Garden

[Rosehill_1]

Thank you, JJM. I read through the rose planting steps and understand what you are saying. I will soak the roses overnight. That is interesting about mounding the soil 6" around the canes so that they don't dry out. We will see what happens. Possibly nothing.

[Rosehill_1]

I soaked all the roses tuesday night and they were all planted per the Nassau County Extension service advice. Today it hit 80. I have soil mounded up around the canes with a few inches sticking out. Do you think, JJM, that I should go out and water them again today? There is a slight chance of a thunderstorm tomorrow.

[JustJazzmom]

On 5/8/2014 Rosehill said:

I soaked all the roses tuesday night and they were all planted per the Nassau County Extension service advice. Today it hit 80. I have soil mounded up around the canes with a few inches sticking out. Do you think, JJM, that I should go out and water them again today? There is a slight chance of a thunderstorm tomorrow.

Mounding the canes is done for winter protection of the canes. But since its spring, let those canes be exposed to the air. I would water well weekly, but most importantly, I would apply mulch about a 2" layer with about 4 " of space from the canes so that the soil remains moist and you won't have to water as frequently. It helps to put a rain gauge in the garden to see what the actual amount of rainfall is. Most plants before the summer need at least an inch of water per week to survive so what you see in the gauge adjust accordingly the watering requirements of your plants. With the high temps of summer you will have to adjust the water to more than an inch per week; maybe adjust to 1.5" per week.

From the fact sheet:

(d) Winter protection -

When planting bare root roses or container grown

roses not in leaf, mound the soil 8"

to 10" high around the canes of bush

and climbing roses; 3" to 4" around

miniatures. Remove the soil mound

carefully when new growth is 1-2"

long. Mounding gives protection from

desiccation by sun and wind until

new feeding roots develop; and with

fall planted roses, affords winter

protection.

MAINTENANCE IN

GROWING SEASON

1. Mulch -

Use a 2" to 3" layer of

mulch, such as wood chips, pine

bark, pine needles or oak leaves to

control weeds and to conserve mois-

ture.

2. Water -

Water well once-a-week

with a soaker hose except in weeks

when there has been 1" or more of rain.

[Rosehill_1]

On 5/8/2014 JustJazzmom said:

On 5/8/2014 Rosehill said:

I soaked all the roses tuesday night and they were all planted per the Nassau County Extension service advice. Today it hit 80. I have soil mounded up around the canes with a few inches sticking out. Do you think, JJM, that I should go out and water them again today? There is a slight chance of a thunderstorm tomorrow.

Mounding the canes is done for winter protection of the canes. But since its spring, let those canes be exposed to the air. I would water well weekly, but most importantly, I would apply mulch about a 2" layer with about 4 " of space from the canes so that the soil remains moist and you won't have to water as frequently. It helps to put a rain gauge in the garden to see what the actual amount of rainfall is. Most plants before the summer need at least an inch of water per week to survive so what you see in the gauge adjust accordingly the watering requirements of your plants. With the high temps of summer you will have to adjust the water to more than an inch per week; maybe adjust to 1.5" per week.

From the fact sheet:

(d) Winter protection -

When planting bare root roses or container grown

roses not in leaf, mound the soil 8"

to 10" high around the canes of bush

and climbing roses; 3" to 4" around

miniatures. Remove the soil mound

carefully when new growth is 1-2"

long. Mounding gives protection from

desiccation by sun and wind until

new feeding roots develop; and with

fall planted roses, affords winter

protection.

MAINTENANCE IN

GROWING SEASON

1. Mulch -

Use a 2" to 3" layer of

mulch, such as wood chips, pine

bark, pine needles or oak leaves to

control weeds and to conserve mois-

ture.

2. Water -

Water well once-a-week

with a soaker hose except in weeks

when there has been 1" or more of rain.

Thanks for your answer. I will get a rain gauge. I misunderstood, because under Rose Planting in 5 Steps (bare rooted roses) , number 5 is:

5 Mound soil around and over the plant to 6" deep. This protects canes from drying out. When buds sprout, gradually remove soil mound, probably within 2 weeks or so, checking every 2 to 3 days. Loosen name tag so it does not constrict cane. When vigorous growth starts, ap- ply fertilizer according to manufacturer’s directions. (Do not add a complete fertil- izer to the planting mix. Doing so will delay growth and can injure the develop- ing roots.)

[Rosehill_1]

On 5/4/2014 JustJazzmom said:

On 5/4/2014 Rosehill said:

JJM, Queen of Sweden is beautiful. Thank you for the selection. I can see that there are many roses to consider. And, thank you for the 'care of roses' and 'problems of roses' links. They will be useful information for me to study. Your 'Zephirine Drouhin' rose color just makes me drool if it truly is a raspberry pink. I bet it was beautiful. Unbelievable, the power that Sandy had. So sad for all of the animals, plants, and homes that people lost. Luckily, there were not that many fatalities. How far from the water are you? I think it is great that you were able to donate the rose to the Bethpage Restoration. Perfect for them, as this is an antique rose, right? That is the proper thing to do…. to find a home for plants that are removed. We never did it with the roses we tore out here and I always have felt guilty about that.

I'm pretty much inland, I had a few friends who live in Long Beach and some of their front landscape was wiped out or had a lot of salt water damage,; fortunately for them due to the sandy soils that are along our south shores thanks to that Ice Age glacier, the salt percolated down and the damage was not as bad as expected to plants. Buildings were another story. Old Bethpage Village Restoration is a place in our County where historical residences were moved and preserved. Its not that the actual homes were there previously on the land. 'Zephrine Drouhin' is what is termed an old garden rose (a Bourbon rose according to the rose classification). I am grateful for my many resources so that no plant will go to the compost bin if possible.

