Hello Dear Rose Friends,
Our garden has so enjoyed deep soaking rain over the past week and since rain was predicted in every State last Friday, I hope your garden looks as refreshed and flowering as beautifully as ours is right now, just in time for our gates re-opening to the public tomorrow …
Gates Opening at Clonbinane!
As we were driving along our magnificent Victorian roads this past holiday season, we had lots of very constructive discussions in between singing along to The Seekers, John Denver, The Strezlecki Stringbusters and others. We had a great time and are now happy to open the gates here at Clonbinane!
GRAND OPENING SPECIAL!
Buy any Four Roses & Get One FREE*
9am – 4pm this FRI, SAT, SUN, and MON
*offer available to gate-sale customers ONLY *offer includes ALL potted roses
Last Sunday this picture was taken of Graham with Mooi and Diana – yes, the potted roses look absolutely sensational with so many flowers. Jump in the car and visit this weekend!
Transplanting Roses at Any Time of the Year
I am often asked about transplanting roses and it’s imperative to let you know that even though it’s February and generally the hottest month of our year, if you follow these simple instructions, you’ll generally be successful.
"Good morning Rosie Folk, I come to you for help and advice. I think I mentioned previously the passing of my mother in May last year; so now I am at the stage of final preparations to sell her house. I have clung to the things that were precious to her as my continuing link to her. Whilst her treasures centred around her talents associated with sewing, my fathers were his garden, and especially his roses.
The common boundary to mine and my mother’s block is the rose garden planted and nurtured by my father over 40 years ago. This is where I need the advice! I want to dig up the roses in this garden bed and keep one or two for myself but also gift on to members of my family, who are gardeners, and who have requested one of “Pa's Roses”.
How do I go about preparing the bushes for lifting and transferring to large pots? How do I prevent transplant shock; I seem to remember hearing about a product for this purpose?
Given their age I imagine the root system is extensive, how much of a root ball do I take? I thought to prune them prior to excavation. I know that this is not the ideal time to be doing this but it is necessary for the construction of a dividing fence that will separate the two properties and also to 'save' these special roses.
I couldn't bear the thought of a new owner ripping out these beautiful plants and dumping them as is so often seen around here when a property changes hands.
I hope to tap into your extensive expertise and knowledge and will appreciate that advice.
Regards, Barbara J."
My Response:
Hi Barbara. We’re just home from a lovely (extended) holiday. We had our booster shots and rather than open the nursery and expose ourselves to the massive outbreak, we wanted to spend time at Harrietville with siblings and their spouses. The six of us had a lovely time!
I’ve done lots of this sort of consulting over the years and glad you’re prepared to put a bit of work into rescuing these precious plants. Be sure to involve as many helpers as possible. It will be a BIG job!
Have 40-50cm pots ready, quality potting media, some hessian bags or lots of damp newspaper, troughs for seaweed solution, shovels, loppers and sharp secateurs. A positive, happy attitude and as I already know, your heart is working on this job being successful.
If you can, do this task on the coolest possible day. Today would be typically ideal as it is overcast and we’ve had very deep soaking rain. Since it’s imperative to organise helpers, do the job on the day they arrive but then you supervise ONLY so that all the following rules are applied to ensure the greatest possible success and your family will remember the day they assisted shifting their family’s heritage roses.
- Deep soak the roses for days prior to digging then prune/lop all branches down to around 1 metre – remove as much deadwood as possible.
- Approx. 30cms from the crown, start digging – cutting roots as you go – some roses will lift easier than others so move further outwards if you reach a stubborn one and keep clean-cutting roots until the rose levers up out of the ground.
- Pour seaweed solution over the rose immediately once lifted or, if possible, dunk entirely in a trough of seaweed solution – it is critical at this point to NEVER let the newly exposed roots dry out or become stressed! Place damp hessian or newspaper over the roots if needed.
- Trim all roots with clean/sharp secateurs to fit within the pot without touching sidewall – trim tops to the same length leaving perhaps up to 8 canes – dunk in seaweed prior to potting.
- Soak the newly potted rose – then soak again and then to be sure, soak again. Lastly, pour seaweed solution over pots.
- Leave pots in a sheltered location – not shaded but also, not totally exposed to hot sun – sunburn will delay recovery/new shoots.
- Don’t water again until the potting media appears a bit dry – a day or more perhaps – you can and will drown the new rose if you continue to make it sopping wet … a good balance of water: air is critical! A light application of seaweed sloshed over the plant might be enough.
- Continue seaweed solution at least twice a week – no fertilizer until new shoots appear and then light fertilizer application (liquid fertilizer is very beneficial at this time – Eco-aminogro or other fish emulsion/organic fertilizer added to seaweed).
- Once well established again, distribute the roses to family members accordingly.
We wish you much happiness and best wishes at this time … Gra and Diana
A GIGGLE FOR YOU:
Q: What is the last thing that goes through an insect’s mind when it hits a car windscreen?
A: Its rear end.
Environmentally Friendly Roses
My recommendation for another promotion this week will encourage beneficial insects, especially bees at this time of year, to come and pollinate veggies and other flowering plants in your garden. These magnificent roses are so tough, resilient, free-flowering and will give you a reason to smile happily when they create a mound of beautiful roses flowering in your garden.
For Your Eyes Only
The lightly scented single flowers are a delicious blend of rich sunset shades including pink, peach and apricot that will mix easily with most other shades of plants in the rose border. The petals have a darker coloured base and form in a single row around a boss of golden stamens.
Eye of the Tiger
Bright, glowing yellow single-petalled blooms with a dusty-red eye smother the very healthy plant which carries shiny, mid-green foliage. It grows to around 1 metre tall. For a breath-taking clump of colour in your garden, we highly recommend Eye of the Tiger for a prominent location in your garden.
Continue to enjoy trimming flowers from your roses all through this amazing summer weather … hope you find time to come and visit us now whilst the roses and gardens look so stunning here at Silkies Rose Farm, Clonbinane. Cheers! Graham, Diana, Mooi and the team at Silkies …