Same thing here. I'm really thinking of giving up. The lilacs are the loveliest they've ever been but the cold wind killed all my canes. I have 50 roses to chop canes off of and I've been doing it slowly, hoping some will still leaf out. I'm dreaming.
The hail got my Iris and the deer ate my peonies.
I was downtown looking at an old Persian Yellow at this old house. It's a giant thing, but it had lost half its canes, too. I wondered who was going to prune it. The city has annexed the property.
That made me feel better, like I wasn't the biggest loser in Montana.
It's just a bad year, or 3 years. Look at it this way, while we are moaning about the top, all this rain could be really improving the root system.
Whatever roses I get this year will happen about the 4th of July.

I haven't had any problems with my roses...they're not blooming yet. My lilacs aren't even blooming yet, at least not very well. Half are budded out and the other half got ruined by all the rain...as did my apple tree. Two years in a row, the apples froze in an early October hard frost, after having beautiful flowers. This year, the flowers barely had a chance to start blooming, when we got hit with three weeks of rain.

Is it all worth it....absolutely! You can't be a gardener without being somewhat optimistic. Why would we ever bother planting anything, if we didn't have hope that it would look beautiful at some point? There are weather problems almost every year (and obviously some are worse than others) but usually some plants are hard hit and others turn out beautifully.

I think the recent weather is a reminder to us all that we can't control our environment as much as we might like, but isn't that the amazing thing about gardening? Despite all the setbacks and uncooperative temperatures and too much rain or not enough---we still have beautiful gardens...at least some of the time :)

Thorn grower, what you describe sounds awful and discouraging. I shouldn't even be addressing this problem because I'm terribly fortunate to have roses for a large part of the year. Were I in your situation I suspect I'd be growing a lot of rugosas and other tough roses that do bloom more than a few weeks a year. Roses would probably not be a large part of my garden, but hopefully some would do well and grow to be large and beautiful. For the rest it would be very cold-hardy evergreens and deciduous plants that look good even when they're naked in the cool season. Also probably bulbs that will naturalize and need little care and a few carefully selected perennials near the house. Does this sound doable to you? I haven't lived in a cold area for a long time and at that time I didn't garden so this is all speculation.

Ingrid

Also, keep in mind that this has been, and continues to be, an extraordinary year.
Well, we HOPE it is, because if it is a taste of the future, we ALL need to make major adjustments.

An abnormal weather year is a bad time to give up.
Gird your loins in strength, and give it another year.

Jeri

My advice is the following: if you're trying to grow plants that are just unsuited to your climate, stop. If this is simply a bad year, practice patience, and spend time doing other things than gardening. Try to hedge your bets in the garden, growing plants that will do well in different kinds of conditions, because that's bad for some plants may be good for others. That said, some years just about everything is miserable. And take a good look at your neighbors' yards and see what makes them work.
I garden in an easier climate than yours, but for what it's worth, these are things that have worked for me.
Good luck!
Melissa

I live in a very easy climate to grow some roses. You stick them in the ground, then attack them with clippers to keep them from taking over the world. So the line "Lets see they bloom 3-6 wks and then thats it. Considering the amount of work and the return. I think not." sounds very wrong to me. Either they aren't the right roses, or they are being a lot of unnecessary work.

Then there is the entire question of what does 'looking awful' mean. My neighbors probably think my yard looks awful because it isn't neat enough for their taste.

Your right mad gallica, its all about the definition of awful. After reading these great responses which I knew I would get. I've decided to remove a few roses that aren't performing in these wet conditions, prune back hard a few others. Luckily I have a great spring garden apr-may My roses are the end of may-thru june. I have a great perrenial garden july and august. Some of the roses are getting way too big and are crowding out the perennials. So I have alot of work ahead of me. Thnx for all the replys and concern. Its time to get to work.

Mark

You might enjoy growing repeat blooming roses. If the spring flush has problems from the weather, there would be other blooms to look forward to later in the season.

well, as you say, you have a great perennial garden. I am wondering what roses you grow that they only last 3-6 weeks. Suggest you start with some of the tough pimpinellifolia and burnet roses, then there are many rose species, June is our big rose month in the UK and then there is the second act of summer - which for me is all about grasses, prairie daisies, phlox, penstemons, salvias. Spring is easy - many bulbs and woodland treasures such as dog-toothed violets. In fact, roses are just one part of gardening and you really should rethink parts of your garden if you are feeling so dreadful at this time of year.
I guess the thing is to avoid all the eggs in one basket syndrome and then, no matter what the weather throws at us, there is always something worth looking at. Mind you, my garden also looks a desperate sight right now - what roses have flowered are now in sticky, gloopy piles on the paths, everything is bowed down (despite connscientious attempts at staking) and even if it is not raining, a visit to the garden still means coming back drenched. Why do we bother? Because we love it! Have fun with the hard work - you will feel virtuous and justified afterwards...and the rewards will be manifold.

I think we are spoiled with roses, expecting them to bloom from frost to frost. Many other plants give maybe a week of bloom and do nothing the rest of the season. The bonus are roses which set hips - it is something to appreciate in the winter months.

