Category Archives: Roses

Prune Out Damaged Rose Stems

. Roses . ,
Damage Rose Stem

Damage Rose Stem

This rose has a damaged stem are that was bent and broken (see #1) by falling debris when the roof was replaced on the house. The stem can be traced to a branched area (see #2).

Farther down the stem is a large region  (#3) that demonstrates some kind of mechanical damage (hail hit the stem, or two stems may have been wind blown against each other). At any rate, both areas (#1 & #3) need to be pruned out of the rose; this can be done with a single diagonal cut (#4).

Once the cut is made, check if the inside of the stem is white; if not, continue cutting on a diagonal until healthy white tissue is observed. If the stem has damage even further down, it may need to be removed with a rose saw (large stem diameters are difficult to cut with pruning shears).

Time to Prune Roses …

. Roses . ,
'Livin' Easy' Rose

‘Livin’ Easy’ Rose

In this area (zone 8b) it is time to prune roses around Valentine’s Day. I did not prune last year so I’ve got some overgrown roses. All of my roses are “heirloom” or “antique” or “old garden” roses — I do not have grafted roses because they do not survive as well as the heirlooms and there are so many beautiful heirlooms now that it is easy to find a rose you like that will grow in your garden. Continue reading →

Roses in Bloom

. Roses .

Our first freeze of the season was two days ago. Just before the freeze, I took snapshots of some of the roses in bloom.

After the first freeze, the number, size and overall quality of rose blooms declines. Some of the roses will not bloom again until Spring, while others will add blooms for a few more weeks.

Nacogdoches Yellow Rose Bud

Nacogdoches Yellow, November 15, 2013

I have finally found a yellow rose that I believe is hardy enough to produce abundant blooms and thrive in my garden. “Nacogdoches Yellow” —also called Grandma’s Yellow” is a found rose; it was located near a hotel in Nacogdoches, Texas.

So far, I haven’t seen any kind of disease on the leaves or stems.

This rose was planted two weeks ago, on the S corner of my house where it also has access to the Morning sun. We had about 5 inches of rain since it was planted, and it seems to have adapted very nicely by sending out new bronze-colored foliage, plus a few buds.

Belinda's Dream Rose Bush

Belinda’s Dream, November 15, 2013

The second rose is Belinda’s Dream. A pink shrub rose with large pink double blooms that appear throughout the growing season (from about late March through early December in my gardens).

It’s pretty compact — about 3 feet in any direction. When conditions for fungal black spot are good (high humidity, heat), this rose will drop leaves pretty quickly. I’ve seen it drop enough in the past that I wasn’t sure it would survive—but it always comes back (no chemicals used, but it does need  fertilizer in the Spring).

During the height of the drought, about 3 years ago, Belinda’s Dream dropped so many leaves from heat stress that I did not believe she would return to the garden. This year, this rose has finally made it “back” to full health. Moral of the story:  don’t remove an old garden right away as they often return from the roots (unlike grafted roses where the rose above the graft will not return).

Little Pinkie Rose in Bloom

Little Pinkie, Nov. 15, 2013

The third rose is “Little Pinky”, climbing. This repeat bloomer pushes out flushes of blooms about 3 times a year, it is highly resistant to fungal blackspot and it is nearly (not completely) thorn-less.

With the cool temperatures and high rainfall amounts of the last six weeks, Little Pinky has decided to push out another flush of blooms. Just before the rains started (September) we had reached a dry point whereby cracks were appearing in the ground. Little Pinky does not appear to appreciate the heat, with very few blooms produced from late Spring through summer.

This climber will send out canes that are up to 8 feet, so it needs a trellis to show off the many many clusters of roses.

I’ve got a few more roses farther away from the house, so I’ll post updates on them later.

Related articles

Will this rose survive in my garden? –tips to match a rose and a garden spot

. Environment, Roses . ,
Chrysler Imperial, climbing , flower

Chrysler Imperial, climbing , flower

Two questions to consider before buying any particular rose (note:  I grow antique or “old garden” roses, not grafted roses);

1) will this rose survive in my garden, and

2) will I like this rose in my garden?

