Such beautiful roses - again. They're so perfect, like something out of a catalog.

How do you take care of them - what fertilizer, spray?

Thank you! I use the Bayer fertilizer for roses and Ortho products for spraying, lots of compost and occasionally use Osmocote for a slow-release fertilizer.

your roses are beautiful! I wish I had that kind of luck. But it's not luck! You definitely have the "touch".

I had one rose last year, completely decimated by japanese beetles. I just couldn't keep up with them. Oh well, at least I can enjoy your roses vicariously!

Oh my, Molineaux is to die for! Gorgeous roses; thanks for sharing!

Austin-mania! They look great. I didn't get many photos before the thrip damage started, maybe next time! Congrats!!!

Thrips! I had so many this year. They ruined everything. I saw one of those little red mites running around with one and I wondered if they would eat them. They are so manic though, I couldn't tell.

Great overshot view. I love that your roses are part of a larger garden. I prefer to see them mixed with other plants. Beautiful.

Lovely pics! Thanks for sharing.

Roses4ever, how well do your austins repeat through the summer?

Loretta, it depends on the particular Austin rose. For instance, Abraham Darby, Pat Austin, Winchester Cathedral, Heritage, Golden Celebration, Molineaux, all seem to be good repeaters. But I also have Evelyn, Graham Thomas, Gertrude Jekyl, Catherine Morley, Othello, L.D. Braithwaite, and I'm sure I'm leaving some out, but these can be a little greedy with their repeats. They will repeat, but it takes them longer to reproduce. It also depends on how much sun or shade they get. The more shade they get, the slower they may be to repeat. It's trial and error on finding the right ones for your garden.

Hi Roses4ever! Don't know if you'll see this so long after your original post, but thought I'd take a chance. Your roses are stunning. What do you interplant with them? I'm a newbie - just odered from Chamblees and Moore's, asked for them to come in the 3rd week of March - I'm in the process of amending my clay soil and getting the beds ready. I just love the look of roses as part of the landscape, not just by themselves.
Thanks,
Leslie

Leslie, you'll have to keep those plants inside until late April. Dormant bare root plants can be planted in mid-March, but potted own-roots will have to go out later. I usually have my potted own-root plants arrive in late April/early May. These are young plants that are not dormant and they will want warmer soil.

Can you contact the vendors and ask them to ship later?

Diane, I just posted a thank you to you for your response to me about the NJ Flower show! Now I need to say thanks again. I will contact the vendors and request a later date-I was thinking it would be fun to spend my spring vacation planting (which is the week after Easter), but not at the expense of my new "green children." I would be devastated to injure or kill my first roses!
So do you interplant any perennials with your roses?
Leslie

Roses4ever and any other rose lover,

I'd love some help from the rose experts on this forum...I will be relocating from Philly to the NJ shore later this month (January) and I am trying to figure out the best way to transport my container grown David Austin English roses (Jude the Obscure, Scepter d'Isle, Old Rose-Louise Odier).

Right now 3 of them are very top heavy (3-4 feet tall, hips on top, not much going on below) and I was wondring if I cut them down to make them more manageable to move, would this be asking for trouble? Also I have a pretty well established climber with much more growth than the others ones I have undone from its arbor, any thoughts on pruning it to prepare this one for transport?

Another question, am I better off leaving them in containers or can I move them to the garden (sandy soil)? And lastly, what zone are we really at the southern NJ shore?

Thanks, any help would be appreciated!