Good thoughts in the presence of your roses?

16 years ago

My younger daughter tells me that scientists have been able to measure "waves" of positive vs negative thoughts and how they affect others. Maybe our plants too! So that old adage about talking to your plants may have something to it!

Being of an analytical turn of mind I wonder if I haven't been causing my roses to sulk. I look at a rose and am bothered by BS, lack of growth, poor repeat bloom, etc. Should I think about shovel pruning? I'm wondering about the effect of those thoughts on the rose.

Do any of you make an effort to think positive thoughts when you look at your roses? Like, oh how beautiful you are! My what lovely foliage! Another bloom, how great! You get the picture.

I'm going to try it.

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Comments (14)

pete41
16 years ago
Well-its understandable why mine lay in wait for me with the thoughts I get when one really nails me.However being intelligent organisms they understand they owe me for saving them from a really sordid life of neglect,disease and manure.
So they reward me with robust good health.
I was tempted to see if they have a sense of humour[for our English friend] and misspell organism but not everyone here does.
iowa_jade
16 years ago
I couldn't grow begonias until I learned to ignore them.

I think roses are different. Some have an attitude of; "You can't afford me", are "Druggies," or indifferent. I think that it is fun getting to know all of their various personalities.

Remember we weld "Mr. Shovel."
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Jim, I am in MD. My list wasn't updated for long time, I have to check what I still have there. This list is just a snapshot. I do try new roses (new for me) each year trying to find the best roses for my climate. A have approx 150 roses and every year I take away approx 15-20 and add the same amount of new ones. This gave me an opportunity to try a lot of different roses over my long rose addiction life. I grow rose for more then 30 years. I do have experience with the following Kordes roses: Lavender lassie, Sunsprite, Robusta, Raubritter, Westerland, Autumn Sunset, Alchymist, Antike 89, Liebeszauber, Iceberg,Fruhlings seria roses, Illusion, Dortmund and Laverkusen. Probably some others too, but can't remember now. This year I am adding Laguna, Floral Fairy Tale and Aloha (new one). Sad to say, but with the exception of Illusion, which is quite healthy and Lavender Lassie which is not healthy but has wonderful fragrance, all others left my garden after 4-5 years. I also keep Alchymist, which is not healthy but the blooms are unique and Liebeszauber which also needs spraying but has still good vigor and better healty then majority of HT. The main reason why most of these roses left my garden was BS. I know about the new introductions and new Kordes nursery aims for resistance. I am all for it and I am trying his new introductions, but older Kordes roses are not resitant here. Our climates are very different, so I don't doubt they do well for you, but this is not the case here. Original poster is from PA, so I think we have similar climate. I didn't want to upset you by any means, I admire your dedication to Kordes roses. I know several people who tried Robusta in our climate and believe me it is a disaster here. I will update my list soon. Olga
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Lilyfinch I'm west of Franklin so I don't think I'm very far from you. I'm somewhat new to this as well but I'm happy to share what I've figured out. Number one is that I avoid having roses in pots at all costs! Last year I bought bands in the spring and nursed them along all summer in pots, potting them up a couple times as they grew. I got the plants in the ground in Sept a little after the heat broke. With bitter, bitter cold hitting very early for us--early November--and returning multiple times over the winter I lost about half the roses that I got planted in the fall. I just don't think they were given enough time to establish themselves before the weather turned. This year when I got bands I potted them up to gallons and after about 6 weeks of growth put them in prepared beds. (Some in a permanent place and some in my vegetable garden for transfer later.) These planted roses are doing SO MUCH better than the bands from last year stuck in pots. More growth, less disease and tens time easier to keep watered and cared for! I've seen a real correlation between roses getting short changed on water from being in a pot (and depending on me to water daily and sometimes twice a day--a chore that I sometimes missed) and those same roses getting black spot. I have a climbing pinkie I don't spray. Just in the last couple of weeks for some reason the black spot pressure has seemed to spike a bit. It is normally clean. At the moment it has a few lower leaves that have spotted and turned yellow, but in general it doesn't seem to have a significant amount of defoliation. This plant was a gift from a friend who had it limping along in a pot for a couple years. When I put it in the ground and threw a shovel of horse manure on it and kept it reasonably well water it exploded in growth and made a 180 turn around in health. I also have a Mrs. Dudley. Last year's band was a casualty of winter and was replaced by a 3 gallon plant this spring. It is growing but slowly. I also pinch most (not all) buds hoping to focus energy on growth not blooming. In general my teas are clean of black spot with only a few old yellow leaves toward the bottom of the plant. The cleanest are Mrs. B R Cant, Madame Antoine Mari, Duchess du Brabant, Mons Tillier and Mrs. Dudley. I wouldn't tried to do pots here again without some sort of automatic watering set up because you miss a few waterings and the roses get diseased and start loosing their leaves in a heart beat.
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I was so excited to get a gift cert for both rogue valley roses and antique rose emporium ! I too keep checking their selection and wishing away and googling everything that looks pretty . Also my dh bought a garden weasel weed tool that we needed . We took turns on Christmas Day popping out those horrible Thorny dandelions ! My fav gift of all is my new pergola ... I'm still figuring out the roses for it but I believe I will be doing Mel's heritage and madame Alfred carriere. Need clematis for it too ! Here it is on the lot of the outdoor furniture place I hope everyone enjoys the treasures they received !! :)
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Comments (1)
Never thought of that but it's a good idea, Patty!
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rainlily_sis
16 years ago
haha, good question!

