Project 2023 Front Rose Garden

Reply to: For 2 gallon pot, I use 2/3 cup gypsum (1/3 cup per 1 gallon). For 1/2 gallon of water, I use 1/2 TBS of gypsum since it releases its acid (sulfur) fast in a solution, less is best. When I root roses, I follow U. of CA at Davis instruction of 1/2 coarse sand and 1/2 vermiculite .. it's fluffy yet hold moisture. I left that fluffy-mix outside for 1 year, and the acidic rain washes down the calcium .. I found whitish powder oozing out of the bottom of pots. I was about to re-use that fluffy soil mix, but it got hardened, so I had to mix in gypsum to make it fluffy again. Alkaline soil can be fluffy IF high in calcium (like desert sand being high in both calcium and phosphorus). Acidic soil gets sticky and hard when rain leaches out calcium, leaving behind magnesium and potassium on top. Calcium leaches out faster than magnesium and potassium. When our house was first built in 2000, it was brand new top soil around the house. New top soil is rich in nitrogen and calcium .. I planted tiny trees and they shot up to over 30 feet fast. I didn't have much dandelions back then with alkaline clay (rich in calcium). Fast forward to 2021, with 2 decades of high rain (at least 38" rain plus 23" of snow), plus my 6 rain-barrels, the dandelions become invasive. Googled and found that dandelions thrive in acidic clay, so I spread 50 lb. of pelletized lime (100% calcium, no magnesium) on my lawn. Dandelions gone instantly. Previous years my hands bled from digging up hundreds of dandelions despite using spreader for Weed & Feed lawn fertilizer 4 times per year. Alkaline clay can be fluffy IF high in calcium like the bagged top-soil I got from Ace Hardware. I tested its pH using red cabbage juice and it's near pH 9 (that of Lime). Clay here is high in magnesium so it's VERY STICKY and clumps together in hard chunks (the size of lemons and grapefruits) .. so Ace's bagged soil solved that problem by adding cheap lime (100% calcium) to make soil fluffy. This soil made my grass 3 times taller and much darker-green, thanks to the calcium added. Farmers in the Mid-west routinely use lime in spring to boost nitrogen fertilizer. I bought Oyster shell from Amazon and tested it by soaking in acidic rain water (pH 4.5) for 1 week, it didn't dissolve. In contrast, pelletized lime (100% calcium) dissolved instantly in rain-water, same with Garden lime dust (22% calcium and 12% magnesium). Stores here are sold out fast on pelletized lime (husband got me 2 bags since they were wiped out, cheap at $5 per 50 lb.). For ALKALINE and sticky clay, gypsum (calcium sulfate) is best. My clay is acidic on top (where rain water could not drain well), but alkaline at bottom with dolomitic stones. So I use gypsum at bottom of the planting hole to corrode the rocks for faster drainage. My neighbor made a mistake of spreading acidic gypsum ON HER GRASS and it CORRODED the roots of her grass .. they came down with fungal diseases. Same with my mistake of spreading gypsum on top of roses during acidic rain .. too much acid and roses broke out immediately in blackspots. Here's a bouquet of Princess Charlene de Monaco picked this August 6, colors turn darker after I pry off the cement chunks of high-magnesium clay, and replaced with fluffy soil mixed with biochar (high in calcium and potassium). PcdM opens all 10+ blooms at once in this hot August: PcDM are the pinks upper. Dark pinks are Dee-lish. Yellows are Moonlight Romantica. Blue is Poseidon. Dee-lish and Poseidon are continuous bloomers since blooms open one at a time. Pic. taken this August 6:

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Reply to: Flowers (Andrea): Good news is that calcium leaches easily downward, more so than potassium and magnesium (I spent 1 hr. checking on-line). What I did to PcdM this week was to pry off the hardened clay on top and replace it with fluffy soil (pre-mixed with gypsum). I have a spot where I put hardened-clay and work in gypsum .. after a few rains the soil becomes fluffy and I use it to top roses. The color of PcDm went from white to deeper pink, will post pics. later. In months of no-rain like August and Sept., the alfalfa meal topping glued up with my clay into cement blocks, blocking water from reaching down. Gypsum has sulfur (rain also supplies sulfur), and the sulfur in gypsum makes calcium SOLUBLE to move downward to roots. Potting soil also becomes hardened without rain, so I have to mix in gypsum in advance to make potting soil fluffy. Gypsum softens soil, versus hydrated lime (in my alkaline tap water at pH 9) hardens soil. Carol put Garden Lime (11% magnesium and 22% calcium) on top of her pots to neutralize the acidity of alfalfa pellets, and she also reported lime hardens the top of her pots. Calcium and sulfur leach down fast with watering, so what's left above is sticky magnesium which hardens soil on top. Nearby alkaline rose park top-dressed their roses with gypsum in spring.

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Reply to: Ann: sounds like your soil is high in magnesium, and deficient in calcium. Calcium is what separates soil particle and makes it fluffy. Desert sand is high in calcium and phosphorus: calcium makes soil loose and fluffy, and phosphorus mobility is best in sandy soil. My black gumbo clay at pH 7.7 was tested exceedingly high in magnesium .. my clay is impossible to dig when it's dry, but becomes wet mud (easy to dig) after rain. One year I put the entire 40 lb. bag of gypsum (calcium sulfate) to break up my rock-hard clay. A year later that place became fluffy like sand, but it could not hold moisture like previous sticky clay !! Lesson learned, I only put gypsum AT THE BOTTOM of poor-drainage clay to speed up drainage, but not too much on top since I want a good ratio of magnesium to hold moisture. Magnesium is what makes clay sticky & glue particles together, and calcium is what separates soil particles & make it fluffy. Calcium leaches out from soil during high-rain more so than magnesium and potassium. So what's left on top is sticky magnesium which makes it hard to dig when dry. Sulfur also leaches out during watering, and plants with less sulfur become stunt with pale leaves.

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Reply to: Do you have sticky & dense clay, loamy & fluffy soil, or sandy soil? With 46" average rainfall, that will leach out calcium big time. My soil pH is 7.7 (lots of dolomitic rocks that raise the pH), sticky black clay tested high in magnesium, and soil test recommends gypsum (calcium sulfate). Gypsum does not change soil pH is applied months in advance to let the acid (sulfur) pass down to below. With high rain, gypsum is so acidic that it corrodes roots instantly, so I never apply gypsum directly on roses (induced instant blackspots when I did so). Recent years we get over 40" of rain plus my six 50-gallon rain-barrels, so I use lime pellets on top of certain own root roses that like alkaline, and the result is fantastic. Potassium shifts bloom color to the purple range, so sulfate of potash always make my Big Purple (8th-year-own-root) more purple. It died in 2019, and I got a 2nd one to replace.

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Reply to: Here is list from 2018 catalog

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Reply to: @dirtygardener, I am getting own root, David Austin English shrub and climber roses. All of which are vetted by David Austin for Zone 10b, shade, heat and humidity. All of which have a least some resistance to Black Spot if not better. Some also have resistance to powdery mildew as well. When you buy from DA direct, there's a great warrantee so long as you pick the right varieties, and follow their planting instructions or better. I'll be documenting with pictures as I go - cause it's fun to do so, and so that if the roses do not succeed - I can either get a different or replacement. It's really hard to get DAs on Fortuniana root stock these days, now that DA has set up it's own distro here in the states (Cool Roses used to distro for DA here in Florida - grafted onto Fortuniana). Now unfortunately, that is no longer an option. Yes OGR or OGR heritage for sure. The best rose I ever had was Prosperity, a white, hybrid musk bred around 1919. Unfortunately, we had back to back hurricanes hit us within 2 weeks. Took out trees and the arbor, smashing the 20' climber to the ground. In my ignorance at the time... I shoveled the remains thinking it was surely dead. It likely wasn't. I could have hard pruned the splintered canes back to 3 foot or so, and installed a new arbor. Ah well... I learned. Miss that rose. I'll be planting them north-east facing, for the drying breezes and morning sun. Many will be protected at least somewhat from the afternoon scorching sun. All spots will get at least 5 if not 6, hours of sun (varies between winter/summer of course). All except the big climbers, will go in giant pots I'm making. They are 55 gallon, food grade, plastic drums which I have cut in half, then painted a light brown/terracotta color. There's about 4" of styro chunks at the bottom of each container (drainage), a layer of kraft paper then potting soils-etc. The insides are lined with small cell bubble wrap so no roots will touch the potentially hot sides of the container. Grin. Pots will be sitting on top of Concrete blocks that are partially sunk in the ground, drain holes drilled on lower sides - not on the bottom. Pots will not be touching soil, but set above with airflow underneath for more cooling. I'm putting an extra foot between roses, accounting for mature width +1'. I'm not 'stacking' roses with one behind another one either - each section of bed is only about 4 to 6' deep so I can get to all sides for pruning, and so those breezes and morning sun can dry off the leaves ASAP. Taller perennials will be planted around, in ground, to mound, create borders, backdrops and 'hide' the little bit of concrete that is above ground. Early am, hand water, roots only... until I am done 'adjusting' any spacing/pots. Then the drip irrigation will go in. It's a huge task... but since I've had to clear down to bare ground - why not? There will not be a better time to do something creative and fun. I have outdoor light poles and outdoor string, greenhouse sized, LED GROW lights to use in any section of bed where roses might need a little extra boost during winter. (I sound like I grow pot or something, but I don't... lol). The electric is already in ground. @sharon2079, Nematodes are a battle for sure. My back patio veg garden (not only raised bed... but raised up on TABLES so there's NO chance of fabric grow pots touching the ground... and I still got Root gall nematodes (obviously from a plant I brought home instead of growing from seed...). After trashing all those plants to the far back woods... I then baked all that soil, in my oven at 325 degrees for 2 hours. The fabric grow bags got tossed. I've now used Monterey Nematode control on the veg garden beds and on the back yard and side yards where we have the most grubs, moles. The front yard where the rose garden is getting installed isn't that bad - yet last week I put down 3 different kinds of live beneficial nematodes to go eat any grubs, bad nematodes, fly larvae, etc. I'll treat again in the fall after the roses are established. Hopefully, I've more than covered any questions. At least so far. There's a lot I am still thinking about, asking questions, reading the forums here. I'm super thankful to the many great gardeners and rosarians who are graciously advising on what's worked for them, what's not... etc.

