Hello dear rose friends as we return home from a very special reunion at Mt Tamborine, QLD with Graham’s mates from his days in the Rover Scouts – a catch-up with many memories and laughs!
GRA’S GARBLE…
I hope all you Mums had a beautiful day last Sunday when your family celebrated your specialness!
Q. What kind of sharks NEVER eat women? A. Man-eating sharks
Diana likes to throw me an impossible task sometimes; this is one of them: If I was only allowed to buy three roses this winter, which would I choose?
After much deliberation and writing down more than twelve varieties in a very short time, I ended up with these three:
UNCONVENTIONAL LADY – is one of the most exciting new climbing roses because not only does it flower very, very continually but it holds a lot of healthy foliage throughout winter – a really important aspect of covering an area which would enjoy winter foliage! A very highly recommended rose!!!
MUNSTEAD WOOD Because I just LOVE this glorious rose which grows on a short hedge-row in my garden … it stops me EVERY time I walk past because I have to take a sniff and its flowering all the time! My favourite David Austin Rose without a doubt!
KARDINAL I just have to have the most perfectly formed red rose in my garden so that I can pick bunches of long-stemmed blooms to fill vases for the kitchen bench throughout the flowering season and KARDINAL is so PERFECT! It’s so long-lasting and if you get it at the right moment, yes, it does indeed have a fragrance too!
Be sure and write down your lists of preferred roses, make ‘wish lists’ and do your research so that when you plant, you hopefully get the planting right FIRST TIME. It doesn’t always quite go to plan – read on:
Hi Diana, I was given ‘Perfume Passion’ two years ago.
The label said it grew to 1.5 metres. After a year in the ground it just took off! I’ve never seen such vigorous growth (apart from maybe ‘Best Friend‘).
Even with a good winter prune I’m finding it’s growing closer to 1.8 metres which is a bit too tall for its current position.
I can always move it but what I’m wondering is, how is the height of a rose determined? Regards – Jon
MY RESPONSE …
Sometimes, the height is determined by the fact that it just LOVES it at your place. Seems that’s the case in this instance – see, I would say to another customer, yep, 1.2 – 1.5 for BEST FRIEND but I know for a fact that there are locations where the rose is growing to the eaves of the house and beyond, simply because it loves the position its planted in and, it was a quality rose from the start!
If your PERFUME PASSION is too large for the current location (it is flowering well I imagine? ie. It’s not understock?) I recommend you move it to a place where it can do its thing! Cheers – Graham
FREE GARDEN DESIGN / CONSULTANCY …
Send your plans, wish-lists and specifications to us at info@rosesalesonline.com.au and we’ll be more than pleased to assist with organising your new or refurbished rose garden from design to soil preparation, rose selection and planting information.
There’s lots of information at www.rosesalesonline.com.au but you’re welcome to call us on 03 5787 1123 any Fri Sat Sun or Mon 9.00am – 4.00pm if you would like to have a chat about anything to do with roses in your garden.
Talk to you next week… meantime, enjoy the autumn colours all around you… Graham, Diana and the crew at Silkies Rose Farm, Clonbinane…