ROSE RAMBLER 15TH OCTOBER, 2020 … Hello Dear Rose Friends, another week zoomed on by, which brings us closer to flowering here at cold, wet, soggy Clonbinane … ooh, the suspense …? I love to walk around the corner near our little ‘summer house’ where climbing roses scramble over the structure – to walk there and see Abraham Darby, Lamarque, Golden Celebration and Pinkie clambering for attention is a breathtaking moment every spring … I can hardly wait.
Our story last week provoked lots of responses like this:
"Hi Di & Graham, I hope you are safe and well. Just in response to Gra’s comments in the latest Rose Rambler on making mistakes and listening to your inner self.
My friend bought roses for the first time and they established beautifully. But then she called me because she found they had some problems with the leaves. It turned out to be Blackspot so I asked her how she is watering. She said she sprays the roses just like rainfall because that was the most natural thing.
I guess rain, while we cherish it, is not always benign. Since she is watering from the roots, her roses have improved.
Best regards, Simone"
I’ll cover watering the rose garden in a later issue but be mindful to keep deep-soaking your roses when necessary.
One of the most important tasks in a rose garden is to mulch. Mulch protects bare soil from harsh sun and provides organic matter to the soil, which in turn increases microbial activity (which we unfortunately cannot see) and worms who are the army of workers down there; aerating the soil and feeding the soil with their castings.
Mulching your garden will of course, aid with weed control and with broken-down pea straw, lucerne and other mulch materials, humus forms the basis of your garden soil. All this aids in the prevention of soil erosion which is one of the major environmental problems in the world today!
I like this quotation by William Wordsworth … “it is my faith that every flower enjoys the air it breathes …”
Some of you will already be dead-heading your roses after the first spring flush so here are my tips for success
- Make sure your secateurs are sharp and clean.
- Every time you head out to the garden, cut a bunch of roses for your home – remember to take a bucket of cold water with you.
- Dead-head evenly around each bush N-S-E-W (direction) this week then 2-4-8-10o’clock the following week/fortnight so bushes are constantly renewing and thus constantly flowering.
- Maintain healthy foliage with regular organic spray program – the more foliage, the more flowers each rose plant will produce.
- Fertilize with a handful of organic fertilizer per bush every 8-12 weeks – spread fertilizer evenly over a square metre of soil for each rose.
Sometimes, roses produce massive water shoots which are prone to break during strong wind so I recommend you trim them as they’re developing. That way, the water shoot will produce side branches and even more flowers than what was originally destined for the one cane.
This Friesia standard rose would have been a more rounded shrub display if the watershoot had been trimmed whilst it was around the same height as the rest of the growth on the bush.
Remember, you’re the boss when it comes to managing your roses and remember too, every rose gardener has a pair of secateurs. Use them wisely and maintain them so they’re always clean, sharp and ready for work in your garden this flowering season!
CARE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE BEST SECATEURS YOU’LL EVER OWN – LOWE 5!
Once a week, during frequent use, open and spray secateurs blade and shaft with surface spray. Leave a few seconds and whilst still wet, scrub all surfaces with steel wool then dunk in warm soapy water to soak. Scrub again if necessary.
Using a fine wire remove all grit from shaft area, rinse and turn upwards to air-dry completely. Run sharpener two or three times evenly along both sides of anvil blade; lightly spray both sides with olive oil.
P.S. Highly recommend you purchase a clip-on holster to avoid leaving precious secateurs in the garden!
Keep smiling as we travel through what might be the last weeks of lockdown here in Victoria and as we all enjoy magnificent roses flowering in our gardens!
Best wishes from Graham, Diana and Mooi at Clonbinane