Re: Easy rose trend
- Subject: Re: [GWL] Easy rose trend
- From: D* G* <d*@kingston.net>
- Date: Sat, 03 Jul 2004 07:49:05 -0400
- List-archive: <http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/private/gardenwriters>
At 12:04 AM 7/3/04, you wrote:
what's the reason for not deadheading Knock Out?
i have been told by a member of one local rose society (Chicago region) that a liquid foliar fertilizer will have dire results on rugosa roses. carolyn ulrich
One of the things I truly love about the gardening world is the way we exchange information. And I mean this seriously. We trade our stories and our plants across fence lines the way old biddies trade gossip and this is truly wonderful stuff.
Having said that (you knew there was more coming didn't you?) <grin> There's a LOT of old wives tales out there - especially about roses, the single most commonly installed plant in the world.
I spent a lot of time when I had my nursery trying to kill plants. Roses in particular where one of my favourites as I would take each old wives tale in turn and do exactly the opposite. Can't foliar feed? OK - let's foliar feed and see what happens (by the way - I've never heard this particular one) Can't overwinter hybrid teas - OK, let's do it. Can't plant deeply - OK, let's do it.
As the importance of this plant is large in our garden history and myth, so too are the fantastic stories about how to grow them and what they will or will not handle. These stories are legion in the gardening world and almost without exception they are the product of somebody's fertile imagination or technique that became a "rule".
People - a rose is a plant. How it grows is pretty much like any other plant. I overwintered tender hybrid teas in a usda zone 4 garden without winter protection of any kind (published a book about it in 1995 called Tender Roses in Tough Climates) Overwintering isn't a problem. I didn't have black spot problems - because of my overwintering methods and my cultural methods (organic - lots of compost teas). Foliar feeding is a common technique - roses don't mind it a bit. They love containers if you water and feed. They do extremely well in hanging baskets. They don't need a lot of pampering or gardens devoted specifically to themselves - surviving quite nicely amidst the general perennial border.
Lon - I've never heard a rose called an "annual" up here in the frozen north but that doesn't mean anything. I'm sure somebody has. It isn't if grown properly it very well might be. The breeders up here have been working since the turn of the last century to perfect hardy roses. Indeed, the very first gardening book published in Canada (1867) indicated that roses needed to be tougher and grown differently to survive in this climate. So we have our Explorer roses and Parklands that are indeed some of the toughest garden roses around. They come with their own particular set of growing needs and results according to my trials.
This all comes back to our previous discussion about do you want "to" garden or do you want "a" garden. <grin> The so-called "easy" roses are perfect for those who have heard the negative press about roses in general but who want a rose - who want "a" garden. So our breeders and marketing folks (let's hear it for the marketing people) <grin> roll out an easy rose or two just for these folks. And good for them I say. It furthers the gardening experience for more people.
Just don't believe all the hype you hear about roses from people who think they want "to" garden <grin> and pass along the accumulated weight of gardening wisdom about the rose.
Saturday morning - a gorgeous day out there and I'm off to sail for the day. Smelling the roses comes in many different forms this week.
Doug Doug Green Award winning writer - making things happen Telling Your Story - Your Way www.simplegiftsfarm.com/clips/clipmaster.html
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