21,400 Garden Web Discussions | Roses

You've gotten wonderful encouragement from everyone so far to follow your heart, and ultimately that's what a garden should be. I thought I'd throw in a more prosaic word of caution about gypsophilia from my mom's experience as food for thought. She planted the perennial baby's breath (or maybe mixed in with the annual) in a wild birdbath area in full sun. There was a wonderful mix of varied perennials and annuals when she started, and she thought the gypsophilia would add some height and wispiness. Turns out the gypsophilia was an absolute thug in her zone 5 Michigan garden, and it totally overpowered the other well-established plants already there and well suited for that spot. I tried to help her get rid of it or at least tame it, but by that point the gypsophilia had put down roots clear beyond where I could dig, and I'm sure it's still there to this day.
Now none of this says you can't have that combination, but I might suggest putting the gypsophilia in a pot behind the roses, and watching it very carefully to deadhead before it goes to seed. That way you could move the plant if it gets scruffy or out of control, and still enjoy the effect. Particularly a florist's rose may be less able to fight off a thuggish perennial, even in your more temperate zone than mine.
Just my two cents.
Cynthia

Thank-you so much to all of you. This is all really helpful advice! Not sure what house we're getting yet (or what state or kind of Garden we'll get) Hopefully we can have Christmas in the new house and I can get it ready for the January-March planting time.
Good to know about gysophilla, I might keep it potted and see how it goes, I've *ahem* got it on my windowsill in a plant pot, so I'll just keep it in that when it goes outside. There's no holes in the bottom so no chance of it rooting through the bottom.
I like Grand Prix for it's aesthetic rather than any specific reason of heights, etc. If there are other roses that grow in that colour (the size is quite nice too) then I will definitely go for something more suited to a garden and climate. I'm happy to spend some time with my rose looking after it, but as a new gardener, I would rather have something a little easier to deal with!
I'll keep the note about south-facing garden, but I don't think it's a priority for what we're looking for in a house. I think I'll have to work with the garden attached to the house we want, rather than the other way around!
I've recently been getting into Pintrest, so I might use that as a place for garden ideas as well as the other stuff I've been using it for. My real loves fit into a nice colour palette of black and red. So far I've thought of dark red roses, some black grasses I believe? Gladioli blackjacks (currently growing and spare bulbs) and maybe the black hollyhocks. And definitely some of what's growing in the people opposite's garden which I will photograph and identify at some point!
I also like the idea of doing an area with edible plants, definitely raspberry (which I've been told is a wild weed so I may need to contain it) and then maybe strawberries, tomatoes, avocado (if I can ever get it to grow!) and maybe a small herb section as well?
My friend has a mini-greenhouse as well, so I might get one of those!
As far as the formality goes, I was thinking originally I would just do haphazard, anarchistic gardening, but I got told on here that planning was a good idea! Turns out I already had more of an idea than I thought I did :)
I'm sure I'll have loads more questions when I get to actual garden-ownership and planting, and I'll be back :D
Thanks again to everyone for all the help so far!


OK Michael, you're forgiven for giving us the slip, but the real question is - did you back Duke in your bracket from the beginning or get swayed by all the press about Kentucky? A good NC fella like you needs to trust the hometown boys. When I do a bracket, I routinely put UNC or Duke at or near the top (strong family connections all over NC), and history has shown those are pretty good bets.
Cynthia

David Austin supplies direct here in the US from their own stock grown in CA - whichever supplier you got them from they would have originally come from Austins in Tyler Texas. I stopped buying their roes after they had a huge mosaic problem and my brother had his nursery infected by them, yet their rude british woman, (Elena?) in their texas office said they had no problems and was no help at all but after we found out from their grower that they knew of the infection yet continued to sell them as they would have had no stock to sell to people......This company like to charge high for a low value/quality item.

