Glad to hear your roses are doing well.

What is "Hump Day"?

Thankfully we have no water restrictions cuz the temps are in the 100s--I swear all I do is water, water, water.

Kate

Hi krazyjorge,
Thanks for asking, my day wasn't fantastic, my company is undergoing a major reorganization and everyone is stressed out. However, last night I gave all the roses some Neptune fish and seaweed blend, so hopefully they are all happy even if I'm not. Puttering with the roses really puts me in a great mindset after a long day at work. Most of them are blooming except for two of the new bands I got at the Vintage sale last month--Fred Howard and Ibiza.

Thank goodness we don't have water restrictions, although we probably should here in So Cal. Other than that, I am about to SP The Pilgrim and plant either Smoky or Belle Epoque in its place.

Oh yes, and I had a weird bloom on Chicago Peace. I've never seen one with that much light color. The bush has RMV if that matters.

{{gwi:322020}}

Kate, Hump Day is Wednesday. I first learned that as a teenager when I began listening to classic rock stations! Usually the radio announcer would say--And now something to get you through the Hump Day!!! Followed by Led Zeppelin's When the Levee Breaks or somesuch. Just to get you closer to the end of the work week.

Kathy

Oh, thanks for the info, Kathy. Don't know how I missed that, but sounds cool to me. : )

Kate

Jorge,
First day back to work after vacation, bummer. But hey I have a job that I love, roses in my garden and I've lost 18 pounds, so what is there to complain about. Thanks for asking.
Nancy

Yesterday was hot and humid as usual, but hey, it's southeast Georgia in August. Big storm last night, and power out for three hours. The lightening show was truly spectacular. Today, at 11:30 AM, it's business as usual, already 86 degrees, but a bit less humid. After last night's delivery of over an inch of rain, I won't have to water until Thursday, water restrictions, at the earliest. However, unlike you, I am NEVER bored. There is always something to do. Ciao.

Hi Jorge,

glad to hear that the Conserve worked on your Thrips--they ruin a perfectly good flower. You are pretty amazing to be working outside in the heat. Here it is too hot to garden right now except around sunset. :(

Having fun,fun,fun under the Florida sun.The weenies better retire to Yankee land[Ga.and north]if they can't handle a little heat and humidity.

ooh no Im not that crazy to work during mid day, Im usually working during the day, but I sprayed at night because I KNOW my roses will burn if I spray in the heat of the day.

It is so hot here right now. This is the time of year when we see 100+ temps here and there, so we have to be careful that the roses get plenty of water and don't get sunburned in the process by wetting leaves during the heat of day.
I had to water since it has been too long between rains. So, I decided to fertilize with my cocktail of Miracle-Gro, Superthrive, Epsom Salts, a Ferti-Lome acidifier/fertilizer, and fish/seaweed emulsion. I usually include Response to the mix instead of the acidifier, but I was out of Response so I need to order more. The acidifier was suggested to me by the very knowledgeable rosarian at my local flower nursery. It certainly didn't hurt that the stuff was 1/2 off regular price. I have found this stinky fertilizer cocktail to really encourage new growth including basal breaks. It also seems to really green up the foliage on the bushes and encourage the individual leaves to be somewhat larger than normal which I like. More leaf surface exposed to the sun means more photosynthesis and thus healthier and more vigorous bushes.
I use my EZ-FLO Fertilizer Injector hooked to my drip irrigation system over a three hour watering to dispense to the plants. That gets the individual bushes watered and fertilized very deeply by it's own shrubbler emitter all at the same time without getting the foliage wet and then sunburned in this heat. This process also helps prevent blackspot since the foliage doesn't get wet as a general rule, except maybe just a few at the very bottom of the bush. It also saves on my sweaty labor by not having to mix this cocktail up individually per bush. It is so much quicker and efficient in my book, and that is a very good thing indeed.
Anyone who has as many roses as I do should seriously consider using a drip irrigation system. I water in 9 different beds/zones. I have beds of 7,10,22,22,25,24,30, 16,and 14 roses in each one.
I do still have to individually a couple of smaller beds/plantings and of course the ever present pot ghetto. The pots have to be hand watered and fertilized though I do have an idea of how I just might be able to work out a system for those as well. That would be so cool and designing and doing it yourself makes it that way. When it cools down this Fall, I will work on that project. This would be especially helpful in the long run as the pots/containers have to be watered so much more often as they dry out very quickly. If you aren't especially vigilant you can lose some potted roses very quickly by letting them dry up in this heat.
I enjoy my watering chores by doing this and call it my therapy since I am unable to work and need something to keep my interest and increase my activity level. I hate daytime television I get all my drip irrigation supplies from DripWorks. I find their products very high quality, easy to work with, and very reasonably priced. And the benefits I get using the drip irrigation is unmeasurable in my book. You really should consider using a drip irrigation if you have multiple bushes in multiple garden beds.
John