ROSE RAMBLER 13^TH JUNE, 2019 – Hello dear rose friends … there’s hardly time to stop and write to you – every spare moment is consumed by sorting and labelling beautiful quality two-year old bare-rooted roses.  Once again, our grower has excelled by producing magnificent plants which we are very proud to distribute and offer our 100% guarantee that these fabulous roses will grow and flourish in your garden for many, many years!.

“The minute you settle for less than you deserve,
You get even less than you settled for.”
– Maureen Dowd

GRA’S GARBLE …

As the roses ‘shut down’ for winter dormancy you’ll see lots of yellow foliage; perhaps black-spots on the foliage too.  Did you know this is the ONLY way for roses to defoliate!  Your rose is still 100% healthy but doing its natural thing at this time of year.  Just leave the roses to get on and do their thing while you go find something else to do around the garden.
By mid-late July all the foliage will have dropped and the roses will start shooting – they’re sending you a sign of where to prune!  Honestly, if you just leave the bushes for about six to eight weeks to have their ‘quiet time’, they’ll get going again in no time and the shoots they start producing will make your pruning exercise that much easier!

Q.  What’s red, white and black and taps on the window?  A.  Santa Claus in the microwave!

CLIMBING ROSES …

There are lots of great reasons for planting climbing roses – if you’re looking for an impenetrable barrier to stop intruders entering your property, here are a few varieties which have ghastly thorns that no person would entertain clambering through

ALBERTINE – one of the most beautiful sights in spring/summer – a huge rose which can easily cover 5 metres of fence line!

BANTRY BAY – spectacular with continual flushes of flowers throughout the entire season – great on an arch or spanned along the fence with mesh support.

NEW DAWN – flowering continually on branches thick with vicious thorns, this magnificent rose requires little attention once established – chain-saw pruning for sure!

Of course, there are other varieties and lots of different coloured roses which also have significant thorns but these three varieties in variable shades of pink, also have very dense, healthy foliage and are all spectacular when flowering.

Consider planting any of these roses to protect your property but ensure their support structure is durable – timber lattice rots quickly, timber fences require repair or painting perhaps so we recommend steel mesh and posts to support climbing roses for many years.

Enjoy your garden this week … cheers from the team at Silkies Rose Farm, Clonbinane.

Hello dear rose friends as we recover from a lovely holiday in Perth … we walked along the Canning River, rode bikes for kilometres around the area of Shelley and generally had a beautiful time together along with family and friends! It will only be a couple of weeks before we have this seasons bare-rooted roses arriving at the Rose Farm so perhaps this timely Rose Rambler will incite you to place your winter rose order sooner rather than later as some varieties are already SOLD OUT!

Seriously consider these NEW RELEASE, 2019 beauties…

LOVE SONG

Mauve – Loads of big beautiful blooms can nearly cover this bush of rosiness. The profusion is only matched by the surprising duration of the display. Those lovely lavender old-fashioned flowers just seem to last and last.

Underneath all that beauty is a bushy rounded plant clothed with great rich green leaves. Go ahead…bury your face in those beautiful clusters and burst into song. It’ll be love at first sight.

MADAME DELBARD

Pink – an absolutely stunning rose, with flowers that hold well in a lovely pale pink shade and a sweet seducing fragrance. Its foliage is very disease resistant and lime in colour which adds to the showpiece that is MADAME DELBARD. Great for pots or in the garden.

RECENT RELEASE FROM 2018

Perhaps you missed out on one of these beauties from last season so treat yourself NOW as many customers who’ve planted these roses are so very, very impressed with their performance and health – VIEW PICTURES AND DESCRIPTIONS OF THESE GORGEOUS ROSES AT: https://www.rosesalesonline.com.au/

The stunning rich pink colour of these double blooms will adorn this free flowering bush from October through to May, coupled with a strong sweet rose perfume. DREAM CHASER is ideal as a cut flower or simply enjoyed in your garden for mass display.
Fragrance: Strong – Height: to 100cm

