ROSE RAMBLER … 16.7.2015 …

Hello dear rose friends … hardly a day this winter without sun shining through the clouds for at least part of the day has been ideal weather for potting the beautiful quality roses which we have in our nursery this season … until, of course, this past weekend!  BRRRR … lovely rain, sleet, hail – bring on the rain!

As the roses are potted, we always trim the roots so they’re not curled around but sit nicely on a mound of mix at the base and to the side of the pot then top up with our superb coir-fibre potting mix to which slow-release fertilizer is added to sustain the rapid growth of roots and leaves in their first months in a pot.  The newly potted roses are deep-soaked immediately after potting and require maybe weekly/fortnightly watering at the most!!!

DO NOT OVERWATER NEWLY PLANTED ROSE BUSHES!  This is so very, very important as roses are far more able to sustain quality flowering with MINIMAL water – they are very tough, resilient to periods of drought and very WATER-WISE plants so the worst thing you can do to any rose, whether newly planted or well-established, is over-watering!

GRA’S GARBLE …

This past week I’ve been busy keeping up with Diana’s rose potting by ensuring mineral rock-dust is lightly tossed over the potted roses then regular applications of seaweed solution is poured over them to offer the new growth between 3-5 degrees of protection from frosty conditions!

When all the roses are potted we commence our monthly organic rose management spray program in order to maintain healthy, robust foliage.

The program is:  to 10 litres of water add:

• ¼ cup Eco-rose (fungicide)
• ¼ cup Eco-oil (insecticide and ‘sticker/spreader’
• seaweed solution (follow pack directions of the product you use)

This spray program will ensure that aphids will be controlled at the larval stage and thus interrupt their ferocious breeding habits while the ladybirds are still slumbering and waiting for warm spring days.

Your garden is ALIVE when there are all types of insects and birds flitting around – it is IMPERATIVE that every rose garden should have some aphids and other insects.

The Eco-rose – yes, sprayed on bare sticks – will fall onto the soil surface where it will have impact on fungus spores – don’t bother with smelly Lime Sulphur – spray with Eco-rose/fungicide to protect your roses against black spot and powdery mildew!

Q.  What is the definition of a caterpillar?  A. A worm in a fur coat … I would rather have a worm than a caterpillar in my garden and in this weather, I would rather a fur coat than no coat – hope you’re rugged up in this cool blustery gust of winter!  Gra

ALL ABOUT ROSES …

Lots of emails from customers who have received their roses in the post – I have to say, I admire you all for venturing to purchase roses ‘on-line’ and I so hope that you are pleased with the quality I select – always THE BEST for you because I understand the risk you take!  Please take this advice as I’ve sent to Claire:

“I encourage you to remove at least half of the stems … yes, half!!!  I’m not kidding – if I could send them that way and not have people shocked by the short stems, I would have done it before they left here … we want our customers to think they’ve got value for money by sending the long-stemmed roses to them … please, please – go out tomorrow and cut them down to at least half and if you trust me, take away two thirds … put those sticks in the ground and you may grow some ‘cutting grown’ roses …fun!
Thanks Claire and please keep me posted if you need more advice … cheers … Diana”

from Claire:

I won’t be able to garden tomorrow (work) but I’ll try and mentally get to grips with cutting away those little buds of new growth along with the stems in the meantime. It seems so wrong!  Very best wishes, maybe one day I’ll be sending you photos of lovely blooms. Claire

My response: “I’m giggling… this really is funny … when people come to the nursery, I wait for them to pay for their roses then ask if they would like me to winter prune them … they gasp and some even get cheeky and ask for half their money back because now they’ve only got half what they paid for!  If I was courageous, I would cut all the roses before I send them but I would be inundated with complaints … can’t have that!!! 

What happens when you prune those long canes back about half?  Beautiful water shoots develop from the crown and you end up with a very sturdy bush with masses of flowers … get your head around it today while you work and do it when you next visit the roses!  Enjoy the experience and most especially, enjoy the results!  Cheers … Diana Sargeant

In the coming weeks as more of you order roses, the roses will come to you as cut-back, winter roses – take it as a compliment!  Your new roses have been root pruned and professionally winter pruned so they’re 100% guaranteed to grow exceptionally well in your garden.

Get into pruning your roses NOW… all the bushes and standards will appreciate being pruned with only 30cms of stem remaining – climbers love to be tied back to a frame and pruned according to what size you wish – old-fashioned roses just like to be trimmed by about one-third to one-half of the bush.

Remember that no matter what you do to the roses, apart from over-watering, they will forgive you and bloom again this spring!

Plant some sunshine yellow in your garden – here are a few of our highly recommended varieties … not necessarily in order of preference but all ‘must have’ roses!

FRIESIA
A very popular lime-yellow floribunda rose which produces clusters of gloriously fragrant blooms continually.  Glossy, dark green foliage compliments this robust bush which grows to around 1.2 metres tall – stunning rose which has been around forever!

CANDLELIGHT
Modern shrub rose of immensely high-health and free-flowering habit.  A medium height shrub 1.2 x 1.2, delightful planted as a group and the flowers are beautiful in the vase – stunning rose!

SHOOTING STAR
Indeed a beauty of creamy golden yellow glory with magnificently healthy foliage, abundance of flowers and lovely healthy shrub

MOLINEUX
Is a beautiful David Austin rose which lends itself to planting as a hedge-row or border for a massive display of continual bloom on a shrub 1.2 x 1.2 – delightful rose which changes colour throughout the season … lovely!

GOLD BUNNY
An old, old-time favourite which continues to delight with an amazingly free-flowering profusion – one of the first and most definitely the last rose to flower in gardens everywhere …!

ST. PATRICK
is one of the most endurable cut flower roses which enjoys a very hot, sunny position in your garden – perfect form, long stems of green buds which open to clotted creamy yellow – supreme rose in a warm climate ..

Enjoy contemplating which of these wonderfully sunny roses you would wish to order for planting in your garden this week … all orders through rosesalesonline.com.au which include one of the above highly recommended roses will receive a ‘FREE’ GOLDEN YELLOW ROSE with our compliments until next Rose Rambler on 23.7.2015.

You can suggest which FREE rose you would like in the COMMENTS section but otherwise, leave it to me and I will send you one of our BEST …

Cheers from Diana, Graham & Mooi at Clonbinane