22,795 Garden Web Discussions | Roses
I can't say how Austins will grow in California, but here in the heartland, there are any number of shorter Austins to pick from. Just this morning I was admiring Munstead Wood and Molineux in the back garden--both about 3 ft tall, may grow another half-foot to foot at most by the end of summer. I was thinking how they were just the right size for my gardens.
Austin has several recent roses in the same range--Princess Alexandra of Kent and Boscobel and others, for instance.
Tamara (above) is looking good!
Kate
Campanula - it is true that over 100 years ago they planted thousands of Mme Caroline Testout roses in Portland, I think they were planted along the main streets. I do recall somewhere reading a couple of years ago that a rose person had found several remaining plants from the original plantings, still alive and blooming.
Jackie
I'd guess your rose bushes have been visited by the same rose slugs (sawfly larvae) that tend to attack rose bushes every late spring/early summer. This is usually a temporary problem--then the good predator bugs come along and gobble up the rose slugs, and there is no more problem.
However, the bush is often left with ugly damaged leaves. I would just pluck off the worst looking ones, and then wait patiently for the bush to produce new leaves (followed by buds and then blooms).
In the future, it would help if you checked the bushes in the late spring/early summer for tiny, tiny green wormlike things--usually on the underside of the leaves. When they are present, squish them. That will keep them somewhat under control until the good predator bugs arrive a couple weeks later.
As for the not flowering well problem, that is just part of the normal bloom cycle of any rose. A rose blooms for a couple weeks, then the blooms deteriorate (turn brown) and fall off, then the bush rests and renews itself, then it starts blooming again. Most roses go through several bloom cycles per season.
When the blooms deteriorate, the bush will look better if you deadhead it (pick of the brown old blooms). Deadheading sometimes encourages the bush to begin blooming sooner also.
Hope that helps.
Kate
Jackie, I'm not sure if this is the graft 
But I was told tree roses have the graft at the top and this rose was definitely not a tree rose at least I don't think so. It never looked like the tree rose I searched online. I have not touched it since, just watering everyday. I'm just going to leave it be so it can try and recover. If it doesn't grow properly I'll just yank it all up and buy a new rose. Yes I stopped listening to that person lol.
While searching high and low for Earth Song in a gallon pot, I was able to find it at a place called Roses Unlimited. This year I have acquired The Magician, Julia Child and now Earth Song. I think I'm going to try a few more Bucks and maybe Rio Samba. Thanks for sharing your beautiful roses, happy gardening!
Those that have been blackspot resistant for me are Earth Song, Winter Sunset, Prairie Harvest, and Les Sjulin. The first three are somewhat fragrant. Most can get cercospora spot. Prairie Sunrise has one of the nicest flowers, and seems somewhat resistant, but I spray it occasionally. Quietness is resistant in some gardens, but it depends on the strains of BS in your particular garden. I haven't found it slow-growing at all. My own-root Q grew quickly to 4' x 4', now 5'x5'. The beautiful Q flowers are resistant to botrytis petal blight and balling.
Distant Drums is one that didn't grow vigorously on its own roots. It's basically a normal hybrid tea with exotic coloring and fragrance.
So these red bugs look like box elder bugs - the immature ones that are all red. They were lined up like armies in symmetrical rows on the evergreen shrub next to the roses. (I hate evergreen shrubs, I have pulled out just about every evergreen shrub except these). The weird thing is, there were no holes in the rose leaves before, they were just pale pale yellow. Now, there are these bugs, and some of the leaves have holes in them. These bugs are about the size of my pinky fingernail. I am fairly sure they are box elder bugs. I have cut back the roses as far as I could. I didn't put much potting soil on them, just a little bit around the base because the potting soil was dry and I thought maybe the nutrients in it would be helpful. I will put some mulch lightly over the top. I am just glad it doesn't appear to be the dreaded red rosette virus thing. I might have to plant something else in this spot though if these guys don't pull through.
You have done about the best you can. Here in zone5 not too many are cane hardy. There are roses that are tip hardy here of course. I used to have more cane left but not after these last two winters.
A lot of knockouts are sold grafted as it is faster to mass produce. So if that grafted area was not buried then your Knockout will have died in the winter weather. Most likely you will see root stock come up. Sad to say but most grafted roses use Dr. Huey root stock which really doesn't grow well here. Multiflora root stock is recommended. But then since most rose growers in the area don't know to bury the graft I shutter to think of how much more multiflora would growing here. Any questions just ask.
Good to know about Sunsprite's bloom longevity, cjrosaphile. I sort of regret not buying it this year because my eye was only on Julia. I also chose Lightkonigin Lucia instead which has a similar colour as Sunsprite. Beside Julia, I have to say Golden Celebration and Teasing Georgia as it does well in my climate. I really wish I could say the same about Graham Thomas. I love this rose bloom but it is not profuse in blooms or vigorous.
Soluble materials, including most manufactured fertilizers, will get through to some extent. Water enough to mostly dissolve them and then come back later with more water. I do it this way, although my mulch is not 4" deep.
Most organic fertilizers have to be in contact with soil bacteria to release the nitrogen. Blood and poultry manure contain some soluble urea, but the part of the N that is in protein form will not break down for a long time. Eventually it will get to the mulch/soil interface.
A strong stream of water from a hose will wash your fertilizers down to soil level where they should work just fine.