ROSES - Spring/Summer 2023...

Marlorena

Off we go again... please show your roses, even if you only have 1, we would like to see it..  Companion plantings and mischievous garden helpers - all welcome..

After rummaging around my vast acreage of 35 roses, I found my first bud.. accompanied by weird hyena like sounds on its discovery..


..my first Clematis opening.. this is 'Wesselton'..

bullfinch

I love reading the rose thread and look in on it every day , even though my own aren't as wonderful as the beautiful ones I see here. Thank you for starting another one @Marlorena 🌹

Nollie

Yes, thanks for starting the new thread Marlorena, it really feels as if Spring has arrived now.

I spotted my first tiny bud this morning too, hiding at the back of The Prince:


And here’s another shot of my perennials list, this time with photos. I’ve tried various salvia nemorosas but have returned to the first one I ever bought. Caradonna does have a shorter flowering period than some, e.g. Mainacht, but the elegant dark stems and neater foliage won out in the end..




@Alfie_ I forgot to answer your question on the previous thread! The reason I dig in pine bark compost is that it’s very light, so helps a lot to loosen my heavy clay. It’s also acidic, so I also use it as a deep mulch on all rose beds, which, although won’t change the PH as such, an annual application does help to buffer my very high soil alkalinity and hard well water. So although not better for roses in general, I find it certainly helps mine.

Eustace

Thanks @Marlorena for starting this new thread. Ooh, buds, how exciting 🙂 I'm away for the next 2 weeks; so will be living rather vicariously through this thread. 🙂

WAMS

Wow, buds. Think mine are still a few weeks off buds... (...but it would probably be a good idea to prune those final two roses I have been dragging my heels over. Gabriel Oak and Super Excelsa.)

Thanks for the new thread! 

Alfie_

@Marlorena - thanks for starting the thread. Love these rose threads. I was actually thinking of companion planting as I have a lot of roses in pots this year. I’ve seen this one used quite a bit to companion plant with dahlias and I’m growing a lot of these in pots too:

Anyone have this/used it for pot companion planting? 

No buds for me yet but my Summer Sweetheart is looking healthy and full of life. This weekend I put up a training system for it:



Its purpose is to cover up that white patch 😂 I’m hoping the pot is big enough for it to grow that high. 

Has anyone got any rose varieties that would still perform well with just 2 hours of sunlight? Have space in a shady border. 

@Nollie that’s interesting about pine compost. I’m not sure of my soil pH (I should probably measure it). 

purplerallim

Thanks @Marlorena for starting this thread. Hopefully it will be full of everyone's beautiful flowers this summer, can't wait. 😁

cooldoc

And it begins... thanks @Marlorena

Aphid hunting has its perks, as you tend to notice the new buds.. while it is exiting to notice new buds.. these keep teasing us for looong time.. and sometimes open up into an atypical bloom..

Marlorena

..that's ok, thank you.

Masses of buds there @cooldoc  way ahead of most of us I expect.. even Nollie might have trouble keeping up with you this season..  Nice foliage on those too..

@Alfie_
I think a light coloured leaf like your Aralia would go well with some dark roses like Munstead Wood if you happen to have it, or a dark red rose that doesn't turn pink..

If your shady border is not overhung with trees or shrubs and is otherwise open, you might like 'Scented Garden'.. it grows well in my garden with little sun until late afternoon.. but most shrub roses will give you blooms in that location, I would avoid Hybrid Teas.. 

cooldoc

no way I would beat Nollie at that.. would be even later than some of you.. they did the same last year as well, but then remained as buds for ages as the climate wasn't suitable enough...

Marlorena

Hopefully some might open late April? cooldoc..   fingers crossed for those..  Wind is my enemy here and they can get dislodged... sparrows too when they arrive..

'Summer  Sweetheart' looks in good shape.. I think Victoria Sponge has that rose Alfie..

I rather like the name Penstemon 'Cha Cha Purple'.. I would buy that..