In this blog entry, the first question is discussed and a future blog entry will address the second question.

Continue reading →

October Roses–Cramoisi Superieur

. Roses .

On October 26 – 27, we received 2 1/2 inches of rain. The temperature range for the month of October has been 48 to 83 degrees Fahrenheit — spring-like conditions with the exception that daylight is rapidly decreasing. Compared to last year, we have received considerable more rain in October. As a consequence of the combined environmental conditions, we have lush green lawns, trees and shrubs, and an abundance of rose blooms.

The Aunt Betty Rose -- closeup

The Aunt Betty Rose — closeup

The roses add color and texture to the fall gardens! The first example is “Aunt Betty’s” rose–an old garden “China” (prolific, nearly continuous bloomer in mild climates). This rose likes about 6 hours of sunlight, is extremely diseases resistant. The roses are about 1.5 times larger in the spring. Continue reading →

Valentine Old Garden Rose

. Roses .
Valentine; April 28, 2014

Valentine; April 28, 2014

I’ve posted several times about Valentine — the old garden rose by my front door — but Valentine has done something I’ve never seen from a rose (at least not one growing in my yard).

The photo gallery below shows (from left to right); a cluster of 24 opened Valentine roses, the entire valentine rose with the cluster at the back right and smaller clusters throughout the bush, and a picture of the stems after the blooms began falling apart. The cluster of blooms lasted about 10 days.

Click on any photo to view a larger picture–these roses are just beautiful!

There were two sets of clusters in this magnificent show of blooms; one cluster had 18 blooms and the other had 6 blooms — a total of 24 open flower roses at once! Continue reading →

Foliar Damage on Livin’ Easy Rose

. Pests & Disease, Roses . , ,
Fully opened blossom of Livin' Easy rose.

Livin’ Easy, Aug 10, 2013

Most rose varieties have some susceptibility to leaf damage from fungal pathogens; however, the damage does not necessarily kill the rose.

The Livin’ Easy old garden rose produces blooms most of the year in my gardens (except during the time period of frequent temperature drops below 32—usually from late November until early or mid-February). Continue reading →

Rose Mallow and Belinda’s Dream in August

. Environment, Ornamentals, Plants, Roses, Temperature .

The Rose Mallow (also called Hardy Hibiscus) was planted about 5 years ago next to Belinda’s Dream — an old garden shrub rose.  (This picture was taken with a cell phone and all elements have a slightly bluer appearance than the real-world view.)

Pink rose blooms and dark pink rose mallow bloom

Rose Mallow and Belinda’s Dream

Blooms.

Bloom sizes; Rose Mallow (6 inch diameter), Belinda’s dream (2 to 2 1/2 inches in diameter); both plants are currently producing blooms.

Belinda’s Dream produces blooms from Spring through Fall; the largest and most abundant blooms are in the spring, reduced number and size throughout summer, and a few more larger blooms in the Fall.

The Rose Mallow begins blooming when the temperatures are consistently above 90 degrees and continues blooming through Summer and into the Fall; the largest blooms appear early in the blooming period (8 to 8 1/2 inches in diameter) and consistently reduce in size over the course of the summer (smallest about 4 inches in diameter).

The Rose Mallow blooms last a single day; they unfurl in the morning, are fully open by mid afternoon then shrivel and drop in the evening.

Belinda’s Dream blooms generally unfurl over the course of one day (by mid afternoon) and then slowly deteriorate over the course of 3 to 5 days (longer flower life in cooler weather).

Care.

Both plants have similar water needs and do well together on the same watering schedule (once a week by dripper hose). I use Miracle Grow fertilizer (blue crystals) to support vegetative (green) growth after the last frost. In rainy Spring seasons, I’ll use Miracle grow for roses (to encourage blooming) on both plants about a month to six weeks after the last frost.

Trim all roses on Valentine’s day (or the nearest Saturday following Valentine’s day–time permitting); Cut back all stems smaller than a pencil (average sized wooden pencil with lead) and cut just above a leaf bud location.

The rose mallow is self-sufficient, no trimming needed unless it becomes unruly (I don’t trim it because it will freeze down to the ground over winter).

Related articles