ROSE RAMBLER 29.9.2016 …
Hello dear rose friends as we say goodbye to the first month of spring and hello (maybe???) to warm sunny days … finally! It’s raining again as I write and our rose bushes are growing rampantly – everything is lush and green; it’s so beautiful everywhere you look.
Please, don’t be complacent – it is so unseasonably damp and our roses will need to be protected against fungal disease and potentially rampant insect attack since the foliage is so compromised by the incredible amount of rain – when a window of opportunity presents, get out and apply the organic management program:
To 10 litres of water add:
- ¼ cup Eco-rose (fungicide)
- ¼ cup Eco-oil and
- 1 tsp Eco-seaweed or follow directions on the pack of your preferred seaweed product!
Mix the products well and spray foliage to run-off … if you can, spray under the foliage too!
Nutrients which have been applied to our soil over past years is now being made available because of the wet conditions – all plants are enjoying incredibly rampant growth – notice the red tips of eucalyptus trees?
It’s party time as the roots of plants are able to forge their way into mineral rich clay where soaking rain has drenched deep down, filled underground streams and ensured moist garden beds for this coming season and potentially beyond …?
GRA’S GARBLE …
We may have some challenging times in our rose gardens around Australia because of significantly variable weather events – let’s share a few emails which might offer assistance to ensure your roses remain healthy and flower beautifully in coming months …
It can sometimes be difficult to Eco spray early in the morning using the program you suggest because we get plenty of days over 30 degrees or if you are lucky enough to get the spraying done, it rains late in the day or we get a storm washing the spray off. Would you see any problem in spraying late in the day when the roses don’t have any direct sunlight and the heat is abating? Thanks – Brett
I cannot share an email response because Brett and I spoke later that day and the conversation went a little bit like this … “Although we don’t necessarily promote spraying in the evening, there are definitely situations where evening spraying is better than not spraying at all! There’s a good reason why we recommend morning spraying.Did you know your body is actually taller in the morning and shrinks during the day? Roses are rather the same … their stomata (pores if you like) are open and receptive early in the day and they start to close down – especially during extreme temperatures – when, late in the evening, the stomata is closed and the plant ‘shuts down’ for the night.
Hence, morning spraying is highly recommended but spray in the evening if/when it suits.
NEVER MORNING SPRAY WHEN THE TEMPERATURE IS EXPECTED TO EXCEED 30 DEGREES
Q. Do you know why my little brother is built upside down?
A. Because his nose runs and his feet smell.
MULCHING …
There’s been lots of weeding happening in our gardens and probably yours too so you’ll obviously be mulching your garden beds as we are here and Natalie emailed this query which we forwarded to Organic Crop Protectants for clarification:
It was a wood chip mulch from our local garden supplier. I haven’t gone around any roses so I am glad about that!
- Do you know what it is?
- Is it poisonous?
- How do I get rid of it?
We have very damp gardens due to epic rainfall. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks so much. Natalie
The response from OCP: “Don’t know the name of the fungus growing through the mulch but I wouldn’t be at all worried about it. They’ve just dumped a whole load of carbon on their ground (the mulch) and its common to get a surge of fungal growth appear not long after. The fungus is just feeding on the carbon and won’t harm any plants. Usually the fruiting bodies will fade away and you won’t notice it again.
Steve Falcioni, General Manager, eco-organic garden range”
Whilst weeding rose garden beds, be sure and trim perennials or completely remove plants which have ‘done their time’ like these …
To ensure good ventilation around rose bushes – especially during such damp/humid conditions!
Q. Why don’t deer have uncles? A. Because they only have antlers …
FINGER PRUNING …
We talk about this every season around now – by learning this technique of easy pruning, you will definitely encourage more even flowering throughout spring/summer – check out our colleague, Ludwig in South Africa as he demonstrates this pruning technique on Youtube:
