22,153 Garden Web Discussions | Roses
Kentucky---I lost 2 Louise Estes, 1 Gemini, 1 Lady of the Dawn and 1 Shenandoah. My oldest Louise Estes I had to take all the way to the bud union but have 4 good looking basil breaks coming on it. Both my Brinessa's had to come all the way back along with both Let Freedom Ring and my beautiful bush of Tropicana. They all have good looking basil's on all of them Gemini frustrated me. One bush totally died and the bush right next to the dead one only lost 1 cane out of 5. Took those 4 canes down to 24" and it looks great now. Most of my grafted, established mini's took a hit but nothing really bad. My established grafted miniflora's were hit and miss. Whirlaway lost 2 out of 7 big canes. Then my 7 yr old Tiffany Lynn had to come all the way back but has several basil breaks coming. Dr John Dickman had to come all the way back and only has 1 basil break coming.
But ya know, I'm learning to deal with the weather. My roses are a hobby ( that I take very seriously ) but they are just that. A hobby. They are NOT a life and death situation by any stretch of the imagination. My time in Vietnam years ago taught me what life and death situations were. I might get a little frustrated with my hobby sometimes but I can sit back and smile and say, "what the squat. I'm still here in pretty good shape. I'll just replant and see what happens."
As Ingrid said, tamp it down firmly with your foot all the way around the plant. It should not be rocking. That's a sign that the soil is loose or there are air pockets and that's bad. After tamping it down water it in and then put more soil on the top and tamp again. Don't worry about putting some soil up the canes. They'll be fine. When I bury my grafts I bury the first couple of inches of canes all the time. You have to in order to get the graft down low enough to protect it. They survive. Stake it so the wind can not rock it until it grows more roots and firms up in the soil.
If you are in the eastern half of the US (it's helpful to tell us where you garden), the hard winter probably damaged canes and a late freeze damaged any new growth that was starting. So you probably need to prune more severely.. Top growth should be actively growing (russet or pale green leaves, still folded). Small, normal-green leaves at the top indicate blind (non-flowering) shoots. Canes with green bark should show a white, not brown, center when clipped. Brown pith indicates winter damage. (Tan pith is OK on older canes.) Don't hesitate to cut out damaged wood.
Thank you Michael. I live in Oklahoma and I am in Zone 6b. We had a relatively mild winter here, but did have a few days recently that it got below freezing overnight. I think pruning them more severely would be helpful, that's what I'm going to do.
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.
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
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 :(
The blooms look like Dr Huey. They are very beautiful when in bloom, but it only blooms for a short time in the spring. Then it throws LONG arching canes for the rest of the season. Plus Dr. Huey will get Black Spot fungus very easily.
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.
When I read your title Sara I thought you had discovered the rose HOE. Lol! I absolutely love that rose. I did love reading your post also. This is the most awesome time of year. The first few days we get to work outside after a long winter is so awesome it just brings us back to life. My sweet grandson also helps me outside. He was helping me pot up some pots with annuals and last for a few minutes then he's ready to move on. I think you will find lots of people on here with your same sentiment about working outside in such perfect weather. Hope everyone has an awesome spring!!!
This is one time I don't mind getting my hands dirty.