21,402 Garden Web Discussions | Roses



Late last Autumn, I noticed a few of my roses had stems which snapped or broke completely off. I simply stuck them in the ground right next to the originals, putting about half of the stem length below the soil surface. I did nothing else to them until Spring, when I figured "why not?" and dug them out and potted them up. They didn't root much (or at all) over Winter this way, but rather they mostly "stayed asleep" and didn't dry out. It was more like "cold storage" until I decided to see if they'd grow in pots. The roses were random -- two Bourbons, 'Cardinal de Richelieu', "Darlow's Enigma", and 'Mme Laurette Messimy'.
I get much faster results by twice slicing the bottom inch or two of an almost-pencil-thick stem, dipping it in rooting hormone powder, potting them up, and leaving them where they get morning sun and bright shade thereafter. But that was this year's experiments -- I haven't yet had to overwinter any once they started rooting this way.
:-)
~Christopher

I can imagine a few design ideas where I think onesies would look pretty. But typically, if I'm doing onesies of anything, it's either THE focal point of the garden, or I'm trialing to see what performs best in that setting. Once I've ascertained what does best, I like to use a lot of the same, whether the particular plant is massed, as in a hedge, or scattered throughout. Three different varieties of roses is kind of a magic number for me in terms of a maximum, since I think a triad creates a rich color scheme. But I'll want to use a lot of each of those three varieties, for a restful, harmonious garden.
That said, I'm a big believer in the concept that "imagination rules" in design, and that you should create what you love.
jannike

I think it depends upon your garden style too. I'm growing a cottage garden striving for a "Giverny" vibe. My garden is so small I only need one rose to provide that SPLOTCH of color. There are very few roses I grow to make a focal point. Those are climbers, pillars, arches or growing through tress. I need the eye to be drawn upward as there is so little ground space and what is there needs to be varied.
I used to dream of having a huge garden of roses that I could meander around and throughâ¦.now I realize I have got all (and possibly MORE THAN) I can handle.
Jannike, what are you growing in triads of different varieties?
Susan

Knock-outs will grow quite large if not pruned in the spring. Last winter the weather pruned mine for me and they are now about two feet high. Cut back hard in early spring before growth begins and they will remain manageable.
Avoid pruning on any plant at this time of year if you are in an area that has freezing weather. When plants are cut, they respond by sending out new growth. You do not want tender, new growth going into cold weather.
As a landscaper myself, I can say I would never plant something that has thorns, barbs, prickles, etc., near an entrance.
The problem with using a landscaper from a nursery is that they will often use the plants that they have in stock, not necessarily the plants that are best for your situation.
Linda

Do not hesitate to cut the thorny canes away from the entrance at any time of year. In spring you can prune them to 2 x 2 or 3 x 3 , and after each flush of bloom you can cut the stems back a foot or so. I wouldn't move them unless they are centered less than 2' from the walk. It is not hard to keep KOs around 3' wide, especially in zones 7-5. If your plants want to be more than 4' wide, maybe they are some other variety.

Thanks so much for your quick responses! I got home late from work tonight so I haven't been able to dig down and see if it's rootstock or not. I will take a look and add some pictures tomorrow of the odd growth I've been seeing. Im probably paranoid after reading all of the posts about RRD. It's such a relief though! This is one of my favorite roses.

IIRC, St. Cecilia doesn't have flat, hooked thorns, so it is probably a rootstock sucker. Dr. Huey does have this type of thorns.
I lost my St. Cecilia to RRD a couple of years ago, but I've forgotten exactly what the bad growth looked like. However, I'm pretty sure the pictured cane is not RRD.

It's not a good idea to prune roses in the fall in cold climates. It they need some clean up of dead wood early spring is the best time. During the season if they're getting a little too big you can shape them and cut them back some when you dead head the spent blooms. Otherwise just a little fertilizer now and then and water when needed.