PER-FYOOM PERFUME

This international, multi-award winning bush rose has cupped shape blooms in a beautiful fairy floss pink, and a gloriously intense fragrance of myrrh and apple blossom. With bushy dense healthy growth patterns, it will perform extremely well in most soil and weather conditions. Fragrance: Intense – Height: to 140cm HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

THE LADY GARDENER (David Austin)

The large, full petalled blooms display an attractive rich apricot colour then fading to clotted cream with a strong, delicious tea scent. A repeat flowering rose which is very healthy and has excellent disease resistance. Fragrance: Strong – Height: to 120cm

REINTRODUCING THESE BEAUTIES

Roses come and go – some should never be forgotten and deserve a place in every rose garden for their spectacular qualities and display so we’ve decided to whet your appetite with these beauties …

PERFUME PERFECTION

This lovely floribunda/modern shrub is one of the parents of GRA’S BLUE so we want you to be able to grow this gorgeous rose in your garden too. Easy to understand why GRA’S BLUE won such accolades for fragrance – a gorgeous rose!

SUMMER OF LOVE

Such continual perfection is hard to find in roses – throughout the flowering season this beautiful roses continues to produce glorious single-stemmed blooms which are magnificent in a vase – truly lovely rose!

WARM WISHES

Was one of my Mother’s most favourite rose in her front garden at Kilmore – we planted the garden with her 25 years ago – she was watering pots at the Rose Nursery one day and commented on how much she loved the blooms of WARM WISHES so
I went and slipped one into her garden about 15 years ago! It is a real beauty!!!

GRA’S GARBLE

I’ve enjoyed this past few weeks as I planted hundreds of daffodils – some in tubs and pots, lots in the ground and I cannot wait for the glorious display we’ll see again this spring. In the next few weeks when the soil gets cold, I’ll plant tulips … this year they’ll have special meaning for my dear Mother-in-Law, Miep.

Q. Why was the piano on the front verandah? A. Because he forgot the keys!

My compost heaps are all built and ready to host the plethora of worms who will enjoy my heaps as their breeding ground over the next few months – as long as we don’t get rain, I’ll continue watering for at least one hour once a week with a sprinkler. I tested the compost recently and it’s heating up after I applied a few bales of green lucerne since there were no lawn clippings to add … it’s imperative to have raw materials!

We hope you enjoy trawling through our online store www.rosesalesonline.com.au to select some more beautiful roses to add to your garden this winter … notice how prolifically the roses bloomed despite the fact that we’ve had very little rain? Yes, indeed, roses are most definitely one of the most drought-hardy plants for your garden – they’re extremely water-wise and require just 10 litres of water per rose per week as long as it’s delivered at one watering session!

Enjoy your roses as they start to produce the last beautiful blooms for this flowering season and we’ll talk with you again next week …

Graham, Diana and Mooi from Silkies Rose Farm, Clonbinane

Hello dear rose friends as we prepare for the Art & Roses Tours this weekend when busloads come to visit for a Walk ‘n’ Talk in the garden with Graham as part of the Kilmore Art Expo and Busking Competition (Saturday only). Kilmore will be literally buzzing this weekend so do come for a visit!

As people stepped from their cars these past weeks they’ve been very vocal about how beautiful our place looks and how many roses there are on show; the pots look amazing but the gardens are beautiful too!

Remember that autumn is a great time to write your wish list and order roses for bare- rooted season which starts mid-May to early-June
.
Let us assist with designing your rose garden so that you get it right first time! Bring your ideas, pictures and sketch drawings so that we can work on the garden design together!

GRA’S GARBLE

Q. What can you catch but never throw? A. A cold! It’s that time of year when you need to line up for a flu shot to be sure you stay well this winter!

Hello Graham – I was interested to see your plug for those fabulous secateurs.  Since you advised my son Lucas to purchase a pair for me I have recommended them to people who have since purchased them and are equally delighted, as I am.

A query  –  what do you use to keep them so clean? Cheers –Helen

My response: Thanks Helen – following this email and other similar requests I will attach the following to each pair we sell in future – it’s very important to care for your precious garden tools!