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Reply to: Kimberly, Ha Ha, sooooo many typos…. correction, ” Nahema does (not dies) well in humidity, “ Kimberlina at J&P, is the rose….. it’s bushy…. not a ground cover to me…..she blooms a lot easily. Typing while sleepy…… Parfuma Bliss is great in humidity/sun. Julia Childs does well in sun/ humidity! I have a few more roses that do well in humidity if you need more? I am experimenting w/ DAs that are usually BS resistant….. I have James Galway, Olivia, Mayflower, Heritage, Roald Dahl, Desdemona, Eglantyne, Eutasia Vye, Silas Marner-these do the best. i have other DA, but they may get BS in humidity. These DAs all need sun. (Well, Olivia tolerates shade but will bloom less. ) Years ago, I started with 2 mini tree roses, had no clue how to care for them. Then I read a book on roses and bought 15, then 30 roses. I guess 30 roses was my staple for years. But then I had a goal of 50 for this new home property 6 years ago , & later now 120+, Oops!!!!!! I cant resist all the amazing varieties….. wanna see them all!!!!!! Soooooo addicted! LOL! I’ve been rose gardening for 36 years & now I want it ALL! Lol! Abd this firum isnt helping w/ my addiction, Lol! Happy to have you join us! Lol! What a joy! What an exciting new gardening endeavor you have planned, Kimberly! Enjoy! ENJOYING Everyones photos, Diane’s Nasturiums, !!!!!

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Reply to: I get horse manure twice a year. I also had leaves from a banyan and sausage tree.... as well as the flowers that drop from the sausage tree..... The earthworms love the flowers.... At one time I read to put down cardboard to keep grass out.... that DOES NOT work here in Florida. We have grass that grows from rhizomes that just come up through the cardboard..... but I do find if I put down cardboard in spring and then put the leaves over it the leaves will not only stay in place better, but the ground will stay moister and does not turn hydrophobic as much.... I also have a problem of hydrophobic soil if I don't water often.

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Reply to: Do you have any leaves? If not, get the best composted manure you can afford. For roses, I like Black Kow, but any good, composted manure will do. It has to be composted or it will burn the roots! That's why I only buy the bagged compost. We used to use organic peat, but it's not sold anymore. Dig the hole twice the size and 3 inches deeper than the root ball. If it's bare root, that's another story. I'll put that into a separate post. Put enough manure into the bottom of the hole to lift the root ball up to about an inch above the top of the hole. Fill the hole with water TWICE and let it soak in. Add back about 1 inch of the soil you dug out, then 1 inch of manure, repeat until the hole is half full, then fill the hole with water and let it soak in. Layer like this until you are about one inch from the top of the hole, then fill with water twice and let it soak in. Fill the last inch with manure. Take the handle of your shovel or a stick and poke it into the soil all the way around the plant many times to make sure there are no air pockets. Add native soil to the top and tamp down well with your foot. Add mulch but DO NOT LET IT COVER THE GRAFT. If you do, the top will die. After it's mulched, water the mulch well so it doesn't suck up moisture from the soil The manure will feed the plant until it's established, so don't fertilize for at least 8 weeks. Water every other day for two weeks, three times a week for two weeks, two times a week for two weeks, then once a week every week you don't get one inch of rain. You can fertilize after eight weeks. Every year, remove the mulch and add 3 inches of compost (can be homemade) or manure around from the dripline to within one inch of the trunk. Replace the mulch and water well. This will replace the organic matter that disintegrates in the soil.

