ROSE RAMBLER 11.6.2020 … Hello Dear Rose Friends as we move into winter mornings of minus 3 degrees but enjoy glorious days working in the nursery collating, labelling, grading and boxing roses for you to plant in your garden.
Please don’t be impatient – as we have said many times these past weeks – wait for it, Australia is to become a great big rose garden as there have never been so many roses planted than there will be this season. All the wholesale rose nurseries are selling out of popular varieties very quickly and we are no different.
Our goal is to post 30-50 parcels every single day during June and then when our standard roses and yearlings are here in July, we’ll be doing the same again.
Honestly believe that we have your interests at heart – we understand you’ve been in isolation just as we have been and you want your roses planted as quickly as possible so they give you joy when they flower this spring.
There are so many interesting email exchanges which prompt us to share knowledge...
"Hi Diana, Thank you so much. I saw on a U tube video, to add super phosphate and a soil moisturiser is that helpful? Also, to propagate roses from cuttings what is the best season to do get the cuttings? Have a lovely week. Himani."
Our response:
"Hello Himani … There’s no way I would be adding super phosphate to my rose garden – instant kill for the worms and biological others that are so helpful in our environment – please don’t do everything you read and see on Youtube – think things over and rely on your head and heart before you challenge our environment!
It’s great to take cutting of roses now – we take them all year too from wherever a flower is finished on the flowering stem. Enjoy all the beauty of your winter garden! Cheers"
Q. How do you make a lemon drop from the tree? A. Just let it fall
...our lemon trees are bursting with fruit right now – give them a light trim after flowering and you should produce a continual crop provided you keep them protected from frost!
ROSES AND ESTABLISHED TREE ROOTS
Roses and established tree roots are not a good combination because the roses will definitely not flourish so you must select the location of your rose garden carefully!
If you are planting a large tree and a rose garden simultaneously, there is every chance your roses will establish quite well because they will send a tap root literally metres straight down into the soil – tree roots will accommodate themselves more in the upper level and provided the roses get adequate sunshine of up to 5-6 hours per day, both the roses and the tree will be happy.
Because you’re continually pruning fruit trees each season, they’ll happily share space with roses in the same garden – veggies are the same.
Where a large tree is overwhelming your rose garden by shade, remember that you can prune it – every tree will respond well to pruning and every gardener has secateurs or a saw to keep the garden in balance – don’t allow a large tree to dominate your rose garden to such a degree that the roses suffer by not flowering constantly throughout the flowering season.
Very importantly, when you’re establishing your garden remember that from small things, big things grow … be wise in your planting design!
ROSES OF THE WEEK
Firefighter - This glorious rose with tall single stems of the most highly fragrant dark red will be a joy to all rose gardeners.
Graham Thomas - Is a magnificent David Austin rose of creamy golden yellow blooms continually on a very large, healthy shrub which is suitable to grow as a hedge-row 1.5 x 1.5 metres.
Charles de Gaulle - Hybrid Tea rose, large multi-petalled, unique warm lilac mauve/blue – one of the finest of all the older mauve roses.
Soeur Emmanuelle - Produces an abundance of lilac pink, highly fragrant blooms which are massed with petals and make a beautiful display in a vase.
We happily offer a free rose garden design consultancy – email your thoughts and wish list of varieties to Diana at info@rosesalesonline.com.au with photos sent to 0418 337765 and between us, we’ll assist you to create the rose garden of your dreams.
Q. What bird is useful in boxing matches? A. Duck!
Have a happy, cosy week while you look at the rose garden and contemplate where you might plant another rose this winter … don’t prune yet but let the roses harden up with this winter cold spell as they love the rest too!
Cheers from all of us at Silkies Rose Farm, Clonbinane