CARE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE BEST SECATEURS YOU’LL EVER OWN!

Once a week during frequent use, open and spray secateurs blade and shaft with surface spray, leave a few seconds and whilst still wet, scrub all surfaces with steel wool then dunk in warm soapy water to soak. Scrub again if necessary. Using a fine wire remove all grit from shaft area, rinse and turn upwards to air-dry completely. Run sharpener two or three times evenly along both sides of anvil blade; lightly spray both sides of blade with olive oil.

P.S. Highly recommend you purchase a clip-on holster to avoid leaving secateurs in the garden!

With a bit of spare holiday time up your sleeve, you might consider doing some of these garden chores soon

• CHECK ALL TIES ON STANDARD ROSES – REPLACE / REPAIR AS NECESSARY
• REMOVE ANY ROSES YOU DON’T LIKE OR ARE PAST THEIR ‘USE-BY’ DATE – REPLACE SOME SOIL/COMPOST READY FOR A NEW ROSE TO BE PLANTED THIS WINTER
• REAPPLY MULCH (WHILE THE SOIL IS STILL WARM) TO AREAS WHERE PREVIOUS MULCH TURNED TO HUMUS – PROTECT THE HUMUS AND WORMS FROM FROST – REMEMBER, WORMS START BREEDING SOON!
• PLANT WINTER BULBS WHICH WILL FLOWER WHEN THE ROSES ARE FINISHED
• IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY, YOU MUST APPLY FERTILIZER NOW!
• HIDE EASTER EGGS IN THE GARDEN – KIDS JUST LOVE IT!

Q. Where do you learn to make banana splits? A. At Sundae School.

EASTER HOLIDAYS TRADING…

Unless there is anything really pressing to share with you next week on Thursday, 18th April, the day before GOOD FRIDAY, this is the last Rose Rambler for a few weeks. Please note WE WILL BE CLOSED ON GOOD FRIDAY but otherwise open during the Easter weekend on our normal days Saturday, Sunday and Easter Monday.

You will receive your NEXT ROSE RAMBLER ON 2ND MAY as we, in respect of ANZAC DAYon Thursday, 25 th April, won’t be posting a Rose Rambler that day. ONLINE STORE AND WINTER ORDERING – DO IT NOW! Diana and Ben have been very busy loading lots of new photos to our online store: www.rosesalesonline.com.au ready for you all to indulge in selecting new roses from our bare-rooted selection of roses for this winter and ask you, please, if you see faults or issues whilst purchasing in our online store, kindly take a moment to email us at: info@rosesalesonline.com.au so that we can correct those mistakes – we’ll honour your email to us by posting a free rose this winter as thanks for your effort!

A few new pics we’ve loaded of some of our gorgeous beauties which are still available as POTTED ROSES to plant NOW …

THE OPPORTUNITY ROSE

THE OPPORTUNITY ROSE is a profuse bloomer, the habit is compact and a little over knee high. The medium sized buds have attractive form, the rich variable copper shades are not prone to premature fading. It has very high resistance to blackspot when compared to neighbouring varieties and a distinct light fragrance.

MY HERO

Modern Shrub Rose of extraordinary health and vigour as a pleasant reminder of the hero in your life!

Released by Swane’s Nursery this rose is exclusively grown in Australia and our conditions are perfectly suited to this exceptionally healthy, free flowering rose.

My Hero produces an abundance of classic, shining rose pink blooms which clothe the shrub over a very long flowering season. The petals are massed and have a rather old-fashioned look when the bloom is fully opened.

All stunning plants ready to be planted in your garden and keep flowering right into winter then lightly pruned so they are a glorious, established rose in your garden this spring and next flowering season!

Enjoy these coming weeks of time off with friends and family – take care of yourselves and each other during this very busy Easter holiday time – enjoy moments in nature together when you can – hopefully, you’ll jump in the car to visit our Rose Farm during this holiday time when we will be open during our normal business hours of Fri – Sat – Sun – Mon 9am – 4pm EXCLUDING GOOD FRIDAY when we will be spending time with our family.

