Sprawling Lady of Shallott, Zone 9a
So my LOS was planted in late February as an own-root bareroot. Already she is taller than me in her pot. The "bigger in Texas" cliche. But she is also now sprawling in a very Houstonian manner.
In addition, she seems to be putting out flowers too fast this round. Most of her lateral growth is fairly new, from after an April flush of 5 okay-sized blooms. She has many more buds now, but 3 of them appear to have opened much too early and are small, though not quite bull-nosed. And they're much more pink than the first flush:
LOS is my tallest plant, but the one with the smallest leaves. I don't know if she has a nutrient deficiency, or hasn't been getting enough water in this heat even though I deep-water just about every day, or something else. She definitely needs more potting mix. I've been giving her bloodmeal, fish emulsion, and other stuff (that she doesn't like as much as the first two) in small doses. What else should I do to make sure she's happy? Or is this all perfectly fine for this cultivar?
Comments (7)
7 years agoSounds like typical LOS if you ask me. I am in your same zone (but different state). Yes, she is sprawling and lanky. Yes, she puts out different color blooms depending on her mood. Sounds like you are doing everything right, it is just the way this rose is in our climate.
LOS first year own root with very orange bloom
LOS second year (I put her in a pot to move her eventually to a different part of the yard where she would get less sun). Notice the color change (we also had just had a down pour as well)
Notice the pink color on her?
Back in the ground again, third year, spring. See how long and lanky she is? I prune her each year in late winter down to about 2 feet and this is after a few weeks and first spring flush. She gets BIG in our climate. So relax. I think your plant looks great and you are doing nothing wrong. It is just the temperament of LOS. She couldn't decide between Lance and King Arthur and she is changes her mind regarding what color and size (between US and England) she wants to be.
BTW--love the Houston comment--it is so true! I wouldn't prune her but when the flowers are spent, cut back to the first or second set of 5 leaves and she will sprout again. You can prune her really well next spring.
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- 7 years ago
Mine are still more pale and pink, and small. I wonder if the size might also be due to the beginning of the summer heat.
- 7 years ago
For me, this year, she has decided to be orange again. In the heat we get here (110-115 degrees in the summer), she doesn't produce much so I would consider the beautiful blooms on yours to be due to your great gardening skills. Congrats and enjoy the booms! Yes, blooms, for me, are always smaller in the summer heat.
This picture is of my front, side yard and since we have zero lot lines, my neighbors front walkway. You can see where my yard ends and theirs begins by the gravel on the dirt. I actually threw (before new neighbor moved in) some old gravel of mine on there to keep the weeds down. No one has "gardened" there for the past 16 plus years that I have been in my house.
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