Any rose growers amongst us?

[katiekind]

I am newly obsessed with roses. It started two summers ago, after Mother's Day, the nursery had some roses on sale. A tree had recently blown down in our yard in a storm, creating an area of full sun which I had never had before. I put two and two together and came home with a rose. I chose it at random since I didn't know one type from another. It was called Gertrude Jekyll. After I planted it, I got online to research it to find out how to take care of it. I followed a link to the gardenweb rose forums and learned a lot. One rose led to another....I am running out of full sun area in the back yard and am now eyeing the front yard. :-)

Anyone else?

[cklewis]

Me! ME!!!

For me it all started when my boss (a rosarian no less) bought and planted for us a Peace Rose to help remember our Elise. It bloomed on Christmas morning that first Christmas without her! Anyway, that led to two David Austins and a JFK. I highly recommend David Austins, EASY and beautiful.

C

[ArmsOfLove]

another thread I'll be following. I want to turn 1/2 of our front yard into a vegetable and flower garden with a citrus tree or two. I want to have roses for sure! watching and learning :) Keep the info coming.

I remember hearing something about not being able to plant other things next to roses because of what the ground needs to be like? nitrogen or something? :rose

[GodisGood]

I've never followed this rule. I planted a climber and a clematis side by side. The clematis blooms while the climber is taking root. It's a lovely combination.

[katiekind]

That's wonderful about your Peace rose, Camille! I have ...hmmmm....about 7 Austin roses and I like them very much--the big cabbage rose form and the strong fragrance. So far none of my roses are hybrid teas because I've been nervous about disease resistance. But I'm breaking into hybrid tea territory next month. My mother-in-law is sending me a rose in honor of my dad who died last month, it's going to be a deep red hybrid tea called Oklahoma. (Dad grew up in Oklahoma and loved to tell stories about his boyhood at a time when vestiges of the wild west were still present to excite the imagination of a young boy.)

I think Oklahoma is going to go somewhere in the front yard...and I think one little rose is going to look mighty lonely out there. And you know what that means. :rose :rose :rose

Crystal, there are lots of things you can plant around the feet of your roses. I think it makes for a really pretty cottage garden look. In one of my rose areas I have deep blue salvia and white lilies planted among varying shades of pink roses (from almost white to very deep vivid pinky-magenta). In another bed I have lavendar planted at the feet of one of the roses as an experiment. (Supposedly we get too much rain for lavendar to thrive...it would be a pretty combo if it works.)

Your garden plan sounds wonderful...something to do in all your spare time, right?

[katiekind]

I planted a climber and a clematis side by side.

Sounds beautiful, nurturemama!

[GodisGood]

It was. I had to abandon my darlings in MN when we moved back to CA. Our new home has 12 roses that were allowed to go to hip and were taller than me (5" 7.5"). We chopped them back and fertalized them and all but one are really thriving right now. I don't know what I have though. We have a total of 15.

[arymanth]

Is it too late to prune my roses? I didn't get out there to do it in the fall, and I was wondering if I could do it now before the spring comes?

Stephanie

[GodisGood]

Two thoughts. I would...but I don't baby mine. ;) Or you can wait until you do your regular pruning as the buds die off.

[Mama Calidad]

We have three varieties in our front yard...a total of eight bushes. I don't know what types they are...roadside nureries aren't real forthcoming with that sort of information. :lol I love roses! They're so easy to grow here, just put them in the ground and watch them bloom every month year round. :lol Here's one of my roses:
http://us.f1.yahoofs.com/groups/g_14669672/Yahoo!+Photo+Album/__tn_IMG_0132.jpg?bcpsyQCBI2gfZcjB

[GodisGood]

We have three varieties in our front yard...a total of eight bushes. I don't know what types they are...roadside nureries aren't real forthcoming with that sort of information. :lol I love roses! They're so easy to grow here, just put them in the ground and watch them bloom every month year round. :lol Here's one of my roses:
http://us.f1.yahoofs.com/groups/g_14669672/Yahoo!+Photo+Album/__tn_IMG_0132.jpg?bcpsyQCBI2gfZcjB


Almost looks like a Peace rose. I think it has a bit more white and yellow though. Could depend on the soil and weather as well.

[katiekind]

I can't see the picture! I just see a little box with a question mark. :(

Nurturemama, I forgot to say, the rose varieties you just put in (Elle, etc) are really beautiful.

Yesterday I went around and put compost and milorganite on all my roses. I am brewing a batch of alfalfa tea to pour on them. I think since I don't have babies to take care of any more, I get some of my care-taking urges worked out on my roses. :lol

[cklewis]

Is it too late to prune my roses? I didn't get out there to do it in the fall, and I was wondering if I could do it now before the spring comes?

Stephanie


Where are you? According to my rosarian boss, you're supposed to do it in the Spring because it encourages growth, and you don't want to encourage growth in the Fall.

