re: roses

At 08:23 AM 2/1/01 -0800, Barbara Sargent wrote:
>In answer to Ronni regarding my Heritage rose - it's around
>15 years old and has had large leaves in the past. When it
>starts out the season the leaves and flowers are gorgeous.
>As the summer goes on, though, the rust, blackspot etc.
>emerge.
>
>I do have an understory beneath it: a low growing campanula
>and a small, always reseeding cranesbill.

Barbara -

Berkeley is a very special place for roses - it has a summer climate that 
is not always appropriate for them.  Almost any client I've every worked 
with in this area has had some trouble with their bushes, especially during 
the cool summer and its periodic fog.  (Berkeley lies in the path of the 
fog tunnel that forms as the interior Sacramento valley heats up, sucking 
cooler air in from the ocean, thus bringing the fog with it - you can often 
see the fog a couple of blocks away as you cross town during this time).

Roses like good air circulation, as people have stated, but this is to keep 
things dry around the foliage which reduces pathogen attacks.  Many roses 
are prone to these attacks even under the best circumstances.  Others seem 
to be immune, even when there is a diseased plant next to it.  Shiny 
foliage is often a good indication of this resistance.  Some of the Austin 
Roses do very well in this area, others do not.  Magic Gardens in Berkeley 
used to keep a list of cultivars that people found did well in this area - 
you might check with them (they sell a lot of roses).  You might also check 
with Regan's in Haywayrd(?) which can also get the fog effect.

Apart from being in Berkeley, where the plant is oriented is very important 
- a cool damp mini-micro-climate can easily occur in this congested urban 
area, making for poor rose performance in one bed and excellent in the bed 
adjacent.

I agree with many of the statements here - 'shovel pruning' is often the 
best idea - why not try something new!

Regards,
Sean O.


h o r t u l u s   a p t u s     -    'a garden suited to its purpose'
Sean A. O'Hara        fax (707) 667-1173     sean.ohara@groupmail.com
710 Jean Street, Oakland, CA 94610-1459, U.S.A.
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