Hello Dear Rose Friends,
In these sopping wet conditions, our plan to get more roses posted is stalled once again. Please believe that you’ll have your new bare-rooted roses planted before the end of August. We sure plan that to be the case as one of the last consignments of roses arrives this weekend!
It’s been a journey for all rose growers and suppliers this year. We are now sold out of some of the most popular varieties with many not being available until next season.
We hope the roses you ordered are posted to you. If substitutes are posted, you can be sure that we’ve posted as good as or better varieties. Please love and care for the roses we’ve sent you!
We’ll try calling first and then leave a message if we need to speak to you with information about your rose order.
Here’s an email exchange we can learn from …
"Hi, just a quick question. Now that I have finished pruning my roses, thanks to a couple of sunny days, should I fertilise – a friend has donated a couple of nice bags of cow manure – or should I wait until the new growth? Regards, Pamela"
MY RESPONSE: Put the cow manure on now and then fertilize with a complete organic fertilizer that includes trace elements. Manure is as nutrient-rich as the soil where the animals grazed. It's not always COMPLETE or ENRICHED with minerals and trace elements. Any manure is still very valuable as an additive to condition the soil, and feed worms and microbes … hope there aren’t any pasture ‘weeds’ in the manure? Cheers … Gra
Planting in Sodden Soil
"Dear Gra and Di and alL … The ground is indeed sodden here as well with the forecast for more rain so I won’t be planting anytime soon anyway. Will be happy to get my order whenever it suits you.
The roses I have got from you in the past two years have all arrived in great condition and am sure this year will be no exception. Take care - Helen"
MY RESPONSE: It’s very important when working in areas of your garden where the soil is sopping wet that you tread carefully or not at all! Let the soil dry out with sunny days in our prospective forecast.
Whenever I’m out pruning, I’ll take biscuits of straw, place them around the rose bushes and prune. Or, I’m going to simply leave the pruning of those bushes until the sun dries out those garden beds!
If I don’t prune during winter, I’ll lightly prune in spring and perhaps, if it’s not too hot during summer and our garden beds are well irrigated, I’ll prune the roses by more than half during summer!
A giggle for you this week …
Q: Why couldn’t the flower ride its bike?
A: It lost its petals.
Celebrating Australia Rose Promo
With a record medal haul at the recent Commonwealth Olympic Games, let’s all plant this trio of magnificent roses as a tribute to those champions who toil to achieve their dream and represent us all. Thank you to those athletes who make us proud to be Australian!
JUST $99.50 includes pack and post
One last Garden Giggle before you GrOw!
Q: What did the bird say to the worm?
A: I’ll catch you later!Enjoy the longer days as we approach spring and warmer days. Cheers from the team at Silkies Rose Farm, Clonbinane.