Disbudding polyanthas

14 years ago

Hi Folks,

Some sawfly damage last year taught me to use Elmer's Glue on the tips of the thick stubby canes where a rose had been clipped back (bareroot from the nursery).

Now I'm contemplating adding some (more) polyanthas to the roses here, and it has just occured to me that once these plants get huge (as some will), putting either Elmer's or fingernail polish on the many cut stems is going to be too much trouble to get around to doing, much less reach. Are sawflies less likely to want to lay eggs in more thinly canned polyanthas that might have been whacked with a large trimmer for disbudding? How do you handle disbudding with your large polyanthas? Do you disbud them, and do you have a sawfly problem there?

Best wishes,

Mary

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

abedarby
14 years ago
I have several Fairy roses and don't generally glue the cut ends when I prune unless the diameter is >1/4 inch. Those don't get very big and most of the growth is skinnier (shrubby little bushes) so it's not much of an issue. I do seal most canes on my larger roses against cane borers in our climate though.
carolinamary
Original Author
14 years ago
Abe, thanks so very much for this information! I'm not going to go overboard in worrying about the sawflies on polyanthas, then.

I'm still thinking about the rest of my spring order and strongly considering The Fairy. So I'm wondering about your Fairy, and how happy overall are you with it? How thorny? Any other low-growing pink polyanthas that you'd recommend for their low thorniness?

At one time I was thinking of a large mass of The Fairy roses. Now I'm a bit more worried about how thorny that might be to try to walk through to get to the other plants... and perhaps I'm headed more towards Marie Daly for the mass of lower roses to scatter generously in the front of the planting area. What do you think, Abe?

I have already ordered 2 Pink Rosette floribundas without even knowing about their thorniness. Such beautiful tiny cuttable flowers is hard to resist! Now to figure out how to work them in...

Best wishes,
Mary
Related Discussions
Late Summer "Good Rose" Lineup
Q
Comments (22)
Thanks, Kippy, it was interesting for me to see how this list compared to the one now. Sadly, Baptiste Lafay, Burbank, Souvenir de Germaine de St. Pierre, Souvenir d'un Ami, Rasberry Parfait, China Doll and Earth Song are all gone. On a brighter note, William R. Smith, White Meidiland, Young Lycidas, Belinda's Dream, Miss Atwood and Sophy's Rose are all improved, I'm happy to say. Souvenir du President Carnot has been moved to a new, less stressful location although I'm afraid that now it may not have enough sun. Potter and Moore is still pumping out blooms on a graceful bush that is easily kept within bounds. The Ingenious Mr. Fairchild is still gangly but blooms fairly well, with no disease whatsoever. Bishop's Castle, SdlM and Le Vesuve are all doing well and blooming, with no disease to speak of. The same goes for Rosette Delizy and Mutabilis. The rose I've fussed over the most, Annie Laurie McDonnell, has been in the ground for a few months and I was happy to spot a few buds which I'm going to allow to turn into flowers. It's still a very small rose but seems quite healthy, although I notice some of the newer leaves are quite a bit lighter. My biggest wish (and I imagine I'm not alone) is to have a very rainy fall and winter filled with rose blooms, but which will also revive the trees and shrubs that are so dried out. Ingrid
...See More
Pink Soupert
Q
Comments (3)
I don't have it now, but I did buy it as a farewell-gift for a former boss back in Buffalo. And it's currently on my short list of roses to order for myself for next year. I have only a few spots remaining that won't work for my "leftovers" after all the planting this year, and 'Pink Soupert' will go where I need a relatively shorter, dainty, fragrant pink-flowered rose. Rogue Valley Roses also carries it. I'm hoping others here can share actual growing experiences -- and pics. There aren't many on its HelpMeFind page. :-) ~Christopher
...See More
Fair Bianca...Jeri?
Q
Comments (43)
I think David Austin's best white has to be ROSE-MARIE, the white sport of HERITAGE. It is a good bloomer, vigorous, and forms a graceful shrub. The vase life of the bloom is shorter and the color is more of a creamy white, but still a very beautiful bloom. BTW, if you are going to get any vase life out of the rose you must cut the bloom while it is still in bud. Don't worry if the bud hasn't cracked yet. As long as one or two sepals are down you should be fine. I didn't like GLAMIS CASTLE because the myrrh fragrance was obnoxious (the blooms also shatter easily). As you folks have guessed "myrrh" can vary quite a bit. With Fair Bianca the fragrance is acceptable because of a subtle vanilla-like base note, which is why the rose marries so well with the annual Heliotrope. Tamora has a delicious myrrh fragrance because of a fruity top note. CLAIR AUSTIN is the hot new English white right now but I haven't had a chance to grow it yet. I'm dying to try BOULE DE NEIGE, a white Bourbon hybridized by Francois Lacharme in 1867. I have its pinkish-white sister COQUETTE DES BLANCHES growing in my mother's zone 7b garden and it is an exceptionally beautiful plant. The blooms are small but are blessed with perfect OGR flower form and appear in lovely sprays on a graceful (and healthy) shrub. CdB has a very strong, sweet fragrance that must be smelled to be believed. Of course no white rose can compare in beauty to the classic Damask MADAME HARDY (1832). I've searched my whole life as a rosarian for a repeat blooming substitute and have yet to find it. That is why I like Fair Bianca so much. The bloom is similar. Alas the fragrance isn't as fine, the chartreuse button eye doesn't have as much visual punch as Mme. Hardy's emerald green pip, and the plant ... well it's a joke to even try comparing the two for vigor and graceful growth habit. SOMBREUIL is a gorgeous white climber but the blooms are more of a flattened rosette verses Mme. Hardy's silky white quartered perfection. Sigh...
...See More
Mr. Bluebird and Friends
Q
Comments (10)
Thanks so much, everyone. I love your compliments but if you could see the overall picture instead of the edited photos I think you'd realize it's all far from perfection. However, I do remain hopeful that if the warm instead of hot weather continues there should be a nice spring flush. bart, unfortunately the variety I have (perezii) is not the same as yours and hence the difference in appearance. You might want to inquire whether they could obtain perezii for you. We both live in Mediterranean climates and I see no reason why mine shouldn't do well there. Yours seems to like the heat and dryness, which is not the case with mine, so the plant is quite different. It's rather amusing how we all want what we can't have. I drool over the tea roses that are available in Europe and am quite bored, after all these years, with the varieties that are available here!
...See More
kstrong
14 years ago
The Fairy (and all of its Fairy kin) have absolutely wicked tiny hooked thorns. You would not "walk through to get to the other plants" more than once. I've heard people say The Fairy should have been named "The Vampire" due to its obvious taste for the blood of the uninitiated.

