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| Veterans Honor |
Walmart put mulch on sale for $1 a bag, so I loaded the Ichaboat, with Sassy supervising. She enjoyed a drive-through at McDonalds, where the girls at the pay and at the food windows grinned at her. Yesterday she saw 10 friends, including several new ones. The kids waiting at the bus stop love to pet her.
Our helper is helping me kill a new section of lawn with cardboard boxes flattened, held in place by the new mulch. When we were done he discussed needing more mulch at his house, so I promised a bag dropped off later today.
I know his wife loves red roses, so I got a Walmart cup with water and cut a perfect double Veterans Honor rose for her. The first rose to bloom on the stem looked just like the photo above. The second one was a bud just opening and ready to complete the bloom (five sepals open). The sepals enclose the bud, and if only four are open, the bud will not bloom.
No question, that rose was a keeper. I gave lots of extra rainwater to that rose. The bush is growing along the driveway, so we get to see it close-up. But the best gift is the one we want for ourselves. And we still have a few dozen roses growing and blooming.
The KnockOuts have been heavily pruned during the summer, several times. One shrub is reaching toward seven feet tall. They bloom fast and the flowers wither fast, so frequent pruning is good, and severe pruning is best. Norma Boeckler has had the same robust growth from pruning her KnockOut bushes.
We are still in Japanese Beetle season, so I try to get blooms cut before they get destroyed by the pest with no enemies but man. I was able to get two vases for the chiro at once and could have delivered a third to the medical practice the next day. The roses are for sharing, so I prune the deadwood, discard the bad blooms, and choose the best for gifts.
The roses I praise may not perform the same way in other climates. One way to find out is to ask local gardeners which ones grow the best. But this is definitely true - the ones that get the extra rainwater will outperform the rest. Rain is God's liquid fertilizer, mild and effective, benefiting the plant and the ocean of life in the soil that was engineered to care for the plant.
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| Easy Does It - grows as strong and vigorously as Mr. Lincoln. |