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Reply to: @LauraLG Z5b-NwPA HI, I see you are in PA with humidity. and again looking at your leaves…. they were overall way lighter green leaves than a healthy Queen of Sweden, sone yellow, and dark green veins & partial dark green leaf w/ light green spotches. Your rose bush had nutrient deficiences. i would recommend a balanced nutitional orogram is needed for your rose. Balanced organic living soil and balanced organic fertilizers I consider most beneficial for a thriving rose. Many nutrients work together to create a balance that feeds the rose well. Too much of any nutrient or too little can cause rose to show problems…..too much acid, too much potash, too little nitrogen etc , then rose becomes imbalanced and all sorts of problems…. diseases… blackspot … yellow leaves… too light green leaves….mottled leaves can be distressed… little blooms or no blooms….insects prey on it more.….more diseases. Thus an unhealthy rose. Nitrogen deficiency-light green to yellow leaves, poor stem growth, slim small leaves-green growth hampered. Too much N itrigen however causes burn! . Phosphorous deficiency is seen in lessened or sm rose blooms and poor root growth. Diseased, too much insect damage, or mottled leaves may be Potassium deficiency which aids in overall health. Less trace elements such as iron, magnesium, sulfur, calcium, & other micronutrients and leaves curl, veins are dark green but leaf lighter green … a number of issues can be created by an imbalance. Your leaves look like they have seceral issues, generally an imbalance of nutrients. I suggest a balanced organic fertilizer to be used to cure a rose problem usually. I like Straw suggesting Espoma Rose Tone & ( Plant Tone is good alternative) . I love the organic smell of these Espoma fertilzers telling me they have real chicken manure, real alfalfa, real bone meal and more real organics in them. It is great for anending the soil so it drains better, too. Also, organics amends the soil by adding these non-processed ingredients helping microorganisms such as bacteria, fungus, nematoids, micorrhizae to live in the soil and grow and process soil. Worms then like the soil better to do their processing of the soil so that soil is able to pass nutrients to your roses!!! Chemical fertilizers do not help amend the soil and they add salt to the soil which does not help it to be ”living soil.” Authentic organic fertilizers added to the soil help it to drain better passing nutrients to your roses as well. and help roots to grow in soil. I am careful to not suggest adding individual nutrients as sometimes it is over or under done. Instead, I suggest establishing living soil for your roses and a balanced organic fertilizer regimen. Also, it is recommended 2 times a year to test your soil in your beds for acidity & nutrients in varous places as soil erodes nutrients in different places and creates imbalanced soil in different parts of your property.. Sometimes adding a little extra nutients of a specific variety is essential to fix a nutrient deficiency.,. When soil is tested , at that time, you will know if a particular nutrient ir more are imbalanced. Potassium is -good for “all around good rose health, vigor, disease resistance and preventing insects damage.” Insects & disease are less likely to prey on healthy roses. And balanced nutrition will make the healthiest rose w/ organic living soil and organic fertilizers on a regular regimen. @strawchicago z5 Thank you for your suggestions-Wonderful! I like the idea of adding sulfate iof potash (potassium) to improve the overall health of the rose to fight off BS & mildew, diseases! Postassium certainly helps with disease resistance! Since potassium is good for “all around rose health and vigor” , , it also, would help with recovering a rose after a flush to bloom eventually.

