ROSE RAMBLER 3RD DECEMBER, 2020

ROSE RAMBLER 3RD DECEMBER, 2020

Published by Rose Sales Online on 11th Feb 2021

Summer Roses

ROSE RAMBLER 3RD DECEMBER, 2020
Hello Dear Rose Friends! As we present the second-last newsletter for this year of amazing and unprecedented events – indeed, 2020 will definitely be remembered!

Thank you all for the lovely birthday greetings and I know all of you who purchased my Gra’s Blue roses will enjoy their fragrant flowers for years to come!  You can take up my offer until next week when we post the last roses for Christmas delivery.


Let’s start out with a bit of humour ...
Q. What has three eyes and one leg?
A. A traffic light, of course!


Watering Roses
Now we’re in summer which tells us that water, water, water = blooms, blooms, blooms!  Yes, it’s time to check that all the drippers on your watering system lines are functioning and the timer is set to deliver approximately 20 litres of water per rose per weekly watering interval. During extremely hot weather, extend this watering time to twice weekly.

Water Access
Being realistic, we understand that not every gardener has access to mains water so in areas where water is scarce, know that your roses will possibly go into summer dormancy and not flower. During such times, it is imperative that the bushes retain every possible foliage cover so the bushes can continue to photosynthesise. They may not flower during this dormant spell and you definitely shouldn’t apply fertilizer but rather, retain mulch levels. Even one 10 litre bucket of water per week will almost surely allow your roses to survive even the hottest summer.

Deep Soaking
Where we enjoy the luxury of being able to turn on a tap and apply mains water to our gardens, let’s all remain ‘Water Wise’ and ensure that every drop of water we use in the garden is used sensibly. Deep soak your roses just once a week or fortnight. Some manually irrigated garden beds, here at the Rose Farm, are soaked just monthly and the roses flower prolifically! 

Know Your Soil Type
Get to know your soil type. Sandy soils might need 10 litres of water per rose every couple of days and yet, with improved mulching and compost incorporation, even sandy soil can retain moisture more efficiently. We suggest our beach resident gardeners put a bag of mulch on their weekly shopping list and those who take this advice tell us how rapidly their sandy soil shows vitality with worms, more flowers on the roses and generally their whole garden environment becomes ‘alive’!

Snipping Roses
During summer, one of the greatest joys in the garden is getting out and trimming spent blooms at every opportunity. When the world peeves you, grab your secateurs and go and snip, snip, snip.  With every snip, cut off another worry. Do this consciously and by the time you’ve trimmed a couple of bushes, you’ll look down and see all your troubles in the wheelbarrow to then be thrown in the bin … it works folks, it really does!


Our Top Picks of the Week

Here are a few of our beautiful roses in the nursery now:

Little Wonder: An absolute little ripper of a ground covering rose with one plant spreading low over an area at least 1.5 metres wide but staying low, hugging the ground and flowering non-stop over an immensely long season.  SHOP NOW

Firestar: This beautiful modern shrub rose forms a mound of continually free-flowering bright orange/pink blooms with ruffled petals. The bush is extremely sturdy & very healthy with striking mid-green foliage which adds a delightful foil to the glowing colour of the blooms.  SHOP NOW

Crepuscule: Our most popular climbing/rambling rose which freely produces the most amazing flushes of clusters of apricot blooms which fade to cream and literally smother the bush with flowers throughout the season on relatively thornless canes.  SHOP NOW


Do keep in mind that the last roses to be posted for Christmas gifting will leave Clonbinane on Friday, 11th December.

Talk to you again next week and meantime, go snipping!  Gra, Diana and Mooi