If the growth strong and healthy, and they're baby roses, please, have some mercy on them -- they need to establish first. First, don't enjoy their blooms but rather cut'em away. They need all their strength to go into developing root system -- NOT INTO BLOOMS!.
That's why bare rooted roses you have to keep disbudding during the first year. Water them well, every day, feed them lightly, every month, and next year you can enjoy more pretty flowers.
Remember, they're just babies.

OH I didn't know you cut off blooms on young plants. I feel better knowing this and yes I will be very patient with my little ones...Thank you Tom for the tips

Hi

I'm no expert, but I've not disbudded my new bareroots and they all seem to be coping.
My Sophy's Rose was bought potted and went into the ground in autumn last year. The first flowers were small, but never pale. This spring they are much larger.
I shot out at 6pm to take this photo, hence the peculiar light.
Can't be exact about life on the bush, but I haven't found them particularly shortlived.
She has a distressing tendency to mildew, but puts out multitudes of flowers which are very pretty.{{gwi:2115266}}

Hi Saringout,
Yes, it's important to establish roses first. Not only that you'll encourage better development of their root system, but pruning also encourages them to have more shoots from the base too. For bush roses, don't let them grow tall, spending all their energy in just two or three shots that grow upwards rapidly; rather, cut them down half-size and encourage rose to spend more energy into all new side shots.
First year is most important; you have to water them well because roots will extend deeper in the soil, so they won't be shallow rooted and next year's drought and hot sun won't hurt them badly. Water them thoroughly, because you won't be sorry next year.
Also, if you see that your new plants struggle with heat (excessive heat destroys young leaves), cut the leafs and thus encourage your rose to produce more and more shots. Next year, everything will be different because your new rose will have developed root systems which will keep rose green and happy even in the hot sun.
In other words, by disbudding or pruning or cutting leafs, you train your rose to spend her energy into something else -- strong growth and root development.
- Tom

Light.How much?
Fertiliser.Type.How much?
Water.How much?

Thrip, it all depends.
Maybe you can suggest something?
As per water, depending on soil and climate, but here in WA I was suggested by my local nursery to spend at least 5 litres of water per day per new rose bush during the summer (considering rosebeds are well mulched).
-Tom

Hi All,

I'm in Semaphore in Adelaide...soil sandy loam....
My Sophy's are at the front of my rose bed and would get around 7 hours good bright sunlight each day. Gave them an application of Seasol when planted. I did water each day when first planted in winter...but now they are getting watered by dripper say once or twice a week if its hot.
I always thought that if you watered longer and less often that THAT would encourage the roots to go deeper? I guess that's not the case with new/young roses...
The bed has had regular doses of cow poo and some blood and bone.
They are mulched with cow poo and pea straw. I have put some osmocote down too and at one stage had given them a treat with miracle grow...but thought that might be pushing things.

Have I been doing anything wrong??

And I also thought that you don't prune new roses for the first year....so I'm learning all time.

I've taken your advice.... just come in from giving them all a nice big drink...and will keep that up each day.... and a light prune.

Thanks for any tips

Given the amount of rain we have had here - there was 80mm in my rain gauge yesterday but that was probably 3 days's worth - and the constant pruning by my ponies when they "escape", my roses shoul dbe great next year. That is, if I actually stop moving them all around.

The amount of water is simply amazing and has been constant for a week now. I am starting to think we are in for a lovely lovely wet summer!!!

Hi Startingout,
thanks for your letter.

Well, all I say here is based upon my experience and some cool advices I got from rosarians. For example, yesterday I've spent some time at the local nursery and was inquiring about some new Austins. And again, I've learned something more about them. It's an endless process.

If you want your full grown roses bloom like crazy, just light prune them .. we all know that ... but, also, cut the watter supply too, for some time (and then just add some water after few days, much shorter dosage).

By lacking some water rose won't spend her energy into growing but will rather try to complete her natural full cycle of development, which finishes in full blooms.

And then again, if you want them to grow again, just add more water.

Of course, all your baby roses you want to grow first, to become great bushes and that's why you water them well, every day. And prune them well. Don't even wait for blooms to develop -- you can cut them straight away, as soon they start to bud.

Also, before you plant them, water the soil well for at least 2 weeks before planting. Water has to go deep and the soil must be moist. Same is with unfinished rosebeds: if you still have some place to plant more roses in your rosebed, water that spot well, don't neglect it, even if you're gonna plant your rose in few months.

