RAMBLER 06.10.2016 …

Hello dear rose friends … welcome to October which is the month when we’ll start to see lots of roses blooming here at Clonbinane … oooh, so, so exciting!

Because of their warmer climate, the gardens at CHARLTON will be in full flower for their open garden weekend … take a drive and support this magnificent community of country folk who have experienced hard times in recent years!  WE LOVE CHARLTON AND KNOW YOU WILL TOO!!!

 

 

GRA’S GARBLE …

We gardeners are being challenged by unprecedented, record-breaking rain – conditions which our plants are unfamiliar with so they’re lush and loaded with nutrients, possibly sitting in sodden soil too.  Be wary and lift any newly planted roses into pots as they will be unable to produce new roots while sitting in sopping soil!  If you are seeing new shoots and the roses seem happy, LEAVE THEM – only lift them if they appear to be stressed!

It’s important not to go ‘overboard’ and create built-up garden beds during this unusually wet time – the rain will dissipate and you’ll soon have the hose watering your garden!

The higher the garden bed, the more quickly the roots dry out thus more water will be required to sustain plants in a normal summer – these rainy conditions definitely won’t last forever!  Frogs are enjoying the wet so, … Q.  What kind of shoes do frogs wear?  A. Open toad shoes – naturally!

I’ve given my gumboots a great workout this winter/spring … it will be nice to hang them up when the ground dries out a little …

Might be evident on the roses but because of our organic / biodynamic garden management program, we have lots of beneficial insects and birds who are our army of helpers keeping insects in balanced numbers!  It is VITALLY IMPORTANT to the health of your garden that you see aphids, spiders, critters of all kinds because they are evidence of an environmentally healthy garden which is a food paradise for them all in turn!

Q.  What is the most faithful insect?  A.  A flea – once they find someone, they like to stick to them!

Weekly applications of the organic management spray program is keeping leaves reasonably healthy but the roses will love it when we get a few days of hot sun which is guaranteed to ‘burn off’ mildew spores – four hours over 27 degrees will do the trick!

RICH GARDEN SOIL will guarantee intense colour in your roses – to enrich your soil, apply natural manures – sheep and cow manure are ideal and best sourced in bags at your local garden centre.  (Fresh manure should be heaped for about 6 weeks prior to applying to garden beds.)

When you apply seaweed over the entire plant and soil at least monthly, the seaweed activates microbes in the manures making them readily available to the plants!

ROSES THAT ARE HEALTHY AND WELL FED – ESPECIALLY JUST BEFORE FLOWERING – ARE YOUR BEST GUARANTEE OF PEST AND DISEASE-FREE PLANTS!

NOTE:  If using horse manure add this to compost FIRST to reduce the possible impact of worming chemicals which have been used on the animals as it will definitely reduce worm numbers in your soil if applied fresh with active chemical in the manure!

Poultry manures can be very acidic so are also best left in a heap mixed with old leaves and wilted weeds for 6-8 weeks prior to application to garden beds.

CLEMATIS IN STORE NOW …

I urge you to put at least one of these magnificent plants next to a climbing rose in your garden – they are sensational together and will give you such enormous pleasure!  Hybrid Clematis flower at the same time as your roses – they’re tough, tough plants as long as they are deeply planted to keep their roots cool and they enjoy exactly the same cultural management as roses – we have a beautiful selection of varieties at the Rose Farm NOW!

Please call me on 03 5787 1123 if you would like one posted – they are not available in the online store at www.rosesalesonline.com.au as I would prefer to speak with you!

LAST BARE-ROOTED ROSES BEING POSTED 18TH OCTOBER …

This has been the longest season due to extremely wet/cool conditions – take advantage and place your order during the next 10 days – the roses are well packaged, endure transit well and will flower beautifully in your garden this season … 100% guaranteed!

From 25th October to 1st November there will be ONLY GIFT ROSES POSTED as Graham and I will sneak a bit of time out to attend the National Rose Trial Gardens Awards in Adelaide – we’ll print results in Rose Rambler 3/11/2016 so you can get your orders in for winter 2017 for the Medal Winners.  I’ll take lots of pictures of the Rose Trial Gardens too … enjoy the early rose blooms …