Please remember to ask for a MEAL VOUCHER so that you can enjoy a scrumptious lunch at our local MAGPIE STUMP HOTEL in Wandong – lovely venue, delicious food!

HAPPY EASTER … from all of us here at Clonbinane – Graham, Diana, Mooi, and the team

Hello dear rose friends as we approach the middle of autumn and still no sign of significant rainfall here at Clonbinane? OOOOh, the garden, the trees – they would all love to have the dust washed down off their leaves and only ‘God’s wee’ can do that on such a scale!

GRA’S GARBLE

We use our garden tools every time we go to the garden, but do we stop and consider how much we rely on them? How should we care for them? Or, do we just go out and buy cheap replacements when we’re next visiting the local hardware?

This is not an unusual email: “Hi Diana … Can you please recommend me a good pair of pruning shears. I’m sick of replacing ones I buy every few months as it goes blunt. I need to invest in a good pair that will see me through for a while. Many thanks – Shenaaz”

To which Diana responded, of course: Hello Shenaaz … We use and highly recommend the LOWE secateur

which is available to purchase on our website or here at the Silkies Rose Farm as we have used these for years and they are sooooo amazing … if you wish, call me on Friday-Monday to order over the phone, but otherwise, take this high recommendation and purchase from our online store, www.rosesalesonline.com.au – THE BEST SECATEURS YOU WILL EVER USE!!!  Cheers and I hope your garden is thriving!

Q. What does a spider’s bride wear? A. A webbing dress.

GIFT ROSES ARE INCREASING IN POPULARILY

Which is really not surprising when we receive such beautiful testimonials from those who receive them! Here are a couple of varieties of GIFT ROSES which are so special and look stunning NOW …

SOUL MATE

The colour describes the meaning of enduring friendship deserving of planting such a hardy, care-free, disease resistant, delightfully fragrant rose to honour your SOUL MATE.

True to being a MODERN SHRUB ROSE, the foliage is amazingly healthy and the blooms are very recurrent – as a STANDARD ROSE, you will enjoy an outstanding display of golden yellow, ruffle-petalled blooms continually throughout the flowering season … very highly recommend this lovely rose!

PEACE

One of the most famous Hybrid Tea rose – the story of this magnificent rose can be read in FOR LOVE OF A ROSE by Antonia Ridge – a must read for all rose lovers!  The glorious large pale yellow/cream blooms with a hint of pink at the edge are delightfully fragrant and produce a stunning continual display of blooms.

Remember, you can purchase ANY ROSE OF YOUR CHOICE because the name may have
particular significance – in our store, there are  THREE SELECTIONS

• BARE-ROOTED ROSE
• POTTED ROSE
• GIFT ROSE

You will note they are all differently priced and let me tell you WHY that is so:

BARE-ROOTED ROSE

Is what we can send to you in winter when there is way less weight in the pack because as the name suggests, the roses are just ‘sticks’ and their ‘bare’ roots are wrapped in damp newspaper to ensure they stay nice and moist during transit.

GIFT ROSE

this is a premium product as one of our magnificent, organically managed, beautifully gift wrapped 20cm potted roses is posted with a lovely pictorial rose card inscribed with your personal message then packed into a stunning gift box – when possible, this rose has flowers and buds – and the price INCLUDES POSTAGE!

Always remember our GIFT ROSE when an event occurs in your life where posting a gorgeous rose, which reflects your loving thoughts, will have far deeper meaning than a bunch of flowers or a box of chocolates!

Q. What creature is smarter than a talking parrot? A. A spelling bee, of course! (You absolutely HAVE to share this joke with kids around you to let them know the importance of literacy for their future!)

