Hello Dear Rose Friends,
By the time you read this, our Melbourne Mail Distribution Centre may be reopened after 48 hours of deep cleaning due to a Covid outbreak there. Yes, it means that our lovely roses are caught up in the foray … however, please know that you have purchased one of the toughest plants available and we pack the roses extremely well!
Your roses will transit ok for at least three weeks and when they arrive, they might look a bit like this:
It’s important that you tend to the roses immediately – undo the packing and soak them in a bucket of seaweed solution – you might leave them for 24 hours or more but a few hours is adequate too!
Trim the roses to relieve pressure of all that growth which has occurred as a result of not seeing sun for days, unable to photosynthesize.
Plant the roses as soon as practicable and then soak with seaweed solution at least once a week for the next six weeks and they’ll very quickly settle in your garden and recover from this ordeal.
IMPORTANT NOTICE From Australia Post
All Parcel Post collections from customers and merchants in NSW, ACT and VIC will be paused from 7am Saturday 4 September until 7am Tuesday 7 September.
The safety of our people is our highest priority and this temporary measure will allow us to responsibly clear record volumes in parts of our network.
Our team will be processing all weekend to reduce these volumes to a safe and manageable level and help free up capacity with ULDs and pallets.
We received this testimonial last week:
“My last order of roses took much longer to arrive than before. I was really worried as they had been posted on a Thursday, but did not arrive until the following Monday week; 12 days later, (no doubt dear Covid has struck again). When I opened the box, I found the roses had been packed so well you would think they had just been sent the day before. They were moist with very healthy new growth/shoots. Well done Silkie Gardens Rose Farm, you do an incredible job of packing and sending your roses. It is plain to see that you care a great deal about your roses, clients, and your business reputation.”
If it doesn’t rain, it pours so I keep reading this quote by Victor Hugo
LAUGHTER IS THE SUN THAT DRIVES WINTER FROM THE HUMAN FACE
With all that’s going on, it’s important to laugh at the little things. Laugh at yourself when you trip over then look back to see who’s watching or walk into a room and wonder why the heck you’re there. See the fun in it when your child is bouncing a ball off the lounge-room wall …
Of course, in ‘normal’ times, your child would know that’s taboo and the incident wouldn’t occur. We’re all living in unprecedented times and circumstances prevail where we must look out for each other and find a moment to laugh! Join in bouncing the ball on the lounge-room wall!
JOKE THIS WEEK:
Q. What does a rose say to a hot date?
A. I’m sexy and I grow it.
Organic Rose Management Program
"Hi, Thanks for the safe arrival of my new bare-rooted roses. I am a novice with roses but I love them and finally decided to have a go at growing some. I have followed all of your useful instructions, including garden bed prep for a couple of months prior to their arrival. My six new roses are in and planted in great looking soil with lots of organic matter. All have leaves now and are looking healthy.
I have bought all of the organic products recommended and will be doing the regular spraying, but I do have a question. If I make up a mixture of solution e.g. Eco Seaweed Powder + Eco Oil insecticide + Eco fungicide powder, does this solution have to be used immediately, or will it keep until next required, in the spray bottle. Given that I only have the 6 roses and am only using a small spray bottle, it still makes way too much for a single application. If it has to be used as soon as it’s made up, is it ok to spray on other plants, e.g. hibiscus’s, fruit trees etc, so that it is not wasted?
Kind regards, Stacey"
My response:
"Stacey ... as you get familiar with exactly how much you require (you'll need more as the leaves appear) break down the quantities to make up exactly how much you need to spray - yes, definitely use the mix on azaleas, fruit trees and other ornamentals and veggies where insect pests and fungal diseases occur - soon we'll all be growing tomatoes and they can succumb to fungus disease ... even pumpkins and lots of other veggies will grow more productively with a run-over spray of the organic management program ... trust your intuition as you enjoy the adventure of gardening.
Don't hesitate to drop us an email if you're unsure ... best wishes ... Gra"
APHIDS
"Not that these pesky critters have yet arrived but we wondering what you would suggest as prevention. Please, we have 180 plus to tend to when they decide to arrive
Pat - Barham on the magnificent Murray River"
My response:
"I would definitely recommend that you spray with Eco-oil at least once a month because it works directly on the larval stage of insects ... if you haven't already started the program, you'll need to spray perhaps on a cycle of today, in five days and again in seven days ...
You can't always see what's going on but if you have had issues in the past, you must have a program in place BEFORE the adult insects have been breeding madly - take a look on google at how aphids breed ... it's staggering!
I promise you, if you're in front of them and you stay on top, you'll be in control throughout the season! Because of all the rain, I think we might have pests of unprecedented numbers this coming season!
Get onto spraying the Organic Rose Management Program as soon as possible ... best wishes and happy rose growing! Gra"
Our Rose Mangement Program
Thank you all so very much for your enthusiastic uptake of our Organic Rose Management Program products – it has been part of our life journey since the very early days of growing roses to limit the use of chemicals. For more than 30 years, we’ve successfully grown beautiful roses using this very simple, economical and effective recipe:
To 10 litres of water add:
- 1 scoop Eco seaweed powder (or seaweed product of your choice)
- ¼ cup Eco Fungicide
- ¼ cup Eco Oil – reduce the quantity in sunny conditions!
Available to post POTTED now!
HOT COCOA - This extraordinary rose should never be planted at the back of the rose garden because you will be drawn to the most unusual array of colours every time you visit with it … early in the season, the buds can be quite orange on the outer petals.
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CROCUS - One of the prettiest David Austin roses which is always in flower - petal-filled buds which open slowly to reveal a swirling mass of clotted cream petals smother the bush continually. A healthy, branching shrub compliments the appeal of this wonderful rose.
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PLAYBOY - This incredibly delightful rose should be more widely planted for its generous ability to produce immense clusters of flowers throughout the flowering season without any care or concern for the weather or however you maintain or neglect it – it’s such a happy rose that was originally named ‘Cheerio’!
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NOTE: We’ll be posting your products as soon as we get back-up stock ourselves and posting is back to normal … everything is slow but please, please be patient and “use your energy to create, not destroy”.
Take care and be safe. If you need to speak with us, please know that email is your most reliable contact … info@rosesalesonline.com.au or silkiegardens@bigpond.com and we will most definitely be in touch with you as soon as we can to assist you to grow beautiful roses.
On this note we send you our love and as we enter spring, let your roses inspire kindness and happiness. Best wishes to you all … Graham, Diana, Mooi and the great team here at Silkies Rose Farm