Roses

[JoceAndChris]

Sorry, I know we don't talk about flowers much on this forum. But I'm so excited to come back after a weekend away and find all the roses kicking off! It's our first June here.

This one the previous owner calls "Derby Day"

And here's an example of "Gentle Hermione", from David Austin ,that I've planted lots of:

This white one is ancient, and has heart-shaped petals:

And this one, pink "Rose of Picardie", is higher than the cottage with a trunk as thick as my arm!

Anyone else want to share any rose porn?

 

[Pford75]

Lovely contrast against our Euonymous.

Just about to burst into colour

Lovely climber from Pete Beales Roses just up the road from us.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Mmmmmm-I'm swooning- divine.

 

[Pford75]

A rather large standard rose

 

[philpjuk100]

Nice roses,whilst on non P.P. subjects how about my sunrise and rainbow(featuring my listed garage!)

 

[yamin]

What beautiful pictures! I feel like I'm watching Gardeners World! Would add porn of my own ( :shock: ) but using an old laptop (for which, think 'wind up', its so ancient!) and it won't recognise my camera!

 

[Nigel Watts]

In London our roses have also been particularly good this year. My technology is also not up to posting pics at the moment; my FTP software and my firewall router seem to be having a major disagreement. In my front garden the Tuscany Superb - an old rose of a deep burgundy colour with a yellow centre - has never been as good. My Madame Pierre Oger is also heaving with blooms.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Really lovely pics, thanks chaps. Abi and Nigel- I insist you get digital cameras compatible with your computers!

It's curious that the roses are so happy when they had such a bitter, prolonged winter. I lost about nine of "The Fairy", a gorgeous floriferous & procumbent ground coverer- - they were under deep snow for ages. Hopefully the rest have been toughened up.

 

[JoceAndChris]

What beautiful pictures! I feel like I'm watching Gardeners World!

:lol: Coming soon on PPGardenUK - Biggest Vegetable Competition. Marrows and cucumbers at the ready everyone!

 

[worms]

our roses have also been particularly good this year.

In a way it is a pity to learn that everyone's roses are doing so well this year, my rambling rose has gone from decidedly sparse last year to looking OK (but by no means abundant!) this year and I was putting the slight improvement down to better management. Seems it may just be climate!

Similarly, my apple tree which had three blossom flowers last year (for the first time ever) has a great show of blossom at the moment and is just coming into leaf. It was so late in showing any buds, I thought it was dead!

 

[Lime]

I like roses but here in The Fens they do not do well, not compared to the roses I used to have in the gardens of my house in London.
There they'd still be blooming in January near the house.
.........Probably a reflection on the amount of heat that escaped from the old single glazed huge windows and the electricity bills that often approached 10,000 KW/hr a quarter.

 

[worms]

I like roses

OK, so Lime likes roses, but do roses like lime?

Would that be why

in The Fens they do not do well...

Which may also explain why my rose is struggling - all my acid-loving plants are thriving and I would assume that the Fens are low pH too?

 

[Lime]

I like roses

OK, so Lime likes roses, but do roses like lime?

Would that be why

in The Fens they do not do well...

Which may also explain why my rose is struggling - all my acid-loving plants are thriving and I would assume that the Fens are low pH too?

Primarily I'd say the problem here is the wind or The Blow as it is called.
Soil obviously has something to do with it too but many roses that are bought begin their life here.

 

[JoceAndChris]

You need to pick your rose for your spot. Wildedric and Wildeve withstand a tough life, as does Harlow Carr, A Shropshire Lass and A Shropshire Lad. Today's roses are so much more disease resistant than older ones.

But if you aren't going to prune, water, feed, mulch, and spray for mould, mildew and greenfly at the appropriate times don't even bother!

 

[Feltwell]

I'd forgotten about "Fen blow". Memories of walking to school as a kid with the soil that the wind had picked up hitting you in the face - a sort of Norfolk equivalent of a sand-storm - really not all that pleasant, it used to get quite bad where we were, right on the edge of the fens.

 

[worms]

But if you aren't going to prune, water, feed, mulch, and spray for mould, mildew and greenfly at the appropriate times don't even bother!

I'm afraid I only get 1/7 on that test! But my garden is a spray-free zone (I occasionally do a soap spray for the aphids, but suspect I only get clean aphids!) and water is not an issue around here. I reckon feed is the main issue and growing out of gravel against the house wall, applying manure is a bit tricky.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Your poor starved roses Worms, it's a wonder they don't up sticks and leave!

You don't need manure, just buy them some rose food next time you're in B & Q- something like TopRose. Feed in Spring after pruning and again at the end of June after flowering.

 

[jocelyn plummer]

I do envy your roses, can't wait for our newly planted to get going!
But we have inherited this ginormous foxglove!

 

[JoceAndChris]

What a beauty! I love foxgloves. Is it really over 5 feet?

 

[jocelyn plummer]

It's about 6ft tall I think!