Looking forward to seeing you at Clonbinane soon … it’s absolutely beautiful in the gardens here NOW and you’re always welcome to wander! This coming weekend you might find a cuppa and scone left over from a bus group or two … if the weather is lovely, do come and visit us here and attend local events at Kilmore where the Art Expo and Busking Competition is in full swing… cheers

DIANA, GRAHAM, MOOI and the team

Hello dear rose friends as we stock up the woodshed and stoke the wood fire in readiness for a cold autumn! The magnificent dahlia in the front garden which flowers from Christmas time has succumbed after the first frost a few weeks ago – yes, it’s very cold here at Clonbinane and this morning was our third frost already!

THE JOYS OF AUTUMN IN A ROSE GARDEN

Crisp, cool mornings (in the dark!) and balmy evenings until the end of daylight savings; lovely sunny days – ideal gardening weather and the roses agree by putting on their most spectacular display with intense colour and plenty of flowers.

We have had almost no rain here since Christmas so we are deep-soaking the rose gardens to ensure we retain lots of flowers and healthy foliage right into the first weeks of winter. Lots of our spectacular ornamental trees have been losing leaves for a while now so we don’t expect they’ll put on their usual show of glorious autumn colour – even our large eucalyptus trees have been shedding lots of leaves and branches!

All signs of an incredibly dry summer and we look forward to a good dumping of rain soon.

• Keep dead-heading the roses continually to encourage lots more flowers;
• Fertilize all gardens then give them a deep soak;
• Remove any old roses NOW – prepare soil for replanting this winter;
• Visit rose gardens and take lots of pictures (including labels for future id);
• Gather rose catalogues and create a wish-list at www.rosesalesonline.com.au
• Pick buckets of flowers for indoors;
• Revel in the glory of your rose garden this autumn!

Q. Why did everyone jump for Joy? A. Because she was stuck to the ceiling!

THERE’S NO BETTER TIME…

THERE’S NO BETTER TIME than right now to plant some climbing roses – if you get climbing roses in the ground now while the soil is still warm, they’ll get well established before winter and this spring, will delight you with their first spectacular flowering in your garden!

I was trimming the climbers this past weekend because they kept clawing me when I was watering – here are a couple which are absolutely spectacular right now:

FOURTH OF JULY

BANTRY BAY

A sensational climbing rose which is never without masses of medium pink blooms over a very extensive flowering season.  There are lots of thorns but the canes are easily managed whether attached to an arch or against a wall this climber will be a wonderful addition to your garden for spectacular display.  Very highly recommended climbing rose!

ART & ROSES TOURS 2019

WEEKEND OF APRIL 13 TH & 14 TH

GROUP BOOKINGS OF 8 OR MORE WILL ENJOY FREE ENTRY TO MOST ACTIVITIES

PLEASE CONTACT DIANA: 03 5787 1123 OR 0418 33 77 65 FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ATTENDING THIS GREAT WEEKEND IN OUR REGION.

See you soon at Clonbinane … Diana, Graham, Mooi & the team.

Hello dear rose friends as we have experienced cooler nights, warmer days but hello? Where is the rain?

GRA’S GARBLE …

This RR will be lots of information exchange via emails – grab a cuppa and enjoy the read after this:

Q. What can you catch but never throw? A. A cold! Do take care as we know there is a nasty flu going around which causes seriously achey-achey bones!

Subject: Important of Mulch

“Hi – When we came up on Monday to buy a rose we noticed your fabulous mulch.  Would you mind telling me where you got it from?  Many thanks in advance –  Liz”

Hi Liz … which mulch???  On her garden beds, Diana uses pea straw – I use ordinary barley/wheat/oat straw on my beds and then we get mulch delivered from arborists when they’re in the area and lay eucy mulch predominantly over paths but when the eucy mulch is well-rotted, we also use it to place over rose garden beds – when you were here, our team were spreading mulch over a garden bed on the eastern side – that was eucy mulch delivered more than 12 months ago and now ok to spread both over paths and that particular garden bed which still had a good layer of pea straw.

