Saturday, February 2, 2013

Diary log- planting the bare roots

Queen Elizabeth on the west side.  Plant was in peat pot.  Ripped sides and put in some mushroom compost and  black cow soil.  Received no epsom salt.


Queen Elizabeth on the East side.  Same scenario as above


Soaked in epsom salt.  Summer Snow.  White rose , next to moondance on the  north side.  Planted in  mushroom compost and black cow soil..  Soil looked half clay and half sand and slightly rocky.  Slow to drain but drained in about 1  to two mins.
It's 1:27 pm.  11 roses down, 11 to go.  If I run out of time I'll change the water in the ones still soaking.  It's 58 degrees.  In this photo I planted the roses large enough to put three gallon pots in.  From the wheelbarrow to the east side it has the following.  Tiffany, Electron, Promise, Electron, Tiffany


I forgot that some of the knockouts are red.


I thought this was pink but I guess it's a red knockout.


Altissimo


Front view of the pink rose bed




After I planted them, the mulch does retain water I am discovering but I did not put bibs on them.  All were soaked in Epsom salt except for Promise.  She was a peat pot.  Used light layers of mushroom compost mixed in with black cow topsoil.


I intended on having this Don Juan climb the pillar but its in too much shade.  I know that the climbing golden showers are more shade tolerant and heat sensitive.  I am going to two climbing GS on either side of this pillar and move Don Juan.  I hate moving it when it was just getting settled.


Pink rose bed


There are two Golden masterpieces at the top of the photo nearest the strawberries.  The one below may be a double delight.   Seriously losing steam but checked on all the plants mid day and they looked great.  I am very, very glad I stay concentrated.


Montezuma on the east end, south of pussy willow and then  Granada  west of it




Red roses line...furthest west near azaleas.  Gypsy, Olympia, Gypsy, Olympia, Gypsy.  The most southern of these was the sundowner I moved, so the hole was huge and had manure and top soil in it.  I should be the best.  Olympias were in peat pots and received no epsom salt.  The Gypsy's were soaked in epsom salt over night.  All were put in with mushroom compost and black cow top soil.  Despite it being mid 60's, it is suppose to hit 28 degrees tonight.
Added two climbing icebergs of either side of the Europenas to climb the pen...seeking white  above red...it was sundown and I was completely exhausted by this point


Climbing White iceberg on the north end


I was going to put the Don Juan and climbing golden showers here but it needs a lot of clean up.  Opted to put those two on west wall  between the gardenias.....I had to have just one more rose...even as exhausted as I am, there are approx. 65 rose so far and they will be here forever so what's one day for a lifetime of beauty.   Planted 19 of 22.  The remaining three (three climbing golden showers) are in the garage.  I drained the epsom salt water and replaced with regular water as to not gain bacteria.  You are reading this post a day's in arrears.


As tired as I was, and as sick of roses as I should be....I ordered my last major purchase of the year...my husband bought me one of them....but here are the last...everything from here on is impulse....as if everything else wasn't.  Needless, to say this all web images from Edmund's roses for which I placed the order...

Black Bacarra


I, forever, was looking for the Abracabra Rose, I bought the memphis music which was a smaller version of it, but I think I found the larger version.  This rose is called Rock & Roll.


Ketchup and Mustard




St. Patrick


Ebb Tide


It's the last order...of the spring...that's my story and I'm stickin' to it......my rose garden is gonna be gorgeous...it's, also, my cutting garden but I love diverse roses...the only color I am missing is green roses.

PS....We (or at least I) had an unexpected freeze after planting the bare roots.  I was aware of that it was going to be in the mid seventies this week but 28 degrees!  Where did that come from...I am gonna kill a groundhog!  Will post the outcome of that tomorrow.





4 comments:

HolleyGarden said...

Ew - 28 degrees! I am surprised it got so low there. I am impressed with all the work you're doing. It is going to be stunning this summer when all the roses are blooming!

Jean Campbell said...

Janie said "... roughly 300 bulbs. Half are daffodils, 30 percent are tulips ...will they come back next year?"

I hope so. It depends on WHICH daffodils you planted, which grape hyacinths and so on. I can't address snow crocus.

Generally tulips are a one-season phenomena in the south. I CAN TOO grow tulips and have photos to prove it. I don't try any more since the puppy ate my tulips except one pot full last year. I decided it was about as cheap to buy pota of tulips in full bloom, come spring.

I noticed a white grape hyacinth from last year in one of my violas pots the other day. I've had mixed experiences with grape hyacinths, never a river like in the Keukendof photos, mostly a trickle.

Did you make a note of the cultivars, or save the tags?

When you plant 300 seema like a lot of bulbs to dig holes. When they bloom, I always wish I had planted 3000. Every year I add a few more daffodils and Dutch hyacinths.

Cerberus German shepherds said...

To Holley-the freeze didn't seem to hurt them. I put a lot of water on them when I planted them. This morning they were droppy from the weight of the frost but once it burned off they seemed okay. I watered all the roses this morning when it warmed because (or at least it is my understanding) that freezing and thawing can dehydrate a plant. In any event, they really seemed okay...because I would have been really, really mad after putting 19 roses in the ground, that they would have died. Don't get me wrong, I don't think they liked it, but I think they did okay. I took pics and will post tomorrow. I have to watch out for surprises over the next few weeks. I do hope with over 60 roses and a ton of other plants it will be pretty, I haven't finished planting the other stuff I bought. I have tons of hydras. I am going to plant them near the pink rose bed but I wondered if the blue would clash with them and then something dawned on me. Why do they have to be blue? Why don't I let them go au naturale and be whatever color they want to be...like pink!

Cerberus German shepherds said...

To Nell Jean-The tulips most, not all, are Darwin Hybrid Tulips. Some are a Holland mix which I don't expect to come back year unless I dig them up and chill them. I have some easter lillies that people threw away the bulbs and I planted that are doing fabulous. Iris have been coming up for a while.