Thanks for all the input. I'm still having a difficult time with this. If there are disease spores on the plants, they will almost certainly be on the canes also. I find it unbelievable that removing the leaves would remove all disease spores. If disease spread during transit is an issue, wouldn't it be easier to spray the plants with a fungicide, or better yet, an anti-transpirant (which also inhibits disease spread)? Seems like it would be much less labor intensive than stripping leaves.
Oh well, I guess the proof is in the pudding. I'll be planting these guys tomorrow and we'll see how well they root in and grow next year.


skmiller asked: "I thought roses likes air circulation and doesn't like to be next to anything.... Do you have to prune the Clematis and the Rose often. Do you have to worry that one will dominate the other and try to kill it, due to aggressiveness."
The trellis is 10-12" away from the wall and when I prune and train it in the late winter I don't let anything grow in the gap behind it. I think that helps. I've also chosen a more disease resistant rose. I'm still figuring out the clematis (and the roses!) I do a major pruning on the rose in late winter when I train it on the trellis and the rest of the year other than whacking it back when some part of it is annoying me that late winter pruning is all I do. New Dawn is a very vigorous rose so I don't worry too much about anything challenging it.
The clematis I haven't been very particular about. The only time I mess with it is at the late winter pruning of the roses and some of it gets taken out as well. On pruning clematis you have to figure out what "type" it is to know what to do with it--so it depends on which clematis you end up with. Then google is your friend.
New Dawn is a vigorous, thorny mess that doesn't give me much repeat bloom. I have a love hate relationship with her. Right now the hate part is winning--and I'm close to ripping her out and trying a different climber there!

Sara Ann,
You're so sweet to post another pic for me! That one looks almost exactly the color of the blooms that I initially posted now that they have aged some. They have that almost lavender hue that lower petals are showing in your latest picture. I think we have another rose in common now :)



What affordable land is left, really that is appropriate for rose nursery operations?
Lower Mid West?
I have no idea. Seems ARE does well in TX. RU in South Carolina. Rogue/Heirloom are both in Oregon, correct?
Obviously it's just a matter of time before California dries up and blows away. That is not said lightly nor as a joke. It is very frightening what is going on out there. I saw some statistics the other day on what percentage of our fruits, veggies etc. come from CA. The drought forecast is not good and it seems the drought areas are spreading farther north and south, even reaching into Oregon.
Maybe Regan's should consider a greenhouse in upper Canadaâ¦.shouldn't be too long until they could do away with the greenhouse.
What kind of legacy are we leaving our children?
Trees, great while they lasted!
Susan, who just had to rant to folks who understand.

I have Regan to thank for many of the bare root roses that I planted this year. Their bare root roses have top-notch quality and the best thing is I can pick them up locally. I live south of SF.
I contacted them a few month ago asking about their relocation plan so that I can either select picking up locally or shipping for my 2015 order and one of the ladies there said they will be in the same location through July of 2015. So, I think they still have time to find a good place for their new nursery.
This post was edited by bayarea-girl on Sat, Oct 11, 14 at 11:47

By doing a quick search on HMFRoses, with the search criteria being that the name contains "love" and that the flower color is "any yellow" I have found a couple of possibilities. Since you didn't mention any color but yellow, I ignored the multicolored roses - such as yellow with pink edges.
'Always Love You' is a floribunda - officially deep yellow, but some of the photos show a medium yellow.
'Summer Love' is a hybrid tea - listed as being medium yellow and as having large flowers. There are only a couple of photos on HMF, but it does seem to be widely available.
If you could provide more information regarding the rose, or a photo, I think people on the forum could give you better guesses at its identity.

Any chance it could be one of the "Easy-To-Love" series? Fits the time frame, though all are still offered. Easy Going & Julia Child are yellow floribundas & could easily reach 5'. Of the two, Easy Going's flowers are reputed to be larger, though I'm not familiar with this rose. Julia Child is such a great favorite of many on this forum that I brought in two this year & now can be added to her fan list.
Take at look them at the link below.
Here is a link that might be useful: Easy to Love roses



Great vision! I love seeing before and after.
I really like the formality of the fountain and pavers against the softness of the plantings. I think you did a wonderful job.
Ingrid