I talk to mine, and offer glowing words of praise when they bloom.

But I probably negate any good results when I curse at the moles.

tee hee
Sis
zeffyrose
16 years ago
My DH heard me conversing with my Zeffy rose bush and that is why he gave me the name "Zeffyrose" LOL--LOL

At first I said it doesn't matter what name you give me I will NEVER touch that computer---LOL LOL

Now he can't get me away from it----LOL

Florence/zeffyrose
mendocino_rose
16 years ago
I don't talk to my roses. My husband and I do walk around talking about them and praising them. I do deffinately have an attitude in the garden. Sometimes I'm negative but I never blame them. It would be the weather or something I've done or not done. I think if one truly loves their garden for what it is that this feeling makes one do a little more for it and it is then a better place. I have friends who tell me there are fairies in my garden helping with the plants. Sometimes things occur that are so magical it makes me wonder.
palustris
16 years ago
There was a movie 20 years ago called "The Secret Life of Plants" that did a series of experiments with plants. Now, I don't remember much about it since it has been 20 years, but there is one very dramatic scene where a potted plant of some kind is fitted with some type of probes. A huge head of cabbage is chopped up with a cleaver in front of the plant and whatever it is that they are measuring in the plant goes right off the scale. The implication is that plants do react to their surroundings. I often think of this as I weed in the garden or when a transplant goes wrong and the plant comes out with little in the way of roots. Are all the rest of the plants in the garden are panicking?

Here is a link that might be useful: The Secret Life of Plants
estevinho
16 years ago
Do any of you make an effort to think positive thoughts when you look at your roses?

How much effort should it take?
michaelg
16 years ago
Does "Start growing or I'll throw you in the woods!" count as positive or negative?
carolfm
16 years ago
Does "Start growing or I'll throw you in the woods!" count as positive or negative?

I'm not sure if it is positive or negative, Michael, but I think it works about as well as planting a shovel next to a rose. Might be a negative thought but it usually has a positive outcome. :-)

Carol
michelle_co
16 years ago
There was a Mythbusters episode where they tested this, and I think the outcome was that they didn't find any benefit or detriment to plants by sending it psychic energy (they tested happy thoughts, sad thoughts, agressive thoughts, etc.).

They also did one where they played music to plants, and loud hard rock was the most growth stimulating.

I am usually happy when I'm in the garden, so I guess I am sending good thoughts whether I mean to or not.

Cheers,
Michelle
anntn6b
16 years ago
I wonder if good thoughts from the deer, voles, moles and beetles count?
Or the massed mmmmm-good thoughts from thrips?
rjlinva
16 years ago
My roses seem much happier now that the goats aren't eyeing them every second of every minute of every day...as a possible meal. Or, it could be that they are just not getting eaten. I do talk to mine. I've not threatened any...yet.

Robert
buford
16 years ago
as long as they can't read. My mom gave me these funny signs for the garden, and my favorite is the one that says 'Grow Dammit!'
luanne
16 years ago
OK enough of this shilly-shalling around. Yes I do. I do not play loud rock 'n roll for them either. They soothe me and I soothe them and dh has to go read his book if he gets too negative(he likes to go read his book...).Talking nice to your husband is also productive. Heck who doesn't like it, this is beginning to seem like a no brainer...
la

Good thoughts in the presence of your roses?

Comments (14)

pete41

iowa_jade

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