I ordered roses that don't attract JB's so that I could add these to the daylily beds. I made lots of room last year so that this could be done. No matter how much I like daylilies and my other plants nothing out shines a rose bush. It's time to get over RRD, JB's, rose midge, thrips and spider mites. On to enjoying the roses.
3 - Icecap
1 - Take It Easy
6 - Oso Easy Lemon Zest

Glad you finally received your roses. I got my order from Edmund's last Friday and planted all day Saturday. Great day! Btw, this was my first order from Edmund's, but definitely not my last. I have never seen healthier and more vigorous bareroot roses before. Thick healthy canes, almost perfect root systems, evenly spread. They were fun to plant! Can't wait to see them grow...

I grew her for one season, but the one I had had dieback due to a really late planting for a bareroot and died! I want her again!
Her few blooms were so great, lol. They made an impression on me. I haven't ever heard anything about her since that one year from J&P. I kept checking for her the next year and the next, but no luck :(


Dr. Huey is the root (rootstalk). If the grafted rose is still alive you will see canes growing from above the larger knobby area at the base of the plant. Everything growing from below that knob is Dr. Huey sprouts growing from the Dr Huey rootstalk. Dr. Huey is also capable of growing an adjacent "crown" for another bush.
You do not want to save Dr. Huey! It may already have hogged nutrients and water to the death of the original grafted part. The long canes with the short lateral growth featuring red blooms can be marked with yarn if you want to wait until bloom is done. Then they can be cut back to 12-16 inches to see what is going on at the base. That will leave enough length to try to pull off as Seil described above. You may find it is now completely Dr. Huey with no live canes of the original grafted hybrid. In that case dig it out. And watch each year for a rose sprouting up where there was none. It's Dr. Huey asserting itself from a piece of root that traveled.


I agree with Patty with regard to Mr. Zimmerman's advice. I bury my roses and don't remove the mound in spring as we are traditionally taught to do. spring. I find it is less work and I loose less roses during harsh winter. But since you live in zone 7, I don't think hardiness is one of your concern.

When I first planted roses our winters seemed to be much milder and that was just 8 or 9 yrs ago. At that time I didn't try to bury my graft as it was all new to me and i've learned as I went plus all the great advice on here.
Christopher I was even tempted to go back to all mine that I didn't bury the graft underground and build up a raised bed more or less around each one to protect them so after reading your post I may just do that. My zone is milder than lots but I do still lose canes and roses due to excessive cold and it makes me mad. lol
Thanks again everyone!

I'm finding it fascinating to see the pics of the landscape surrounding our various gardens. I think I'll go take some of my surroundings this afternoon.
I would be hardpressed to pick my favorite garden out of all those posted. They are all so lovely.


Then, the good news is that there are a whole wonderful bunch of Eastern Seaboard Rosarians to give you the best advice in the world.
Heck, Maryland was Ethelyn Emory Keays "stomping ground." She grew and researched the best of them. Look for her book "OLD ROSES" and be inspired.


It was a healthy, tall plant. There were a couple of rose society members that were looking for a Night Owl rose, so I'm happy it will go to a good, new garden home. I'm replacing it with a Black Magic rose that will get nice and tall. I'm hoping the thick petals will take the heat. I wanted to still have a red rose for that spot.

I cringe when I hear someone has planted ZD. I did that once, it was the rose that ate Dodge City.I once cut 50 canes out of her just so I could get down a garden path. My husband finally wrapped a log chain around her and pulled out with a tractor.

Oh dear, Flowergirl, what a monster! At least it's not thorny, though, like some of those big'uns, so it won't actually kill you if you dare to defy its will! Someone on here or the ARF has/had a monster one like that (your ZD). Fortunately I think it was growing somewhere where it could pretty much do its thing. Was that Zephyrose/Florence? I seem to remember it on a slope(?) at the back of a building/house, in semi-shade.
I think Kathleen Harrop (one of her sports), generally stays more mannerly - similarly lovely blooms but in shell pink, and similarly perfumed.
Comtesse :¬)



You could also look at 'Perfume Delight'. It is a slightly brighter, clearer pink. The leaves are very large, leathery, and abundant, with matte texture. IIRC, flower necks tend to be shorter than PP's. PD has tidier hybrid tea form, but fewer petals usually than PP. The confused form in the first picture is more like PP. Both are very vigorous, productive, and fragrant.
http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.4749
ok so the rose had 20 or so petals maybe it is perfume delight. Either way it is a really nice plant.