We were without power at our house for 14 days and we stayed at my brother in law's (now sadly deceased last year) and at my Dad's house for that time frame (sadly deceased at the 1st of this month!) We knew that we could not rely on the 'kindness of relatives' in the future due to some of DH's health issues and we had installed last year a whole house natural gas generator installed here. We have only lost power for about 8 hours over last summer due to a transformer blowing in the neighborhood since then.

Depending on where you live-- Epsom salts are applied twice during the growing season - 1st application when the roses leaf out completely (towards end of April where I am) and again 2nd application in mid to late July. The granular rose food is done monthly during the growing season so in our area (April, May, June, July & August). No food is given in September or thereafter to start giving the signal to the roses to start storing food for the winter.

JJM, checking in to tell you what I have been up to. I took your advice and put roses in the area you suggested them for. I really wanted to order the varieties you suggested, but had a limited budget to work with, so I bought roses locally. Most are just getting started, along with 4 bushes that are already pretty nice sizes. Most are hybrid teas, with a couple of floribundas. Thanks again for all of your answers when I had questions for you. If the roses all flourish, it should be a beautiful sight. I realize that hybrid teas are not disease resistant and will require some care. I have been reading the organic rose forum on garden web, and there are some good arguments against using chemicals.

I plan to apply epsom salt twice during the growing season like you said above. I may have missed it in another post, but how much epsom salt does one apply? Do you scratch it into the ground or just sprinkle around the rose? What granular food do you suggest to use on the roses, once everything is leafed out? Can you tell me that amount to apply monthly as well?

I have been reading the rose form on garden web and the composted chicken manure sold by Menards is highly recommended. I am not sure whether to use this or the food you are talking about, or both.

[mousiegirl]

If it is a shady area, Hydrangeas like to be against a house for warmth and protection, but most flowering plants/trees like at least some morning sun.

[JustJazzmom]

Rosehill said:

JJM, checking in to tell you what I have been up to. I took your advice and put roses in the area you suggested them for. I really wanted to order the varieties you suggested, but had a limited budget to work with, so I bought roses locally. Most are just getting started, along with 4 bushes that are already pretty nice sizes. Most are hybrid teas, with a couple of floribundas. Thanks again for all of your answers when I had questions for you. If the roses all flourish, it should be a beautiful sight. I realize that hybrid teas are not disease resistant and will require some care. I have been reading the organic rose forum on garden web, and there are some good arguments against using chemicals.

I plan to apply epsom salt twice during the growing season like you said above. I may have missed it in another post, but how much epsom salt does one apply? Do you scratch it into the ground or just sprinkle around the rose? What granular food do you suggest to use on the roses, once everything is leafed out? Can you tell me that amount to apply monthly as well?

I have been reading the rose form on garden web and the composted chicken manure sold by Menards is highly recommended. I am not sure whether to use this or the food you are talking about, or both.

__________________________________________________________

You use about a half a cup of Epsom salts around each rose and you could either scratch it into the soil or let the rain wash it in (if you have mulch down over the area). Ideally its good to remove the mulch, add your fertilizers around each plant and then reapply the mulch. I'm lazy-- I let the rain wash the amendments into the soil.

Feed the roses monthly during the growing season (in Northeast its end of April, May, June, July and August. Stop feeding in August (no September application ) -- you want to tell roses to start going dormant and stop putting out new tender growth. I use Espoma Rose Tone which is organic and I use about a half cup around each rose. Do the Epsom salts in April and again in July. Wait till roses leaf out to apply the fertilizer and the Epsom salts.

Now the chicken manure is a low nitrogen fertilizer and is not a complete fertilizer like the Rose Tone or other rose foods you can buy in nurseries. You can even use seaweed emulsion too (also organic like the chicken manure). It just adds a little oomph to the soil around your roses.

Right now I am dealing with aphids (most are gone now thanks to ladybugs) and am awaiting the rose slugs to start attacking the leaves.

Rose slug and the way the damage looks on leaves.. they hide underneath the leaves. If you see one (they blend in to the leaves as they are green) just squish them. Picture shows them greatly magnified.

[Rosehill_1]

Thank you, JJM, for the epsom salt, rose tone and chicken manure/seaweed information. Sounds like your plan of epsom salts and rose tone is the least complicated. I have never heard of rose slugs. I bet I have had them on roses before and just never saw them- I will be looking now. The lady bugs sound like they really did their job for you.

[NanaS]

WHEN IN DOUBT TRY HOLLIES...........I LIVE IN TEXAS SO OUR GARDENING SEASON AND SELECTION OF PLANTS IS DIFFERENT THAN YOURS BUT HOLLIES ARE DURABLE, DISEASE RESISTANT AND ALWAYS SURVIVE THE COLD. FOR COLOR JUST PUT IN SOME ANNUALS.

[JustJazzmom]

On 5/26/2014 NanaS said:

WHEN IN DOUBT TRY HOLLIES...........I LIVE IN TEXAS SO OUR GARDENING SEASON AND SELECTION OF PLANTS IS DIFFERENT THAN YOURS BUT HOLLIES ARE DURABLE, DISEASE RESISTANT AND ALWAYS SURVIVE THE COLD. FOR COLOR JUST PUT IN SOME ANNUALS.

The Yaupon holly is indigenous to your area.

The English hollies or China hollies can get scale -- commonly called cottony maple scale on the underside of their leaves. Usually pruning to allow for good air circulation helps as well as applying horticultural oil on the entire shrub at the proper time of the year-- as a dormant oil in the springtime to smother the egg cases or as a summer oil to smother the crawlers (offspring of the egg cases)

What cottony maple scale looks like on hollies in the NE: