Month: June 2015

Meantime, keep digging and dunging your new rose beds – roses love to go into prepared soil and you will be rewarded for many years with healthy, robust roses if you put a bit of effort into soil preparation NOW!

GRA’S GARBLE …

As the GIFT ROSE grows in popularity, let me give you a few suggestions for when you have an occasion in your life which offers the opportunity of telling your feelings by sending a beautifully gift wrapped rose along with a card inscribed with your own personal message and posted in a magnificently presented gift box.

There are way more suggestions on giftroses.com.au – go take a look but remember that there are no flowers on the roses now but they still look fabulous when beautifully gift wrapped and carded with your personal message by Diana!

Q. What do you get if you cross a tarantula with a rose?  A.  I’m not sure but I wouldn’t try smelling it!

I’ll be doing a ROSE PRUNING DEMONSTRATION – this SATURDAY AFTERNOON – 2.00pm see you there!  Gra

IN CLOSING …

If you’re considering having a ‘serious prune’ of your rose garden this year, let me suggest you contact eric@intergrow.com.au or phone: 0402 352 843 to book rose pruning this season … he’s ‘amazing’ on hedge pruning too!

HERE ARE THE DO’S …

• Dig a really rough hole (with a fork so you don’t slice the worms … ouch!) at least 45 x 45cm (like about the length of your boot plus a bit)
• Place the soil into a wheelbarrow and blend at least two shovels full of well composted medium to your existing soil
• Put a bucket of water in the hole and let it soak in – you could add seaweed solution if you want
• Fork the base and side walls of the hole so that the newly formed roots can easily penetrate the soil
• Make a mound of soil and spread the roots of your new rose over that mound; backfill with the soil/compost blend
• Tamp around the main stem with your boot so that the rose is very firmly planted right up to the bud union then add another layer of light soil
• Soak the entire area with the hose then pour a watering can of seaweed solution over the plant and surrounding soil
• Place layer of lucerne/pea straw mulch for about a square metre over the soil around the rose
• Prune each stem down to 20-30cms in length then stand back and admire that you have given this new rose every possible goodness to get on with flowering!

This is the crown/bud union/scion … plant right up to where you see Virginia’s finger!

HERE ARE THE DON’TS …

• DO NOT put fertilizer of any description in the planting hole as it might burn the newly forming roots
• DO NOT dig a perfectly square hole – rough walls allow roots and water to easily penetrate even heavy clay soils
• DO NOT OVERWATER – if you soaked the soil to an absolute slurry at planting then watered over with seaweed solution, the rose should not require much water until shoots start to appear and even then, check soil moisture before watering no less than 20 litres per rose, per week – at each watering – deep soaking to root zone!

Q.  What do you call a skeleton that doesn’t get out of bed?  A.  (Easy peasy) LAZY BONES!

WEEDS FOR FERTILIZER …

Yes, put all your garden weeds into a hessian bag (except the creepy-crawlies like couch grass just to be on the safe side!) and dunk the bag into a wheelie bin or other 30-40 litre receptacle with a lid – place in a sunny location away from the house!  It might stink!!!  Leave the bag soaking for at least three weeks.

Put 2-3 litres of brew into a watering can then fill it with water and pour liberally over garden beds and plants at least once a month – you could add seaweed powder/solution.

Since worms are in their breeding season from May to October, they will love this liquid feed; soil microbes will be increased and residual fertilizer is made readily available to plant roots by this application.

Grab a copy of a MOON PLANTING GUIDE which will indicate when is the most effective time to remove weeds from your garden and then use the weeds to productively increase the micro-culture of your soil – your roses and veggies will grow superbly!!!

Q.  Why did the skeleton run up a tree?  A.  Because the dog wanted his bones

This Sunday morning I’ll be on 3CR radio (855 AM band Melbourne) from around 8.00 and I would be pleased to take a call from you (03) 9419 8377 or (03) 9419 0155 then come along to a pruning demo in the afternoon at 2.00pm SUNDAY 14^TH JUNE at SILKIES ROSE FARM.

There will be pruning demonstrations here at the Rose Farm continually through June/July and August – stay posted for a date in every edition of this R/R – see you soon … Gra

IN THE ROSE NURSERY …

Thank you all for purchasing our stunning quality bare-rooted roses – please prune all the roses we are sending to you … they look like this when they arrive (we’re just bragging by selling them so BIG)

We urge you to prune them to 20-30cms stems when you plant them so they look like this which is what we do when we pot them:

No secrets anymore, we’ve started pruning … I suppose on the one hand you might say:  “if we don’t start now, how do we ever get the job done with such a lot of roses to prune?” but there’s also the variables of the weather to contend with – if we prune late, the new shoots may be damaged by severe October/November frost – there might be early frosts and we could be caught out … what the heck, we’re both ‘head down, bum up’ at every opportunity – come and watch us … and select some of the most amazingly beautiful bare-rooted roses while you’re here …

Another month flew on by … winter is here now and this is TRADITIONAL ROSE SEASON – time for the roses to rest after a heady season of fragrant flowering; time to get nicked and tucked – pruned that is – or planted in anticipation of another glorious season.

Q. Name the four seasons?   A. Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar.

Amazing moment of awe for me when Gra and son Eric drove into the Rose Farm last week with the van and a hire trailer loaded with 4,288 roses.  All needed dipping, labelling, sorting for orders – yes, a mammoth task but this year we are soooo organised and it will all be a breeze.  PLEASE wait for the phone call or email because not ALL the roses came in this consignment – standard roses will come in LATE JUNE!

Awesome quality – brilliant roses which are loved from the moment the understock is cut and planted, budded and then nurtured with quality fertilizer, seaweed solution and watering for the past two years – any wonder we don’t hesitate offering you a 100% guarantee that our roses will give you years of pleasure once planted in your garden.

GRA’S GARBLE …

PRUNING … ah, the moments when men grizzle about the prickles, ladies gripe – “he cut them way too much”.  Girls, take up arms – good sharp Lowe secateurs and a beaut pair of protective gloves which you can purchase in our online store at www.rosesealesonline.com.au and get stuck into pruning your roses – it’s the best fun you’ll have in a long time!

Allow pruning your roses as an opportunity to release your pent up emotions and frustrations – be totally purposeful and make every single snip count – as you make each cut and remove the branch, toss out one less trouble in your life.  Pruning is very cathartic when you allow it to be.

Guys, you’re hereby given permission to stand back and watch – if this works in your household as it does in ours!  Here at the Silkies Rose Farm, I have my rose gardens and Diana has hers – I’m a gentle pruner, Diana is mercenary – both ways work for the roses!

Q. What does the word ‘benign’ mean?  A. Benign is what you will be after you be eight.

With fine weather expected this weekend, come and join us for pruning and a cuppa to toast the Queen on her birthday!  You’re welcome to call 5787 1123 to book your place – see you then – Gra

ALLABOUTROSES.COM.AU

www.allaboutroses.com.au is our website where you will find all back issues of ROSE RAMBLER and a host of helpful information about growing roses; there is an extensive ‘encyclopaedia of roses’ too!  It is my intention to see this as a location for interaction between our customers and for the site to be used as a great learning tool where we can share ideas, photos of your rose garden and generally make it the destination when you want to know all about roses – take a look and start sharing please.

IN CLOSING …

Rug up and get down and dirty in your garden this weekend

~ Cheers from Diana, Graham and Mooi at Clonbinane