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Encouraging Leaves/Basal Growth?

15 years ago

So, we've had a very unusual rash of deer muching on our roses, mainly, Tuscany Superb, Leda, and Duchesse de Montebello. TS got it the worst, as they ate his leaves, but pretty much the other victims their buds were simply eaten. My loss in terms of yearly aesthetics, but they're new so I have plenty of time to enjoy them. In the meantime, we gotta repair our fence, the deer are most certainly getting in without that top. Strangest thing.

I'm actually wondering now that these once bloomers aren't so much focused on blooming, is there anything I can apply to help TS leaf out again, or encourage some new basal growth instead? I see a lot of people mention alfalfa but I've never seen that at the nursery where I work. Then again, I work only in the greenhouse, so I'm not totally familiar with all the products we have over in the store. Are those pellets the things people buy for pets like rabbits and guinea pigs? Lol, I must sound really ignorant.

Thanks,

Max

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Comments (7)

diane_nj 6b/7a
15 years ago
Max, check out feed stores for alfalfa, probably labeled as horse food. You might have dry fertilizers in the nursery that include alfalfa, such as Espoma Rose-tone or Dr. Earth products, check out the labels.
zeffyrose
15 years ago
MAx---I buy my Alfalfa at a "Feed and Grain" store--I always make sure to get it without salt----The store I go to knows it is for roses.
florence
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I haven't done any container growing of roses, but I know from personal experience that a rose recently planted in the ground (if it's not at full strength) may put out much smaller, thinner canes its first or second year than it will when it's mature. I could be wrong, but I suspect your rose has just produced its first mature-size cane, and that as long as it remains healthy and reasonably vigorous you should expect more of these from here on out. I think what you experienced previously was just the preliminaries, as it were. (When I saw the older stems in your photo that's immediately what I thought of. Your reply fit perfectly with my suspicions.)
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Mine don't seem to be either, die way back in winter, no woody canes though. Probably they (have 2) have to start over every spring, will wp them. Also will water and feed more (it's a pain to drag water around there). I'm trying some cuttings right now for insurance because I'm really fond of this rose even though it's small by nature and not as spectacular as some others. I ripped out that sage because it's too shady for it and pulled back the campanula and lamium; the latter keeps spreading and doing well there but I think were crowding the roses too much. My second one I thought was gone, but some is still there, maybe won't make it now after neglecting them. You probably got more of a flush than I did, but this is the best it's been since I planted them (3 years I think now). Maybe they just don't do much in the way of basals. Thomas Affleck I plan to move, looks out of place, and he put up a nice basal earlier.
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Hello, My advice: I am guessing that you have P. caerulea and P. 'Amethyst', or some variation thereof. These are both sun-lovers, and in SF, you already have a strike against you with all that morning fog. Place them in the most sun you can give them. Also, as vines get older and larger, it is natural for them to lose the lower leaves. That's what most vines just do. If you want to encourage lower growth, one thing you can do is tip prune. As you cut branches lower, you will begin to get more from lower down the stem. The only problem is this really should not be done this time of the year. You should wait till late winter/early spring, when new growth is first starting to show. Good luck! Eric Wortman www.bloomingpassion.com
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Hi, Art, and thanks. I live in the "temperate" south or upper south in zone 7, so the ones I have mentioned will either die and reseed, or at the minimum die back to the roots every year. So all spring growth will be from either seedlings or new growth on existing roots. I guess my main concern was are these naturally shrubby plants, or do they need some assistance in the form of pinching/pruning. I don't want to end up with a few long stems and little flowering. Seedlings can probably be pinched back when they develop the second set of true leaves, or not??? I am not familiar with the growth habit of some of these. I am assuming, based on my experience with Salvia coccinea 'Coral Nymph', a common one I know, that returns from seed each year, that pinching is not really necessary because it comes up late - around late July here - and I might be pinching off flowering growth at that point. It seems to branch naturally on its own. So that leaves the others and the species, S. coccinea, which I don't know whether or not grows like the hybrid, blooms late like the hybrid, in which case it probably wouldn't be a good idea to pinch. I guess I need to do some reading. Ok - you've inspired me to do some research. Thanks! Susan
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oath5
Original Author
15 years ago
We sell Rose-tone, but my aunt, who has horses might have some alfalfa. I hadn't imagined it was that easy.
diane_nj 6b/7a
15 years ago
Just don't let the horses catch you taking their food! ;-))
ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
15 years ago
Alfalfa meal, which you also get at the feed store, is even easier because you just spread it around the roses and water it in. It's amazing how quickly I've seen results with this in regard to leaf, cane and bud growth. The one I buy is specifically for plants, with a label that tells you how much to apply. It's the only fertilizer I use and I love it. Cheap too!

Ingrid
kaylah
15 years ago
Around here they're called rabbit pellets, and you can get them at pet stores, animal feed stores, or hardware stores.
The best thing is to let the rabbits eat them first. Best fertilizer I ever had. I miss my rabbits.
triple_b
15 years ago
I heard that 'rabbit pellets' can have mineral salts added to them. As opposed to just straight alfalfa pellets. That is what our local feed store guy told me when I called stressing that I wanted a salt-free product.

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