I'm Back!

Nostalgie

Nostalgie is just plain beautiful. It's a hybrid tea rose that I have growing in a container. This is it's second year here and although it has very little scent, it's beauty cannot be denied. Guess what I do with my potted roses during winter? I put them in my unheated, unattached garage. As soon as they dormant in late November or December..or when night temperatures start falling below 25 degrees..in they go. I give them a little water in there about every 6 weeks, and then take them out in the Spring...usually late April. How do they survive like this all winter? I don't know..they just do.

English Rose "Tamora"

Is this rose not gorgeous? It's called "Tamora" and is a David Austin English rose. This is it's 3rd year in my garden and it's looking might fine. It was a bareroot rose from Pickering Nurseries

Last winter I did nothing to winterize this rose. Come Spring I had to prune out the dead wood pretty much to the ground. It came back quick and is now about 2 feet by 2 feet. Great frangrance and aren't those buds gorgeous? I am happy with Tamora.

Rose Care Videos

Have you seen any of the rose care videos on Youtube from Ashdown Roses? If not..you should! Great presentations on pruning, pegging, pillaring, and more. All designed in a matter of fact way with a little humor thrown in. Wonderful! I'm going to try some of these ideas!

http://www.youtube.com/AshdownRoses

No Rose Midge?

In a prior post I had discussed how a pest called Rose Midge had destroyed my Spring blooms lastyear. My understanding of this pest was that the larvae would most likely overwinter in the soil and it would be back to plague my bushes this Spring. Well guess what...I do not see ANY signs of rose midge! My roses are in glorious bloom with the most buds I have ever had! Thankfully I will not have to spray any chemicals in the soil again which I was dreading!

Photos of some of my best hardy bushes to come soon!

Winter Losses/Spring Glory

Basically anyone growing roses in zone 5 knows about loss due to a harsh winter. Normally I winterize all my roses in late November or early December by shovelling about 6-8 inches of mulch on each one. Last Fall, however, I never did complete this chore. I am amazingly surprised that most of my roses came through with flying colors! This is probably due to the fact that we had a decent snowcover during the coldest days and nights this year. Snow is actually an insulator. A few floribundas did not fare well....I do not see signs of life from Marmalade Skies, Coffee Country, or Champagne Cocktail. Oh well, that's what my pot ghetto is for! Replacements!

New Roses

Although I really need to keep new roses to a minimum this year as I am running out of space, I did order Cinco de Mayo and the Legends Rose.

Cinco de Mayo is a new Weeks rose. The color is what attracted me to this rose. Russet. Flowers can be multi-color,smoky lavender-orange. None to mild fragrance. Average diameter 3.5". Medium, double (17-25 petals), cluster-flowered, in large clusters bloom form. It is a 2009 AARS winner.

http://www.directgardening.com/medium/5934_m.jpg