ROSE RAMBLER 28.09.2017 …
Hello dear rose friends from sunny Clonbinane where the day still starts with minus 2 frost and our gardens are a blaze of glorious colour thanks to the daffodils and tulips … delightful!
Most Exciting News …
Diana’s beautiful book ALL ABOUT ROSES is now reprinted and once again available to purchase – go to your local bookstore or to our website to purchase a copy.
Last week I received a rose order along with this lovely message from Les …thanks for the newsletter, and look forward to my shipments.
“I just re-read some of your ALL ABOUT ROSES book. LOVE IT! There is even a mention of me in the book! ” …. Want to grow roses but wouldn’t have a clue.” !!! That’s me!” – Cheers Les
ALL ABOUT ROSES is being reprinted by popular demand!
Reviews since it was first released in 2014 have declared it a book for ALL rose gardeners … very practical advice, magnificent photography and simply the book which EVERY rose lover should have sitting on the coffee table – perhaps in the garden shed because all our organic rose management recipes are right there!
Order a signed copy for yourself or get in early for a Christmas gift for the rose-lover in your life!
GRA’S GARBLE …
Our pretty Daffodils,
and splendid Tulips!
JOKE : Harry went for a job interview and the first thing they told him was: “We are looking for someone responsible” to which Harry replied: “I’m your man because at my last job, every time something went wrong they told me I was responsible”.
Mulching Your Garden…
Is seriously one of the most important tasks you can undertake NOW while there is still good soil moisture deep down in the sub-soil/clay. To conserve this moisture and have your roses send their roots way down and anchor themselves for years of robust, healthy growing and flowering, I recommend you place a good thick layer of mulch around the entire garden bed.
Notice when we mulch here, there is a ‘biscuit’ of pea straw along the border – this stops birds flicking loose straw out of the bed and we generally place a thick layer of damp newspaper under the ‘biscuit’ to inhibit weeds coming into the garden bed!
Some roses in lower areas of our garden are seriously frost damaged but we are not going to prune ANYTHING MORE off them until the first flowering in November and I urge you to do the same where frost damage is evident. From previous experience here at Clonbinane, I assure you that ALL YOUR ROSES WILL RECOVER and flower this spring.
New foliage is very soft and lush which makes it susceptible to insects who will take advantage of these conditions … see the aphid cycle on this magnificent photo Diana took and which Steve at www.ocp.com.au (Organic Crop Protectants) has labelled so you now know more about aphids and their cycle …
- White stuff – these are the shells of the aphids which they’ve shed when moulting
- Winged insect – these are winged adult aphids and not lacewings. When aphids enter their final moulting stage they can emerge as either winged or wingless adults. They produce wings if the area they’re in is already heavily populated with aphids so it allow them to emerge with wings and fly off to find a new feeding ground which is less crowded. Clever trick really
- Brown blobs – these are aphids which have had a parasitoid wasp inject an egg into them. When the juvenile wasp hatches it feeds on the insides of the aphid before pupating and then cutting a tiny hold in the shell of the aphid and emerging as an adult wasp. During the whole process the aphid swells up, turns brown and dies.
If you have good numbers of birds in your garden, consider the aphids as their seasonal feast! Don’t be too quick reaching for sprays to eliminate the aphids if you feel they’re under control … ECO OIL is very effective in controlling the immature/larval-stage aphids which of course, in time, interrupts the breeding cycle! There is no hard and fast KILL with organic rose management so observation is critical – gentle, gentle works and remember, roses recover from all kinds of harsh elements without interference!Hope you’re enjoying all the glory which spring offers us gardeners – Graham
BARE-ROOTED ROSES STILL AVAILABLE ONLINE …
This weekend is the last opportunity you’ll have to order BARE-ROOTED ROSES because the roses are now beautifully foliaged, lots of roots in the coir-fibre potting mix and some are even budding! Yes, we have flower buds despite minus 2 frosty mornings!
In between watching the footy this weekend, scroll through www.rosesalesonline.com.au and order a few roses to plant for flowering throughout this season and for years to come! Every reason why so many people resort to purchasing GIFT ROSES as a way of expressing their heartfelt feelings!
Our GIFT ROSE continues to please – here’s an email from Toni who had tried to phone through an order on Tuesday (my day off), resorted to Facebook (which is managed by our IT team – not ME – they emailed me for response) then she finally emailed me and I called her –
“Diana – Haha … No worries I was just trying to cover all bases. It’s because you do it so beautifully like no one else I found and I didn’t want anyone else’s rose to go to Leanne. Thank you so much for your assistance 🙂 ”
Yes, we will be here this FRIDAY which is a public holiday for THE DAY BEFORE THE FOOTBALL GRAND FINAL – gasping as I type that!!! Yes, we will also be here during the whole weekend although it is a sport weekend … take this opportunity to get down and dirty in your garden …
Slashers Organic Weedkiller…
We’re extremely excited that Slasher Organic Weedkiller is in the running for “Organic Product of the Year” in the 2017 Organic Consumer Choice Awards.
Naturally we’d love Slasher to win and for this we need your help. Please click on the link to vote now. It only takes a minute and will help us spread the organic word!
Grab your bottle of Slasher Organic Weedkiller at www.rosesalesonline.com.au or find it at your local garden centre.
on the Hume Freeway, 60 kms north of Melbourne
and open every FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY, and MONDAY
9 – 4 PM – PH. 03 5787 1123 …