Saturday, November 27, 2021

Getting roses ready for winter

 A video of how I get the once bloomers ready for winter. To be fair though I have only had rose gardens in USDA zones 5b/6a, 7, and 8.I have found that my once bloomers do better when I remove the leaves.  In colder climates mother nature my remove the leaves for you. I didn't remove the leaves from my tea roses because I am hoping that the leaves keep any snow/ice off the canes, or at least the major part of the canes.

https://youtu.be/OOE7BNrP0oE

Tuscany Superb, a once blooming rose, one of which I strip the leaves in the late fall.

Check out these links:



https://all-for-roses.creator-spring.com

https://www.instagram.com/allforroses/

https://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=3.25480&tab=2

Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Thoughts on rose nurseries

 I have seen a few questions about rose nurseries and just wanted to give my opinions on the roses nurseries that I have had experience with, and are still in business. Not in any particular order. I do understand that having a variety of nurseries are important and am not trying to have any negative things happen to any.

High Country Roses- I have gotten several hard to find roses from here. The plants have done fine in their first growing season.  I would say that this is probably the best one to go to of you are looking for roses that will do well in cold climates. I have had good success with this nursery. The owner has been good at remembering conversations and when there were issues he fixed them when he could. Definitely would use again.

Antique Rose Emporium- The two roses that I have from them are doing well. (I got a third one but the rabbits destroyed it.) I found it fairly easy to use the gift certificate for the roses, the only downside was having to place the order over the phone, so I had no way to track it online. 

A Reverence for Roses- Great nursery, especially if you are looking for roses that do well in warm climates, such as Teas and Chinas. I ordered several roses from them when I was in Oregon and they grew very well. At one point the owner reached out to me when the order got delayed due to weather after it had been shipped, so it showed me that the owner was very much on top of it.

Heirloom Roses/Heirloom Old Garden Roses- This one is the one that I am most torn on. The Heirloom Old Garden Roses nursery is where I first bought my favorite rose, Charles de Mills. It is where I bought my first Tea rose. It is the first old garden rose nursery that I had experience with. Heirloom Old Garden Roses I loved. I loved the ability to walk through the display gardens. I loved the couple of yearly big weekends that I went to in August. But then.... They decided to shift focus and started moving away from old garden roses. They changed their name to Heirloom Roses. The business was sold, which I understand happens. Then the new owners closed the display gardens and increased the prices of the roses. With the exception of Heirloom Roses all these nurseries are priced in the 15 to 25 dollar for a plant. Heirloom is roughly twice as expensive. They also strip the rose bushes of the leaves regardless of where they ship to, even 20 minutes down the road. Receiving a leafless rose in mid July for a gift doesn't lead to much success for that rose. I would not recommend Heirloom Roses unless they are the ONLY way to get the rose you want. 

Rogue Valley Roses- I have had good success with this nursery. The roses were healthy, and have grown well.

Long Ago Roses- I am grateful to have been able to use this nursery. They were the only ones that I was able to find The Reeve from. The owner stayed in touch with me during the process of ordering and her growing and shipping to me. She also was flexible when I messed up the address to where the roses needed to be shipped. The roses are healthy and have grown well. ( For the most part, the one that is having issues is due to my specific neighborhood animals and the issues that they present)

Licorice Tea, a plant that I got several years ago from Rogue Valley Roses

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Saturday, November 6, 2021

Gift ideas for rose growers, fans, lovers

 A link for the video:

https://youtu.be/u8SjLwK2ePU

A comment on the tools that I did mention in the video. I have found that it is useful to have the handles of the pruners, saw, loppers and shovel be brightly colored. The reason for this is if you set it down somewhere the bright colors are easier to see than brown or black. 

A few of gift ideas that I forgot to mention in the video. 

I have found that having a greenhouse has been helpful. I have used it for growing cuttings. The one that I have is 56 inches (4ft 8 inches) by 56 inches (4 ft 8 inches) and 77 (6ft 5ft) inches tall.

Rose themed merchandise, such as shirts, hoodies, mugs, etc. Why not wear, drink, carry with you a picture of roses on them? Here is a link for a place that you can get some rose themed merchandise: https://all-for-roses.creator-spring.com

Plant ties. These don't have to be expensive. I use strips of old shirts, pants, any piece of fabric that has worn out the original use.

Plant labels. There are several materials that can be used. You can use pieces of vinyl blinds and write on them with pencil. You can get aluminum strip and use a ballpoint to write names. Also there are different label makers that you can use as well.


Since this is a rose blog here is a picture of some roses. 


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