We’re in drought-mode and every single bit of moisture we apply must be retained … mulch is the only way to achieve that result!  It was lovely to see you on Monday … take care and best wishes …

Subject: Madame Alfred Carriere Rose

Hi Diana, I need some help with my MADAME ALFRED CARRIERE Rose. In September, it will be two years old and has only ever been trimmed when it becomes very “leggy”.  However, in late summer the rose has had a huge growth spurt.  Also, it hasn’t flowered very well this season even though I have followed your instructions to the letter.  Attached are several pictures of the rose showing its current state and, one, showing the method by which the wires are set into the wall to support it.  Can you offer any advice or suggestions, please?  Thank you, Beverley

Subject: Re: Delicious Miniature Rose

Hi Gra and Diana,  Just to let you know that DELICIOUS and GRA’S BLUE  arrived this morning alive and undamaged. I was worried after having temps in the high thirties Monday and Tuesday.  I applaud your packing and care taken during preparation as they were in transit for nearly a week and their potting mix was still damp.  Thanks again, Louise. 

“Thanks Louise … oh, believe me, we tuck them in and give them our very best wishes before we release them to Auspost for transit!  There have been a few disasters just very, very recently and yes, it’s been hot!  Lovely that your two beauties arrived a little ‘ruffled’ perhaps but they’ll recover very quickly and get on with flowering through autumn.

Enjoy these two very special roses in your garden!  Cheers”

GRA’S BLUE AND DELICIOUS AFTER 7 DAYS IN TRANSIT

ROSES AFTER TRANSIT…

Here’s what some recent consignments of roses looked like on arrival to a NSW destination:

Hi … plants which arrived yesterday are all beautiful and very healthy – Robyn

Q. How do you know when the moon has had enough to eat? A. When it’s full!

CULTURAL NOTES FOR BEAUTIFUL AUTUMN ROSES …

• As long as the daytime heat continues to stay around 25 degrees, the sun will burn-off mildew and black spot issues;
• When it’s possible to spray the organic rose management program – DO IT – cold night temperatures will increase potential of disease event;
• Remove spent flowers quicker than normal and perhaps take shorter stems when you prune – we want fast repeat flowering as we near winter;
• Fertilize the entire garden NOW – use a quality (organic) fertilizer with a good range of major nutrients but also take a look at the pack and see there are lots of minerals and trace elements – don’t buy just ANYTHING – buy the BEST!
• Regular seaweed applications will toughen your roses – will enhance and increase numbers/size of bloom/intense colour and generally get the roses ready for winter dormancy – tough roses with lots of foliage will be better able to tolerate extreme cold conditions.

Not bragging but in closing, if you haven’t already planted GRA’S BLUE then you had best order one or more NOW – the plants look sensational and we heard from a customer this morning that she proudly benched GRA’S BLUE at a rose show in NSW and won a ribbon – SECOND PRIZE – she was so tickled pink that she ordered more today!

GRA’S BLUE

GRA’S BLUE – MULTI-AWARD WINNING modern patio/miniature rose of incredible beauty, fragrance and proven disease-resistance.

• Delightful medium sized shrub
• Exotic, spicy and fruity fragrance
• Very healthy and low maintenance
• Lavender/mauve blooms continually

Have a great week in your garden knowing the roses will tough-out this incredibly dry period and continue to flower if you give them just 20 litres of water per week!
See you at Clonbinane soon … cheers – Graham, Diana and Mooi

Hello dear rose friends as we come up for air after an immensely busy weekend since our massive autumn promotion during last weekend!

Thank you for purchasing your roses at Silkies Rose Farm, Clonbinane and www.rosesalesonline.com.au – we hope you have remembered to apply seaweed solution to your newly planted roses so they settle in well and you enjoy them flowering until around July when you will commence winter pruning.

GRA’S GARBLE …

WHAT’S A HERITAGE ROSE?

At their annual conference two years ago, Australian Heritage Rose Society declared that any rose which was bred 75 years ago will be listed as a HERITAGE ROSE … meantime, we seriously recommend that EVERY ROSE GARDEN should host at least ONE heritage/old fashioned rose and here are a few which we very highly recommend for planting in your garden:

REINE DES VIOLETTES

Hybrid Perpetual rose released in 1860.  Stunning dark mauve highly fragrant blooms continually throughout the season on a large spreading shrub to 1.8 metres tall.  This magnificent rose can be grown as a free-standing shrub or short climber which is easy to manage because it has few thorns.

