In Southern California, now, our biggest problem isn't disease. It's drought. I have to reduce the numbers of roses. But the roses we are keeping -- which will be the backbone of what we have -- are Found Roses. If they can get along for a century with no one giving them water, other than The Diety, they are more likely to survive here. If they survived in an un-watered vacant lot, they may survive here.

It is always educational to read about fellow rosarians challenges. Well if water is a scarity then you have made a good decision Jeri. You probably have to grow more drought tolerant roses if there is such a thing.

Teas and Chinas slip into dormancy when it's hot and dry. It's a good survival technique. Doesn't mean that they can survive with no water ... but . . .

I thought that was the case. Even here up the North they go through a short summer slower go of it. Good to know.

This year I am trying to plant Lupines. As many Lupins I can . They are a special kind of plant in the Legumes. They put the Nitrogen in the soil.

I agree, Sam. It can get very hot and dry here in July and early August and the roses do slow down a lot during those times. My best growing and blooming months are June and September.

I found this antique rose while taking a drive in the jeep , June 2014 took a piece of it home . wow its hardy. Smells great. It is my second to bloom after Father Hugo. I remember last year it quills.

It's really lovely Sam. Is it remontant? I'd love to see the bloom fully open, and maybe some buds.

help with I D. small and cold hardy.

I posted in the antique rose forum for help ID too.

Thanks

Sam, I wonder if this is perhaps 'Autumn Damask' (R. damascena bifera). If so, when your plant is more mature, if your season is long enough, you may get some fall repeat.

Here is 'Autumn Damask' in Southern California:

Yes thank you. It looks like that damask rose. This one has red canes not green. They might be red frome the cold. My mayflower and champlain have red canes. I will keep you updated on what the Antique rose forum says.

Sam, your rose may not have enough prickles to be Autumn Damask -- but it's difficult for me to tell.

Many people here are planting milkweed for the Monarchs.

It is a mystery rose. I think it might be Rosa cinnamomea . I think it was brought from France. I found it at an old farm. I saw it on the Cornhill nursery website in Canada. It is also called Rosa Majalis

It may have come from France, but does not look like the R. cinnamomea I have seen. (See your other post for more photos.)

Sam, It's Therese Bugnet!

I planted 12 of Therese Bugnets this spring, when they're in bloom, I will check the bloom size. There're not many roses with red canes out there.......that's can be the key point on finding a rose.

Looks like rosa cinnamomea plena to me, leaves and stems look like http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=21.27059

At least in my previous garden - Therese Bugnet (Boonyeh) bloomed more than once.

Ok, not a a Therese Bugnet then........glad to hear it repeats.

I had an AHA moment with Help Me Find a month ago when I discovered I could click the "photos" tab to see more photos of each rose.

Completely OT, the lineage listings on HMF are pretty nifty too. Does anyone know if they are all accurate?

(Pesticide free for me so far. The cold winters keeps most bugs under control. Other than aphids, which I spray off daily with a blast of water. And lily beetles on my lilies which I drown in soapy water.)

As I watched two rose midges flying near one of my roses that is a blooming machine I have to share a post I saw I think is true for me too and hits the nail on the head. It is from a guy from NJ and copied from a New Yorker.

Here is a quote from another post that should be in this post because it is so good. I copied and pasted it .

"I simply accept whatever damage comes -- and beginning my third year with this garden, I notice that damage is less severe than the first year. I guess that all the good stuff I throw on the soil, as well as the varied plants I picked, do their part towards attracting the "good bugs" and other critters that keep the "bad bugs" in check. Is every leaf perfect? No, but nothing is so debilitating that most of the plants (including the roses) I picked can't just grow past them -- and any that can't survive, well, simply aren't fit enough for me to grow here. When things are growing all big and intermingled, the eye is drawn toward the pretty and away from the ugly."

Perfectly said!

Carol

Haha -- that was me! And while I'm in NJ now, I'm a New Yorker through and through. I've also been posting pics of my 2-year-old garden in the thread linked below.

Spring 2015 garden shots

:-)

~Christopher

I got my fall pile of compost today.

