| ROSE RAMBLER 7.11.2013
Hello dear rose friends…
The bliss of trimming the spent rose blooms is with us now too … finally! My bragging about the earliest rose flowering season ever after an early burst of warm days, everything came to a screeching halt – yesterday morning it was -1 degrees again! Depending on when the roses were Winter pruned or whether they are positioned in the garden where the frost can descend on them, here at Clonbinane, we are trimming the early flowers or we haven’t seen roses on some of the bushes yet – funny season indeed.
All the potted roses are now flowering, they’ve been sprayed and fertilized and the nursery looks sensational.
In the cool overcast conditions last Sunday morning I was frantically trying to take as many photos as I could – this is one of the many colours of SLIM DUSTY rose – there’s a little smiling face of grandson Logan which made the picture extra special …
DRYING ROSE PETALS …
Rather than load the bonfire with spent rose petals, I resurrected my dehydrator – a beautiful hand-made, wooden structure with three trays and a sloped clear (Perspex ???) front which Graham bought for me years ago when I was intending to dry tomatoes and other veggies and fruits.
Now I have more time so I’ll be drying the rose petals because there is a demand for them to be used at weddings and funerals – there might also be other commercial uses for the dried rose petals so I will keep you informed so that you too, can use them rather than bin them.
WATERING THE ROSE GARDEN …
Unless you diligently measure the rainfall, the wet concrete path is not the right gauge you should be using to ensure that your roses are adequately watered. Even with heavily mulched garden beds, the sprinklers have been going here!
Your roses are flowering heavily now and it’s time to offer them a deep-soaking of no less than 10 litres each, per week – the 10 litres of water should be delivered in one soaking so that the water reaches right down to the root zone of the rose.
Giving the roses a light squirt whilst walking around enjoying the fragrance in the evening, probably with a beer (or wine) in one hand and the hose in the other is a NO-NO for your roses – giving a deep watering whilst walking around first thing in the morning with a cuppa in your other hand … different story!
Please do remember to get dressed before you venture out in the morning – Graham often goes out in his dressing gown – not a good look when he bends down to pick a weed!
NEVER WATER YOUR ROSES IN THE
LATE AFTERNOON OR EVENING
This is a recipe for fungal diseases like black-spot and mildew to have a field-day in the rose garden because the foliage will stay wet overnight.
GRA’S GARDEN TIPS …
I’ve been reading about lucerne – also known as alfalfa. Did you know that it sends its roots down up to 10 metres deep into the soil? It pulls up the best nutrients which is why it is considered the best quality mulch for your garden. Add some to the compost where it will do its magic too – especially if it is kept nice and moist so that it can break-down more quickly and add all those wonderful nutrients to your compost.
When you turn the compost and you notice an anaerobic (not nice) smell, place a layer of lucerne over the turned material and the smell will dissipate rather quickly. I have been known to incur the wrath of my lovely wife after I’ve turned the compost so I know all about how to get rid of the smell quickly! On topic, here’s the joke …
Q. What did one toilet say to the other? A. You look a bit flushed.
Never, ever put unpleasant smelling compost in the planting hole of any new plants – never use fresh animal manure at planting either!
Compost and animal manures need a balance of air and moisture to break-down into humus which should look and smell good enough to eat and this is when you can liberally apply it around the plants and then immediately cover with mulch to be sure the microbes are not killed off by the sun.
Enjoy the beautiful perfumes from the roses now … Graham
IN CLOSING …
I know you don’t need reminding that Christmas is around the corner but if you are starting to compile your Christmas ‘wish-list’ or ‘gift-list’ do remember that we are the professionals when it comes to sending rose plants as gifts – the roses will be flowering beautifully, they’ll be Christmas gift-wrapped with a card and your personal message … all this convenience and beauty for less than $50.00 while taking the stress out of Christmas for you.
Please start your ordering now – my plan is to have the CHRISTMAS GIFT PACK ROSES in the post on or around 15th December.
Enjoy the beautiful roses in your garden … Diana & Graham at Clonbinane |