Don't most OGRs bloom 4-6 weeks? Many of my roses (which I just planted) are once-blooming roses and that's how long they're supposed to bloom. I did plant some reblooming roses, but the damasks, gallicas and albas only bloom once. That being said, even in a bad year, I have other perennials that are planted with them in the garden. When you live in a cold climate, annuals are also your friend. I always buy a few cosmos, zinnias, marigolds, etc. They're a nice way to brighten up a bare spot or add more color to a garden :)

A younger couple that I know are getting married and have bought a new house that has a sunny gardening area. She advised me she dosn't like annuals, wants flowers that are in constant bloom, and wants easy upkeep.

In the wintertime I have been known to put plastic flowers (green folliage stuff) in our window box.

It is a very personal decision. The only spot in my garden without weeds is where Blanchefleur is fighting Monarda for space. I have let the suckers run wild to enhance the fun & games.

Does a rose like 'Félicité Parmentier' or 'Mme Hardy' give one enough pleasure to last for an entire year?

This summer is going to be like the last one, cold and wet. 'La Reine' balled as usual, but some blossoms made it open which was nice. Tomatoes look less than desirable again.

There is a push at our local club for HTs, with grafting clinics etc. I am going to try 'Clotilde Soupert de Notting'. Hee! Hee!

Life is too short to be miserable. I still haven't given up on tomatoes. I do enjoy a challenge at times, just not all the time.

Toodles!

F.L.
IAGL

My only advice to you is wait till next year, or next flush. I had 3 miserable years in a row where we had late spring freezes that ruined the spring flush and then drought. So you can get in a funk for a few years. If you really hate it, stop doing it.

'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved.

Besides, the alternatives are too awful to contemplate.

I was thinking what roses I'd grow when I'm old. No canes to chop. That would be rosa xanthina, Harison's yellow(except for this year), Therese Bugnet, and Hallies' Rose.
A few others are somewhat promising. Konigen von Denmark, Celsiana, Chloris, and Leda are 3 feet high after chopping. For hardiness, think pink.
I've begun to incorporate repeat bloomers which go right down to the ground here BUT come back and give you some blossoms later in the summer.
Rosa gallica is a good choice because it is short anyway, and escapes the cane kill.
Felicite Parmentier does well. And there's good old Hansa.
I will not be growing eglanteria when I'm old as that is a major job to chop out the dead canes and get it presentable. Right now I own 20. That is tomorrow's job and it is hell.
My worst cane loss? Greenmantle. Yep, Greenmantle, eglanteria cross. Huge, thick canes, ten feet tall, all dead and gone. They're going away tomorrow. For 3 years, I've been trying to get some blossoms. Tremendous hot pink, singles, around the bottom, only. GM is going away.
Roses I've never seen bloom? Bleu Magenta and Alchemist.
They are getting boxed up this fall. If that doesn't work, out they go.

I was complaining about something similiar to this last week.. then lo and behold, some of my roses actually put up a decent amount of blooms , that look acceptable.

Then I still have a few albas , then some moderns..

It hasn't turned out as half bad as I thought it would, we actually got 3 inches of rain or so as well.. which has helped everything. The only thing that will be duds this year competly is my poppies.. it got so hot, it basically fried them.. they cant live through august weather in may and june.. Its cooled down finally here though.. 70's more typical june weather and feeling nice with lower humidity..

Every once and awhile the bloom season corresponds correctly and it all comes up roses =)..

Just plant lots of everything.. last year it was all rainy and cold here.. Poppies loved it! This year.. hot and dry.. and my Lupines loved it for some reason.. Bright clear colors on them.

Silverkelt

Silverkelt, I saw your posting on your terrible rose season and then looked at your wonderful photos on the gallery a little later. I am so glad your rose season has turned out better than you thought.

alas, thorn grower, what you're going through is part of the package of being a gardener. Do you grow companion plants and other types of shrubs in your garden? It's better for the garden if your roses are not the only attraction. They're prima donnas and need supporting characters in the form of perennials, other shrubs, clematis, bulbs, annuals... Gives you something else to look forward to and enjoy if the roses don't do well.

Gardening is just plain hard work. When it pays off, it's glorious. When it doesn't, well, there's next year. Honestly, if that doesn't appeal to you, you might be happier investing time and $ in something else. But if you just can't help gardening (addicted) just hang in there. Next year might be better, and we all feel your pain.

Doesn't life in all aspects hand you problems? Is it worth it? To me a garden is a metaphor for life. There are successes and failures, challenges and triumphs. A good gardener is nothing if not persistent. I am sorry you had a bad year. I know it's frustrating to work so hard without payback. Perhaps you will rethink some of your plantings and go on.

This year the roses were great no balling but the tree peonies all fried and then were blasted by rain in a few days. The herbaceous peonies some fried the rest did a combination of being whacked by wind and rain and then boiled.
I used to think it was ridiculous to have some of the darker galicas at the botanical Gardens because here they were blackening and burning as the opened this year they were perfect which is rare.

I also can sympathize with Thorn's pain. Here in central Illinois, it's the 2nd year in a row with high abnormal rains, very little sun, lots of wind and T-storms.

When I was out deadheading, I noticed lots of the iris are so waterlogged they are rotting in the ground. Not to mention, some of the rose canes are experiencing the same thing...I mean, how can you deal with 4-5" of rain in an HOUR & HALF? It's rare anymore that we don't have rain forecasted :( The only plants that are loving this are the hostas, clematis, and hydrangeas. THAT part of my garden is awesome, so I'm happy about that.

The ugly part, as usual, is that I saw the first JBs yesterday...two weeks ahead of schedule. I was hoping all this rain would drown the suckers, but no such luck.