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Reply to: Good Afternoon, I wish I had time to catch up….. I see soooo much of your gsrdening transpiring…. wanna keep up!! Maybe later tonight…..but I comment on the photos…..BEAUTIFUL GARDENING! Diane, Love your wild Daffs-don’t know their variety???? I gave all yellow daffs-dont know tgeir variety either, Lol! Nice wild cone flowers! Trish….. Love your pond-My, that’s work! And beautiful variegated Brug,Bougainvillea! In CA I used to have Bougainvilleas-they are beautiful!, And your mandevilla!!! Your potted Brug looks manageable-hope my 2 potted Brugs will be manageable, too-not too big, Lol! Love your photos! thanks for sharing. And happy Anastasia wants to go outside in a coat-…in anything! freezing cold or warmer-Anastasia loves the outside, Lol! Carol, Hi, Where are you! Buried in Holly’s new home? Kristine, Kimberly, Yes, we are the rose enablers! I planned on having 50 roses,,too. I now have about 122, must recount, Lol! Kimberly, Kordes roses are great for humidity. i have several excellent in shade. I’ll text you later on it. SultryJasmine lives in Florida & has great success….. she may comment for you? @sultry_jasmine_nights (Florida) What are your best roses for Florida shade, humidity, sun sun? Can you help Kimberly above! Kimberly, Plum Perfect, a lilac Kordes , does well in humidity & shade! Cream Veranda is great fir shade/humidity! Also, Pomponella,fushia, is great & almost climbs.Summers Romance, Beverly, Wedding Bells, do well in sunny humidity. These were all Kordes. Olivia, a DA, does well in humidity. Jasmine, a Kordes, is exceptional climber in humidity. Nahema does (not dies)-update) well in sun, humidity Kimberly, there is a Kimberlina Floribunda rose, from J&P does really well…. sun/humidity, some shade. Our Lady of Guadelupe is good. I have more…. write later….. getting ready for work now….

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Reply to: Unless you're soaking your soil in concentrated chlorine, I doubt it. Chlorine dissipates pretty quickly when exposed to the air so the low levels your water contains likely does little to your soil. Of course your soil goes back to sand quickly. The hotter it is, with sufficient nitrogen and soil moisture, the faster the soil bacteria and fungi "digest" the organics. If your organics disappear quickly it means you have LOTS of biological activity going on "eating and digesting" all of that material. Keep feeding it! If there were issues where the chlorine was damaging or destroying your soil organisms, that organic material wouldn't be digesting out so quickly.

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Reply to: Kimberly, thanks for the info on the rose potting soil. There is so little difference among high quality potting soils that I think this is just a racket to charge more for so called specialized potting soils. I've used Plant Tone and Holly Tone on my roses for years. Rose Tone is always more expensive, and the proportions of NPK are only a tiny bit different. As far as my roses go, they perform the same whether it's Holly or Plant Tone, and I'm not paying extra for the Rose in front of the Tone on the plastic bag. And that's how I feel about rose potting soil. I use the same high quality potting soil for everything I pot, Black Gold Potting Soil. Diane

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Reply to: I have a comment about weed seeds, or any unwanted seeds. I use a product called Preen, but there are others - they prevent the germination of seeds, but do NOT hurt plants already growing. So, obviously not something you use if you are hoping nearby plants will self seed. However, I have used it forever, and it works fantastically. I only mulch my roses once a year (right after pruning or trimming them, whenever that happens - in a warm climate I can do that most anytime). First I deal with the pruning or trimming, and remove any weeds or nearby ivy or bulbs which have crept too close to the base of the rose. Then, I water the rose well. Then, I sprinkle a handful or two of Osmocote on the soil under the rose out to the drip line of the rose (my theory is that this will provide nitrogen while the compost is decomposing further, and both of them will feed the rose). Then, I put a layer of at least 3 inches of home made compost my DH makes on top of the soil out to the drip line, of course keeping at least 3-4 inches away from the base of the rose. Then I sprinkle Preen or some similar product all over the top of the compost, and (very important) water it in. Voila - done for the year. By the time a year has gone by, the compost has fed the rose and turned into soil, so I repeat the process. I also use Preen on bare soil if, say, an area has just been weeded and is all clean. It has worked like a charm always, and although nothing is 100%, it reduces the amount of new weeds by certainly 95%. Regarding my DH's compost. Our property is a city lot of only 1/3rd of an acre, but we have a lot of mature trees, most of which are deciduous. He makes it from grass clippings and shredded leaves (the small leaves don't need to be shredded - just the large oak leaves) from the trees in a very large sort of raised bed place he built in the back of the lot, which he can leave open to the rain, or cover with a thick plastic sheet to let the compost rot and get hot underneath. Then when the Fall cleanup has produce MORE leaves, etc, he bags up last years crop which has sat for 12 months already, and puts it in those huge strong black garbage bags - it usually makes 7-8 of them. It stays in those bags until eventually one by one the bags are dumped into a medium sized plastic garbage can which lives on my wheeled garden trolly, so it is easy to wheel it to where I am working in the garden. One crop lasts me about 12 months. So, there is always one bagged crop aging further, and one new crop in the compost raised bed, while the trees grow another crop of leaves... I like it because, after sitting for 12-24 months it is the darkest, most wonderful compost, and the roses love it. Also free - what's not to like? Jackie

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