ROSE RAMBLER 18.1.2018

 

ROSE RAMBLER 18.01.2018 …

Hello dear rose friends – we’ll all cook today as local temperatures climb to 40 degrees so I hope you had an opportunity to deep soak your rose gardens during this past week?  I guess the roses will scorch but the great thing about them is that you can trim them this weekend and they’ll be glorious again within 45 – 60 days.

GRA’S GARBLE …

There are advantages to this hot dry weather – it ‘burns-off’ black-spot and mildew fungus spores which attack our roses during humid weather conditions and when foliage stays damp overnight – as it has most definitely been here during past weeks.

Q.  What lies at the bottom of the ocean and twitches?  A.  A nervous wreck.

Marianne emailed … “Hi and happy new year to your team ..  This summer with waves of high heat and then evening mists here in Braidwood, NSW, my roses have the worst black spot attack in years – l-ast week they had their monthly rose maintenance program as per your recipe but as the infection is so bad i think they would benefit from more frequent anti-fungal treatment.  In writing about black spot in your book you suggest that in humid conditions weekly application may be necessary – do you mean application of the full rose maintenance mixture or just the anti-fungal – I’m using eco-rose – and the eco-oil components mixed into 10 litres? I don’t want to make matters worse by over feeding them!!

My response:  “Yes, I was watering pots in the nursery this morning – we’re all in the same boat and I’m hoping tomorrow’s heat will burn-off the fungal attack … it’s such a difficult time when it’s ever so hot that you cannot apply the spray, then it’s damp/wet and you can’t apply the spray … I got lucky on Monday and sprayed but possibly too late because a lot of varieties have spotted foliage!

I will re-do the spray on Monday coming … perhaps you might use just the Eco-rose but always put in the Eco-oil (you can reduce the quantity of oil but you need it as a sticker/spreader/dispersant).

When I run a spray program I ALWAYS use the eco-seaweed – applied to the foliage it definitely aids in strengthening the foliage against disease … for the small amount you use, it’s worth adding I think!!!

Hope this is helpful.  Oh, and don’t be afraid to give them all a decent trim that retain as much foliage as possible … 1/3 off would be ok!  Cheers … GRAHAM

IN THE ONLINE STORE …

We have decided to hold off allowing bare-rooted roses to be purchased NOW but will reactivate the WISH LIST function to enable you to save the varieties you see when browsing.  Our reason for this delay is that it seems extreme to have you pay for roses which you won’t receive for at least 6 months!

In coming weeks we will show you pics of the 2018 New Release Roses which we have decided to offer this year – there are more than 60 available!  Since we have seen most of them in the field we promise to offer only varieties which we consider worthy of growing in your garden!

Posting roses has not slowed with lots of GIFT ROSES being sent when there is a family event to acknowledge – birth, death, marriage, anniversary or just to say:  “I care”.  Lots of customers are still buying roses for planting in their own garden – Jo was thrilled with the rose I posted recently:
“Hi Diana, The JUST JOEY rose arrived this morning and I have to say WOW! Thank you so much for such an awesome plant! It even had two flowers on it and the plant was much bigger than I had envisioned. Thank you so much for your prompt attention and the fantastic packaging!”

MY RESPONSE:  WOW back!   I love it when I get such great feedback from our customers and it all works so much better NOW than when Auspost were flooded in the Christmas lead-up and things went a bit pear-shaped and some customers get nasty … ooooh, I so hate that!  This is beautiful – just as it should be!  Thank you!  DIANA

Just Joey
JUST JOEY
Hybrid Tea rose with charming waved petals of creamy-buff-copper,
very free flowering habit – a true delight!

WHERE ARE THE WORMS NOW??

Whenever I plant into the garden, there are usually worms.  This past weekend I was planting a border of plants (getting ready for the Art & Roses Tour and lots of visitors to the Rose Farm in April).  Surprisingly, I didn’t see a worm but in reflection, that makes sense because even though our garden beds are well mulched, those worms are not silly.

The worms are way, way down in the soil – probably starting to sort out which mate they’ll entertain in their upcoming mating season.  Know they’re there if your soil is moist way down and the nutrients and mulch are ready in the upper layers.  Worms are such a vital ingredient of humus-rich soil and they will dig and aerate your garden for you if you provide the perfect environment for them!

Q.  Did I tell you the joke about the ceiling?  Oh, forget it … its way over your head!

Here’s a few pics of the loveliest roses flowering in our gardens today –

 Mary Rose
MARY ROSE
Prolific, bushy and has a great fragrance. Masses of loose petalled, double rose pink blooms appear throughout the season – you will not be disappointed.
 
MAGGIE
Modern Shrub rose named for our very own Maggie Tabberer who is the patron of the Melanoma Foundation who receive the royalty payments from sales of this rose in Australia.

WALK AND TALK – SUMMER PRUNING

Don’t miss out! We’ll be hosting another Walk & Talk about the Rose Farm and tips and demonstrations about summer pruning over the next two weekends.

Come down and say hi!

Flowers and gloves

 

Saturday 20th of January, at 2.00pm
Sunday 28th of January, at 11.00am

Stay cool and we’ll talk to you again next week … If you have any queries, please email:  info@rosesalesonline.com.au and we’ll respond within 24 hours
Cheers from us all here at SILKIES ROSE FARM, Clonbinane

Within 500 metres of the CLONBINANE INTERCHANGE
on the Hume Freeway, 60 kms north of Melbourne
Open every Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday – 9am – 4pm
Phone 03 5787 1123

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