ROSE RAMBLER 03.11.2016 …
Hello dear rose friends … so, did you back the Melbourne Cup winner? Weren’t the roses spectacular despite the abysmally cold, wet, wintery weather that Terry Freeman and his team had to contend with to get them so beautiful … ah, Melbourne, no wonder it wins as the ‘most liveable city’!
GRA’S GARBLE …
Congratulations to the rose breeders of the world who have been rewarded after two years of assessment at the Australian Rose Trial Grounds in Adelaide … this year, DARK DESIRE won MOST HIGHLY FRAGRANT ROSE – such a magnificent rose which you would love in your garden … Pop it on your ‘wish-list’ for 2017.
The rose which Diana has entered in the Rose Trials looked stunning and is performing very well as it enters its second year of assessment … should we name it JUST LOVELY?
and the rose which Diana loved most – this rose might be released 2017 ???
What do you think?
Please, if you have an opportunity when visiting Adelaide, pop into the Botanical Gardens where the Australian Rose Trial Grounds are situated and you’ll be delighted by the roses in the gardens there.
Q. What dog keeps the best time? A. A watch dog – of course! Easy one.
It is so important during this amazingly strange weather to be diligent, observe what weather patterns permit application of the organic rose management program to ensure your roses retain healthy foliage which in turn will promote lots of beautiful blooms throughout the coming flowering season!
Fertilize NOW – then again in six weeks because heavy rain will have leached nutrients from the soil.
ARE YOUR ROSES SUCKERING?
There is a huge difference between a WATER SHOOT and UNDERSTOCK … easy to see in this pic of a suckering standard rose.
Here’s what you should do to remove understock suckers … extracted from Diana’s book, ALL ABOUT ROSES …
When you’ve yanked the sucker away from the understock it is very important to check if there is a nice rounded end on what you pulled away. If you can see and ‘eye’ which could be compared to a corn on your toe, then you have been successful in removing the sucker.
If not, get a sharp knife and remove the ‘’eye’ by cutting inwards and upwards under the eye and inwards and downwards from above the eye.”
NEVER, EVER cut suckers at ground level – as we all know, roses love to be pruned so cutting suckers encourages them to grow even more – they must be removed!
Q. Where do baby monsters go when their parents are at work? A. The day scare centre!
LOVELY TESTIMONIAL …
Hiya Diana, My roses arrived on Friday, in the ground Saturday and looking a million dollars today, Tuesday! Very hard to grow roses in a sub-tropical area but I have been for 30 years and with persistence I have success! Thank you for your great service, take care!
Warm regards, Chris
19th & 20th November
STATE ROSE & GARDEN SHOW at WERRIBEE
Diana will be speaking at 3.00pm SATURDAY, 19TH … see you there!
Hi, just wondering if you can help me. I’m not much of a gardener so need advice on how not to kill our brand new roses! We got a heap of iceberg and red kardinal roses over the October long weekend. My husband planted them in organic soil and we’ve
Watered them daily. One month on and we have black spot and the rose petals have all pretty much died. Nursery yesterday told me to water in the morning, the soul more than the flower, using seasol and also got another organic feed to use every 2 weeks and sprayed the black spot this morning. What are we doing wrong?? Is it normal for the flower to die off the way it has? All getting plenty of sun too.
Belinda … hope you’ve modified the watering to deep soaking! Could you send me some photos of your roses please ??? Talk soon = Diana