Marie Daly, Marie Pavie, Lady Ann Kidwell or Renae would be better choices if you are looking for lack of thorns. But don't go wading into a patch of The Fairy without chaps.

Kathy
michaelg
14 years ago
Kathy is absolutely right about The Fairy's vicious thorns. It is a wonderful little rose if you keep it away from paths and prune it with loppers.

You might be a little mixed up about boring insects. The sawfly larvae that bore way down canes do not nest in cut stems; rather they lay eggs near the growth tips, so sealing can have no effect. The insects that bore in cut canes are the small carpenter bee and certain tiny wasps. Normally they don't travel very far (1"-8") or do a lot of damage.
carolinamary
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks very much to all for your thoughts and excellent help.

I have decided against planting The Fairy for sure now, though I still catch my breath whenever I see it pictured in a landscape in any of my landscaping or rose books; it's a beautiful rose! But if we ever do get that variety, it won't be for this particular planting area.

I'm going slightly crazy (crazy in a delightful way!) with shifting around various choices in mind now, but narrowing down on a color scheme that relies heavily on several Renae roses, as well as one Anna Laurie McDowell, to ramble around and pull the long planting area together with a single pale pink color. This is much the same way that The Fairy would have been used; not allowed to climb, Renae ought to have a pronounced horizontal effect like The Fairy too. These are all ordered already, and I'm thinking that some little rounded Marie Daly roses mixed in between would be nice too, as a part of the rose "floor". Thanks for your suggestions!

Best wishes,
Mary
gnabonnand
14 years ago
Mary, one of my wife's friends asked me to prune her "The Fairy" rose one time, as they were in the process of trying to sell their home & needed help with their landscape. I thought, no problem, such a sweet looking rose.

After pruning that vicious rose of hers, I went home and want to literally hug my 'Marie Daly' rose. And Marie smells good too, where as when I was getting torn up by that fairy rose, I wasn't even given the pleasure of fragrance from it.

Randy
carolinamary
Original Author
14 years ago
The spring ordering is finished now and I'm so excited!

I might have gone a little overboard on the Marie Dalys. It's all your fault, Randy!

Best wishes,
Mary

Disbudding polyanthas

Comments (7)

abedarby

carolinamary
Original Author

Related Discussions

kstrong

michaelg

carolinamary
Original Author

gnabonnand

carolinamary
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Disbudding polyanthas

Comments (7)

abedarby

carolinamaryOriginal Author

Related Discussions

kstrong

michaelg

carolinamaryOriginal Author

gnabonnand

carolinamaryOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

carolinamary
Original Author

carolinamary
Original Author

carolinamary
Original Author