ORDERING YOUR BARE-ROOTED ROSES FOR THIS WINTER

We are now pleased to advise that our online store: www.rosesalesonline.com.au is open for taking your winter orders.

We have thousands of roses out in the fields ready to be dug in May so there’s NO RUSH with ordering. Due to circumstances beyond our control, New Release 2019 roses only have ‘generic’ photos which are supplied by the agency releasing the roses so it is our plan to visit the rose fields in coming weeks; then we’ll show you our own photos and give you our personal recommendations for the New Release 2019 roses.

If you need assistance with placing your order please don’t hesitate emailing info@rosesalesonline.com.au and I will gladly assist with planning your garden and/or recommending certain varieties of roses for different situations or circumstances. I am available on WHATSAPP where we can look at pics and talk

Q. What does an angry kangaroo do? A. Get hopping mad! So does Mooi when the big bucks wake us all in the night!

Do take a moment to have a cuddle with MOOI when you come to Silkies Rose Farm,CLONBINANE soon.

In closing, I’m sharing this: “Fishy tales from the sea will bring you laughing to your knees and so …

Q. What do you call a fish that tunes pianos? A. A tuna fish!”

Have a great week in your garden … Diana, Graham & the team at Silkies Rose Farm.

Hello dear rose friends as we enjoy a respite from the searing heat of this past week and one of the hottest summers in years. Our roses never cease to amaze us with their extreme resilience to such harsh weather!

So, to celebrate their beauty and to recognise this LABOUR DAY HOLIDAY WEEKEND, we’re inviting you, our dedicated customers FOUR DAYS OF UNPRECEDENTED OPPORTUNITY to buy ANY TWO POTTED ROSES AND GET TWO FREE!

This offer is also available to our online customers at www.rosesalesonline.com.au who can expect to receive FOUR ROSES for every TWO ORDERED! (We can strap two boxes together with two roses in each box and you’ll only pay the postage price of TWO ROSES – $29.50 for up to FOUR ROSES – delivered to your door by Australia Post.)

IF ORDERING ONLINE YOU CAN SPECIFY WHICH POTTED ROSEShttps://www.rosesalesonline.com.au/ YOU PAY FOR and then IN THE COMMENTS SECTIONtell us which TWO FREE ROSES you wish us to send to you. If you cannot decide, then we’ll post our very best roses at the time of posting on TUESDAY, 19 TH MARCH, 2019!

GRA’S GARBLE …

When you plant your new roses, please remember to soak them, absolutely drench them when you first plant them and pour ECO-SEAWEED solution over them at planting and then at least once a fortnight thereafter – the benefits of seaweed application on roses is amazing and highly recommended for good health and profuse flowering – remember, the more foliage on any rose plant, the more flowers! It’s true!

See you this coming weekend at Silkies Rose Farm, Clonbinane … cheers – Graham & Diana

Hello dear rose friends on this, the last day of summer which heralds perhaps, a respite for our gardens with maybe some rain ???

GRA’S GARBLE …

We’ve already had some cool mornings but gosh, the sun has a punch in it while we’re watering the pots in the nursery from early morning. The cool nights will increase the incidence of fungal disease so, despite the daytime heat, it’s time to ramp up and start the organic rose management spray program to protect foliage and keep it disease free so that we all enjoy massive flowering through autumn and right up to the first winter frosts.

TO 10 LITRES OF WATER ADD:

• ¼ CUP ECO ROSE (dilute first with strong gush of water!)
• Small scoop ECO-SEAWEED (or other seaweed product – follow instructions)
• ¼ CUP ECO-OIL (add last then fill container with full water pressure to mix all)

Often, I mix these three products in a watering can and pour solution over roses which appear to need a boost or show early signs of disease – obviously, using a watering can is great if you’re ‘time-poor’ but it means you’ll use more product so this method is not as economical.