I get compost 2 times a year and topdress the soil. That's my neighbor Wilbur.

Sam, I'm surprised that your fall compost application doesn't spur a late growth spurt. I've only been adding compost & manure in spring.

See next to the pile on the lawn we rake it in.

The neighbor and I are using it for the lawn. The cool season grass grows now and this is the best time of year to get the roots down deep. We split the cost. For the garden I am taking off the old soil and putting down new to fend off pests and diseases to the condition the soil and raking and cleaning. Mostly any black spot disease spores will be moved and covered from the surface. Any rose midge will be evicted to a new location. My season is coming to an end soon. I want the roots to grow down really deep now. I never use wood mulch. I never need to water my garden. The roots go way down. Temperatures are 52 at night now things are slowing down not much soil activity. I have not used chemical fertilizers in years and my roots go deep. Also I have a completely no spray for pesticides or fungicides. I haven't needed to. I have no HT roses. Only shrubs and fruit trees and perennials.

I have a bag of Milorganite that's going on the lawn in October - our daytime temps are in the 90's with nights in the 70's. You should consider moving south when you retire to get a longer growing season.

I posted my last rose of the year in the Organic roses forum too. Earth song.

Really enjoyed your photos, Sam. Thank you for posting them.

Thanks!

Here is the last Heritage. Roses can be grown without chemicals.

I used corn gluten meal in the spring to get rid of the crab grass. Yesrs ago. It worked fine. It takes care of pre-emerging weed seeds.

Great job Sam! I recently applied compost here also...

Yes Jim I agree, feed your soil. That feeds your plants. Thomas Affleck Iooks healthy.

Does anyone prune canes during the winter as they go bad? I noticed that the late fall growth goes bad first--perhaps removing it now before Spring would reduce the spread of disease. Normally I wait until Spring to prune off the bad stuff, but I have lost two HT roses over the years to dieback in the Spring.

I trim off what turns black. It always happens to the late new growth and can not see any point too leaving it on.

Ingrid, I would too. And that's saying a lot for me too.

Carol

Last summer I hardly got a single bloom from the roses that were so decimated, but it was well worth it not to spray, and see the good guys happily feasting on the naughty bugs. My favorite ladybug with one damaged wing was in the garden a long time. i moved it to better territory every few days and rather missed the little thing when it moved on.

Awww...you had a favorite ladybug! How cute!! :)

I love looking at the insects - good for you!!

CArol

I found out that henbit, which is a weed, hosts lady bug eggs. So I'm letting mine stay for now. Actually allowing any weeds that will winter stay. They act as ground cover/mulch and keep the soil from getting too cold or warm. They usually die off in the very hot weather.

I'm going to plant some Cosmos next year...

Jim, you have ANNUALS still blooming. Maybe I need to quit taking mine out so soon.

I planted cosmos this year. Total bust. We had a REALLY wet Spring, and I planted them in prime bed space. They grew big and fluffy and didn't bloom. I still have a few zinnias blooming.

They do have pretty foliage - but the blooms the thing. too bad it didn't work for you.

Carol

Letting the hose drip or bubble or mist or rain is a good way to get oxygen to the soil .

The best water to use for a rose plant is the water that comes from a stream or river carrying the biology and other nutrients and biology that the plant needs and is oxygenated by the motion of the stream this also can be achieved with an aerated compost tea brewer to get the good aerobic bacteria and fungi. Science has shown at Penn State with compost tea reducing some disease in grape plants. Trials have been done using compost tea at Rodale in Kutztown Pennsylvania.

Compost tea differs from manuer tea.

It is important that compost be made properly and aerated similar to the soil on the forest floor.

J Kelly, when I've had cosmos in amongst the roses it didn't bloom. If I plant it in leaner, drier soil with iron clad perennials it blooms like a champ. Perhaps Sam has a specific cosmos variety that thrives in rich soil. Sam, do you still have the seed packet?

I've never sprayed roses and have grown dozens of kinds over the years.

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/soils/health/

Bob Cannard talks about nutrient cycling.

https://youtu.be/-AJL0P0OMrE