But we're in the SE. Maybe it's different here. I'll probably prune next week.

C

[GodisGood]

I'm zone challenged, but here in N CA you prune in January/February. That is also when you salt.

[GodisGood]

I can't see the picture! I just see a little box with a question mark. :(

Nurturemama, I forgot to say, the rose varieties you just put in (Elle, etc) are really beautiful.

Yesterday I went around and put compost and milorganite on all my roses. I am brewing a batch of alfalfa tea to pour on them. I think since I don't have babies to take care of any more, I get some of my care-taking urges worked out on my roses. :lol




I can't wait to see them as well as the ones that are already here. My Aunt had probably 30+ different varieties of roses. And yes, since she doesn't have little ones anymore they get plenty of attention. Do you ever put Kosher Salt around yours?

[katiekind]

I have never heard of doing that! I do put a little Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) in the soil one time each spring--it is supposed to encourage basal breaks (strong new canes). I wonder if that is the same thing?

[arymanth]

Where are you? According to my rosarian boss, you're supposed to do it in the Spring because it encourages growth, and you don't want to encourage growth in the Fall.

I'm in NE Wisconsin, and we are just now starting to see the end of winter. (it snowed last week! LOL) But things are finally starting to thaw out, and I was thinking about going out there and pruning my bushes to be ready for spring. Thanks for the advice! :D

Stephanie

[GodisGood]

I have never heard of doing that! I do put a little Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) in the soil one time each spring--it is supposed to encourage basal breaks (strong new canes). I wonder if that is the same thing?


:lol That's what I meant! :lol

[katiekind]

Good Stephanie! I guess I'll stop feeling sorry for myself on how long it has taken spring to get here (Western KY).

[GodisGood]

Nice to have your babies back again. I used to grow mine in 1/2 whiskey barrels. They turned out so well! You use (I beleive it's) 1/2 c Epsom salts around the base of the rose similar in diameter to fertalizer. I can't remember what the recommended times of the year/grown are. I do mine in January in N. Cal.

[Garnet]

My grandma planted garlic around her roses, and the roses died....so be careful! :O I ahve two Chrysler Imperials in my front garden. I love them! They are so easy to take care of. They take partial to full sun, whcih is good because a pine tree stands infront of their full sun! They have beautiful dark red to dusky pink blooms. Last year I planted them, miracle grow'd them, and watered really deep once a week, and then just wet the mulch every other day the rest of the week. I am getting ready to put a garden in by my back door we'll have a climber rose there, and suggestions?

[Gretchen]

I'm a lapsed rosarian. :lol In our former yard, we had over 100 rosebushes. We were *really* into it - rose society conventions, we visited David Austin's nursery in England - you get the drill. Then we moved. :banghead Now we have 3, count 'em, 3 rosebushes. :doh I'm hoping this summer we will get around to planting some more.

At the previous yard, we started out with hybrid teas, but quickly moved into Austins, Old Garden Roses and shrubs, with a bunch of miniatures mixed in.

Stephanie, you can probably start pruning pretty soon. Around here (Northern Colorado), April 15th is the recommended pruning date, although April 1 generally works just fine. One recommendation I've heard is to prune when the forsythia blooms. I agree with Camille's boss - pruning encourages new growth, so fall pruning is not a good thing in any climate that has a harsh winter. Basically you'll encourage new growth and then kill it off. In our climate, it's recommended that we stop pruning and deadheading on September 1.

Gretchen

[Gretchen]

I've had pretty good success with epsom salts around my roses. I used to mix up a concoction of fish emulsion, epsom salts, a really high phosphorus fertilizer (Fertilome makes one - it's a blue powder with NPK numbers of 9-58-8 or thereabouts) and liquid iron. I used a tablespoon of each of the above per gallon of water. Since I had so many roses, I would mix up 32 gallons at a time in a trashcan, and then dip my watering can in the mixture - 1 gallon per average size rose bush, 2 gallons for large shrubs and half gallon for minis. The fish emulsion stinks, though, so I only did this when I could do all of them at once and have time for a shower afterwards! :laughtears

Gretchen

[Garnet]

Woot! My little brother and his friends say Woot! all the time! :laughtears

[katiekind]

Tessera, congratulations on your new cane! I know how exciting that is. Your list of roses reads like a Hit Parade of roses!

Kelli, very interesting to hear about your Chrysler Imperials that are doing ok in partial shade. Good for you.

Gretchen, I'm drooling over your hundred roses. Must have been hard to leave them. By the way, I am getting my first hybrid tea sometime this month--"Oklahoma" to honor my father who died in February. My roses are all Austins, antique or shrub roses. Couple of floribundas.

About half of my roses now have tiny buds on them. I walk around and encourage them every day! And squish off the aphids. This weekend I hope to be putting down a whole bunch of mulch because I really hate to weed.