Thursday, February 9, 2017

Time to Plan the Roses

Plant, water, prune - Bride's Dream:
Rose farmer's hand to show the size of the bloom.

All the tree trimmings are sitting on the future rose section. Why? Because the rest of the front yard is planted. No grass, just roses and other supplemental plants.

So I am thinking about the next set of roses - for you and for me.

Paradise Rose is front and center.
Whom did they call for a big rose give-away?
The rose farmer.


One suggestion - get multiples of the same variety. I would not start with three or five KnockOuts, but perhaps get one or two later.

Why buy three or five:

  1. Peace
  2. Double Delight
  3. Veterans Honor
  4. Mr. Lincoln
  5. Pink Peace
  6. Falling in Love
  7. Queen Elizabeth?
Bare root roses will bloom in about one month, then take some time for the rebloom (no fertilizer, please). When there is a group of the same variety, a vase of the same color and fragrance intensity is really appreciated.

 California Dreamin' is chasing the Peace bi-color look,
and nobody objects.
All roses are rather weak at first, getting established.
Let the fungus and earthworms do God's work
and future years are really rewarding.


That is why we planted the most of Falling in Love, to have a great supply of a stunning, fragrant flower.

Three roses or five roses, all different, will not bloom the same way.

However, if the readers venture into rose farming, as we have, then the rewards are great. Something is always in bloom, and I can add one stinkin' Lincoln to perfume bomb a vase of Peace, which have no perfume. Most people will put their noses on any rose and smell the aroma. If one rose is fragrant, they get the high no matter how poor their aim is at first.

Falling in Love is difficult to get started but
all the ladies love its delicate white/pink colors and fragrance.
Veterans Honor is staggeringly beautiful in the garden
and long-lasting in the vase, pure red and fragrant.


I am inclined to fill the empty area with Mr. Lincolns. They have strong growth, lots of aroma - perhaps more than any other - and work well as single flowers cut for a vase.

I am not falling for the latest, best rose ever! - after getting plenty of Pope John Paul II, a wonderful white rose for contrast, but only in the garden. In the vase JP.2 fades faster than a sale at Sears.

Queen Elizabeth steals the show whenever it blooms,
tall, stately, ethereal color, perfect flowers.