Fourth of July.

Jeri

Gorgeous Photos. How do you get the borders so precise?

How does Deuil de Dr Reynaud do for you?

If I were a rose I'd be happy to live in your garden Olga.

I'm right with you Pam (except for winters)

Olga, wonderful

Olga, I am seriously impressed with your pruning skills. Really, these are just gorgeous.

I wonder if next spring you might be willing to post photos of your newly pruned roses when the leaves are off the plants. It might be very instructive to people who would like to learn your methods.

Rosefolly

Two roses which make big buxom shrubs with attitude are Polka, also check out the recently released sport with the word 'moon' Full Moon Rising maybe, in the name, and Golden Celebration. Polka in my CA yard looked like a small fruit tree. GC has a more weeping habit.

Olga, I'm embarrassed to even ask this question, but how do you get all those buds on your rose bushes? Not only do you have plenty of buds, they are fat and healthy too.

Do you have a feeding or pruning technique that you'd like to share? I second Rosefolly's suggestion and will eagerly await your post (hint, hint).

I know myself, I can't possibly wait until spring...I must know NOW :)

You are my inspiration.

Audrey

Olga your garden is the BEST!

My Madame Alfred Carriere became a self-supporting tree. Multiple strong canes supported each other and then a fountain of growth on top spilling down. Lots of room needed though.

Olga - Beautiful! I third rosefolly's suggestion. I would also like to know how old most of your roses are in the pictures. Again, they are just beautiful! Thanks for sharing.

Olga, your roses are sublime and awe-inspiring, and the precision with which you do everything is breath-taking. I'm thanking my lucky stars that I have a country garden that allows some room for informality (messiness) so that I'm not forced to compete with you. These pictures are so incredible.

Ingrid

Beautiful roses, Olga! Thank you for posting

Masha

Thank you very much for nice comments.
Vettin, Deuil de Dr Reynaud is doing great, but I do have to spray it. It is very similar to Mme Isaac Perier, which I also grow, but more vigorous for me. Could be just a difference between two particular plants. Fragrance is to die for and the blooms are huge. Some repeat, if you water it regularly. As with most long cane bourbons, for better plant health and bloom production the canes that flowered need to be removed next spring. It mostly bloos on 1-2 year old canes. Older wood became non productive and gets a lot of dieback.
Most of these roses are 6-7 year old, some younger, some older. I add new roses every year and give away roses every year, so it is difficult to keep track of rose age for me.
No special feed program, just fertilize in spring with some organics (city leaf compost) and a handful of 10-10-10. Some years I do additional feed in summer, with whatever I have on hand, alfalfa pellets, rose tone or 10-10-10. But this does not happen every year. My soil is read clay, quite heavy, you probably can make bricks from it :(
As for prunning, I really do nothing special. The main thing is I don't think that pruning can harm roses. There is a lot of sentiment on this forum that pruning somehow is not beneficial. I just don't buy it. All my roses (old european oncbloomers, teas, chinas, hybrid musks, moderns, shrubs, rugosas, get winter/spring pruning to self supporting wood. I don't wait until they mature and start from their first spring, even if it was a band planted last summer. I believe that pruning for structure should start from young age. In my climate it works. It also worked for me when I lived in CT, KY and back in Europe.
I remove twiggy growth and shorten canes, approx 1/2, sometimes more.
Olga

Olga--your roses are an inspiration---

So very beautiful.

Florence

Vettin

"Catos Cluster" 12' tall
"Susan Louise" 22 feet tall
both self supporting and tree shaped.
re-bloom excellent for both.

Lux.

I'm feeling like I've done something wrong..I really want to maintain some roses well trimed as Olga does. But have a hedgerow of roses at 6 ft+ for privacy..So how does one do both and have it all work with good health..??? Its been a few weeks of following this thread to chime in. I'm here to learn.........

Olga, can you tell us where your zone 6b is?

I, too, think your pics are inspiring, but maybe not as directly as the other posters. I think I may 'possibly' prune the way you do, dunno. I HOPE SO!!!

Reason I say is that we had the reminder to looky-loo over to the Antique gallery a couple of days ago and I about PASSED OUT looking at Cass's roses (of which I have quite a few) because I haven't nearly allotted enough room unless I get less growth for zone 8 SoCal Mountains. I am so hoping so...

Hey Olga, was this one Abraham Darby? How big is it? Austin's catalog said that it will mature to 5'x5' but mine is much small at 3 years old in zone 9a.
{{gwi:312170}}

This is one AD bush. I would say approx 6x6 in spring during first flush after pruning to approx 5x5 in mrch. More like 8x8 later in season.
Olga

Wow, this really give us the confidence to prune our roses hard and without fear. I hope mine can someday look like yours. I'd settle for even looking slightly like yours LOL.

..just one of those would do for me.... quite extraordinary, but just shows you what can be done if you have the space, which I don't....

I have a bareroot Abraham Darby soaking in water ready to plant, I am so inspired by the above photos. Can only hope my rose bush might one day be as beautiful as yours is, Olga! Beautiful