whereever as to what people are looking for during the year, and I grow two of those three roses you mentioned (Camille and Alfred), so I'll try to get those started to give to the auction this time. Your timing in asking is just about perfect.
Thank you
Kathy

I got my Alfred Sisley at Roses Unlimited and it has done very well. Camille Pisarro is no longer available at Vintage and sadly won't be now that they are truly going out of business (buy what they do have, though to support them!). Edgar Degas isn't sold by anyone that I can find in the US now that Ashdown is out of business, but your best bet is to email Linda at Long Ago Roses because she has imported a lot of Delbard mother plants and is starting to offer them for sale as soon as she can.
Cynthia

Along with the lilies, Klaus Dalby likes allium sphaerocephalon (dark purplely red), angelica gigas (purple), a red old fashioned daylily (Crimson Pirate?), Dahlia "David Howard" (with purple foliage), crocosmia and astromera. Single apricot zinnias would also be nice.
Here is a link to a video from July 23 2011: http://youtu.be/xus9T0dB9c8
For earlier in the year I also like the orange foxglove (digitalis obscura?) -- I think I have one that I bought last year, which seems to be alive. In the nursery it was displayed next to a gorgeous bearded iris called Tiger Shark.

Technoduckling,
Personally, I wouldn't plant roses around lavender bushes.
Lavender at my home requires very little supplemental watering, it is totally care free.
Roses, on the other hand, in the hotest months of the year, really do require a nice amount of water, unlike Lavender.
Mabey you have a lavender plant I am unfamiliar with, so it likes water, idk.

Decades ago, I found it fascinating following the sports through the Camellia garden as they were listed on the tags. It honestly taught me what to watch for with mutations as you could trace the lines through the planting. It made for quite an enjoyable afternoon. Kim

We've had a snake slither up a porch railing and eat baby barn swallows nesting up under the eaves too.
One idea we use is to thread birdhouses onto 10 foot metal poles which are sunk into the flower beds to keep them away from squirrels. I don't think a snake could slither up, either.
There are so many trees here I think they're more decoration than useful birdhouses. In Alabama, though, the birds used them to nest in.
In this picture you can see the threading mechanism attaching the birdhouse onto the metal pole -






Either way works. What do you think happens to roots accidentally severed by shovels and underground critters? They get broken and damaged all the time. WE are the ones who are OCD about making sure anything damaged is removed, not Nature. If it's viable and not infected with a damaging pathogen, she simply has it continue doing its job. Kim

Dripworks helped me. I use 1/2 inch tubing run next to my pots then come ofc of it with 1/4 inch. I use bubblers in my pots or from lowes the mini sprinklers. Twice a day. One hour each time. My roses in pots were as tall as 10 foot tall (Mr Lincoln) and bloomed nonstop.

Thanks all! The ONLY kits available around here use only 1/4" tubing, which if I'm going to keep adding roses won't have enough capacity as a main line.
So ordered online a system with 1/2" mainline and 1/4" feed tubing. Should be all set. Thanks for the advice!

Hi everyone!
You asked and we listened. Today we are very excited to be debuting our newest feature -- post editing! To use this feature, go back to the post you wish to correct and you'll find the link under the 'My Clippings' links on the right side of the page.
I want to give a special shout out to all the testers who tried to break the editing tool. ;) Your feedback was insightful and invaluable. Thank you!
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Stay tuned -- we have more cool things in the works!
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Tamara

I have never used it, but I do use a generic time release from my local fertilizer producer. As long as NPK is right for what you want to do, it should be fine. The product I use is much cheaper than Osmocote and works just as well.
This post was edited by floridarosez9 on Mon, Mar 4, 13 at 16:22


Ah well, Florida, this is the heart of the matter - where you are situated and what plants are natural in your landscape. Here in the UK, a palm with a rose would be, quite honestly, something of an abomination. I tend not to follow many design 'rules' but following the vernacular architecture and keeping to the normal planting zones is a creed I rarely deviate far from.
Personally, I generally find attempts at formal grandeur or (worse) a cottage garden in a modern urban plot to be both pretentious and even faintly ridiculous (although I vastly prefer ridiculous to pretentious).
Although gardens are total artifice, I like to at least nod towards a natural combination - woodlanders growing with other woodlanders and not scorching alongside bedding geraniums or south african daisies.
Campanula, you articulated my frustration with the local design meme. Naples is a beautiful place, but my favorite garden landscapes are found in the older 50s and very small post victorian neighborhoods here. You will see some fantastic specimen plants (particularly plumeria) in these places. The more prosperous and popular areas tend to be more uniform because they are professionally landscaped for part-time residents. I am even guilty of this because the climate is so hot, and landscapers are not too expensive. So, in planting roses, I'm rebelling a bit. There is a fantastic gardening history around the Thomas Edison and Henry Ford estates a bit north in Fort Myers. They planted with local materials, but with structure. I may need to visit again for some inspiration.