Most important that you apply this organic rose management program NOW!

Q:  What did one lab rat say to the other?  A: I’ve got my scientist so well trained that every time I push the buzzer, he brings me a snack!”

IS IT UNDERSTOCK ??? Very interestingly, we get many queries just like this:

“I have several standard Icebergs, one died 2 years ago and I left the roots in the pot, the spring before last up came some shoots and then quite a few more but it did not flower despite several prunings. This spring, after the winter prune, the shoots came alive again and in mid spring we had several large crimson/scarlet roses from what used to be ‘deceased’ iceberg. After the mid spring bloom no more flowers despite several prunings of the long shoots. Question – how come the Iceberg is now producing once a year crimson/scarlet roses ? Question – what can I do, if anything, to get more blooms throughout spring and summer? I live in Cronulla, NSW, the roses get full sun and get watered every second day.”

My response: “Hello … what you’re growing now is UNDERSTOCK … actually, R. DR.HUEY which is commonly used as understock for roses along the eastern seaboard of Australia – where most of our Australian commercial rose growers are!  I usually recommend that customers remove the understock from their gardens – it only flowers once in the season and is rampant and likely to take over large areas of your garden – if birds eat and spread the seeds, it’s almost considered a ‘noxious week’… get rid of the plant and definitely don’t
waste precious drinking water to keep it growing!!!  Cheers – Gra”

… another email with slightly different issues relevant to ROSE UNDERSTOCK …

CELEBRATING AUTUMN – BUY ANY 4 ROSES, GET ONE FREE – INCLUDES ONLINE SALES (just write the name of your preferred FREE ROSE in the COMMENTS)

FOUR magnificent roses you might consider planting this autumn:

MUNSTEAD WOOD

Hope you enjoy the cooler nights for sleeping and let’s hope we get rain for our gardens so that our roses put on their most spectacular autumn display in coming months … cheers from the team at Silkies Rose Farm, Clonbinane – do come for a visit soon!

Hello dear rose friends as I write this date which appears on all my legal documents – another year older … sadness as this is the first birthday I will celebrate without a phone call from my Mum but I know she’s looking over us to be sure we’re tending the roses well!

GRA’S GARBLE …

I’ve been managing on my own while Diana was gallivanting around Perth with her cousin Joyce – they share their birth dates on the same year during February. Mooi and I coped well and I was able to reinvent my compost heaps – while the boss is away, mice will play!

Here’s what I’ve now created

This compost heap is a blend of new materials deep in the centre which should break down more quickly because of the outer layer of humus over which, of course, I will place a thick layer of raw materials (straw / horse manure with shavings) in order to retain moisture and protect microbes from intensely hot sun. I’ll soak the whole area with a sprinkler at least once a week for no less than one hour – moisture hastens breakdown of all the composting materials!

Q. Where do horses get their hay? A. From their Neigh-bours … which is exactly where we get all our horse manure with shavings … we are sooooo lucky to have this resource so close and we do check when they last wormed their animals. Fresh manure from recently injected horses needs to be placed in separate areas and NOT on our compost heap as the chemicals might potentially kill our compost worms!!!

When completely broken down in say, two – three months, I will use all of this compost/humus around the rose garden during winter – both for planting new roses and spread up to 10litres (one bucket-full) around established roses once they’ve been pruned.

It’s very important to mulch humus when you place it around your plants as it …

• Feeds worms and soil microbes
• Retains top soil from being blown away in wind
• Prevents weeds from seeding
• Keeps soil moist and evens soil temperature

There are so many benefits in composting your household and garden refuse – it’s easy once you learn how to and you’ll definitely enjoy the rewards of a robustly healthy and environmentally sustainable garden for your family to enjoy!

Q. Why do fish live in salt water? A. Because pepper makes them sneeze!

THE LOVELIEST ROSES THIS WEEK …

JUST JOEY

Is still one of the most popular roses we sell and is rich in colour now that the nights are a little bit cooler!

Q. What’s the difference between a musician and a cricketer? A. One scores a hit and the other hits a score!