ROSE RAMBLER 13^TH JUNE, 2019 – Hello dear rose friends … there’s hardly time to stop and write to you – every spare moment is consumed by sorting and labelling beautiful quality two-year old bare-rooted roses. Once again, our grower has excelled by producing magnificent plants which we are very proud to distribute and offer our 100% guarantee that these fabulous roses will grow and flourish in your garden for many, many years!.

"The minute you settle for less than you deserve,
You get even less than you settled for."
- Maureen Dowd

GRA’S GARBLE …

As the roses ‘shut down’ for winter dormancy you’ll see lots of yellow foliage; perhaps black-spots on the foliage too. Did you know this is the ONLY way for roses to defoliate! Your rose is still 100% healthy but doing its natural thing at this time of year. Just leave the roses to get on and do their thing while you go find something else to do around the garden.
By mid-late July all the foliage will have dropped and the roses will start shooting – they’re sending you a sign of where to prune! Honestly, if you just leave the bushes for about six to eight weeks to have their ‘quiet time’, they’ll get going again in no time and the shoots they start producing will make your pruning exercise that much easier!

Q. What’s red, white and black and taps on the window? A. Santa Claus in the microwave!

CLIMBING ROSES …

There are lots of great reasons for planting climbing roses – if you’re looking for an impenetrable barrier to stop intruders entering your property, here are a few varieties which have ghastly thorns that no person would entertain clambering through

ALBERTINE – one of the most beautiful sights in spring/summer – a huge rose which can easily cover 5 metres of fence line!

BANTRY BAY – spectacular with continual flushes of flowers throughout the entire season – great on an arch or spanned along the fence with mesh support.

NEW DAWN – flowering continually on branches thick with vicious thorns, this magnificent rose requires little attention once established – chain-saw pruning for sure!

Of course, there are other varieties and lots of different coloured roses which also have significant thorns but these three varieties in variable shades of pink, also have very dense, healthy foliage and are all spectacular when flowering.

Consider planting any of these roses to protect your property but ensure their support structure is durable – timber lattice rots quickly, timber fences require repair or painting perhaps so we recommend steel mesh and posts to support climbing roses for many years.

Enjoy your garden this week … cheers from the team at Silkies Rose Farm, Clonbinane.