- Tom

Hi Startingout
Sounds like you've done well so far.Low potassium can cause lowsy bloom quality but it's a little far fetched to state that as your diagnosis from here.Your light is perfect. Drippers have their advantages but unless you are fertilising through your drippers (via soluble fertilisers) they can be slow to get newly plants moving, (inground that is).This is because they mainly wet an area of narrow diameter close to the trunk of your plant before penetrating deep down. Therefore the organic material and fertiliser you have put around your plants can remain relatively dry and inactive allowing only a much slower release of nutrient down to the roots.
Your fertiliser may need looking at.Osmocote does not go far inground (fine in pots) and releases only slowly.Therefore for good results on hungry roses (especially in sandy soil) you would need a large dose and thats not going to be cheap if you intend to expand your hobby.A dose of miracle grow is about the equivalent of a cup of tea (for us humans that is).Blood and bone is a great soil improver but contains no potassium which your roses need in relatively large quantities.
So there's the facts anyhow and this is what I'd recommend you do.
(a) Don't be afraid to overhead water once in a while. This will help to keep your top soil active and nutrients moving down to roots.Longer, less frequent irrigations are best here as you've already said.Early in the day is best so as leaves can dry out and avoid black spot (6 hours of constant moisture required for infection to occur).You should notice the growth increasing the next morning afterwards.
(b)Keep up the organic materials ie mulch,manure, blood and bone etc.This is very important for improving structure on sandy soils.
(c)If you choose to fertilise with organics such as B@B or chook poo then add sulphate of potash to make up for the shortfall in potassium.
(d) You could use a chemical fertiliser such as nitrophoska blue.Smaller doses (than recommended) at more frequent intervals (eg every 4 weeks) is very effective.This is a simple/effective option.

Now before I write another book Startingout I'd suggest you go to www.reliableroses.com.au and use Laurie (Lozza) Newmans culture notes for a free, online, year round guide on rose growing where all aspects of rose care are discussed.The information there would be particlarly suited to someone in your climate range.

Thrip, your suggestions on feeding roses are all amazing. Thank you for sharing all that with us!
- Tom

Yes Thrip is 1 of many i have grabbed valuable info for my roses, Tom your input has been invaluable also, i had no idea about light pruning them & not encouraging 1 or 2 shoots to grow too high, in ther early stages. I hardly contribute as i am new to growing roses. To every1 that contributes with ther own methods ty, this is my source of information. I wish more people would post pics of ther lovely rose garden.

Hi Diesel!
Please note that light pruning is especially effective on David Austin's, because those roses tend to grow much higher and wider than an average HT and have heaps more blooms as well. I saw few gorgeous Austin's few days ago and I was counting:
- 1.5 m wide Pat Austin had about 90+ flowers
- one 2.5 m tall and 2 m wide Falstaff had about 130+ flowers
- an average 1.2 m tall Sharifa Asma had about 90+ flowers
- one incredible 3.5 m tall and almost 2m wide bush of Crown Princess Margareta was all covered in heavy blooms (about 200+ flowers)
- and so on ... I've stopped counting then ...
I was speechless. And then they told me: to achieve such blooms, you need to feed them well on regular basis (every month, as Thrip suggested) and cut water supplies for a while.

- Tom

Thank you everyone for your input. Special thanks to Tom & Thrip for putting me on the right track.
I look forward to blooming healthy DA's in the coming years.Oooh but its hard to snip those buds of sometimes! Now I tell myself that it MUST be done to the greater good.

Tom, a Falstaff with 130 blooms? - Id like to see that. I planted a potted one last summer and now I know why it put out two stems reaching for the sky with one lowsy bloom on the end! Can I "fix" it now by the same light prune process?

Also can you guys tell me how I should winter prune my DA's? Are the treated differently than other roses?

One other thing.....I've seen people on the boards mention OGR's......what are they?

Must say I love this forum....but gosh those Ads are annoying.

Thanks again

Falstaff can reach the sky in Oz.
I have Othello now, a cousin of his, and he's maybe 2 years old. I want Othello rise up above Holtermann's Gold established rose bushes so I'll cut all the branches growing horizontal. From the top, just light pruning to encourage vertical growth. I'll also cut the blooms straight away.
Also, I'll add more natural fertilisers and manure, because they encourage shots from the base, not just vertical boost.
You should encourage Falstaff to have several canes shooting from the base (or very low) if you want a sight to behold in few years.
In the winter, pruning to 3/4 of the size will do. That's what's David Austin recommends for his tall growing roses anyway.
- Tom

PS. OGRs are Old Garden Roses. Or, all those roses found in gardens of yesterday, before today's wildly popular Hybrid Tea (HT) roses came strongly to the market. Dwell more into OGRs -- you'll find them more appealing and interesting than today's "sugar candy", barbie dolls HTs. :-)

Thanks from me too for all the wonderful advise that is given on this forum for newbies to roses like me.

I bought a book called Old Fashioned Roses by James Young to read while we were travelling along the highways.

Now I am wondering where the next rose garden will go !!!!
Marion