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Sally Holmes, is this normal?

8 years ago

I planted a Sally Holmes bare root in February here in zone 9/Sunset zone 19 in Southern CA. It had two healthy canes when I planted it and healthy roots. It has grown vigorously, about half a dozen 4+' long branches and several basal breaks. But not a hint of a bud or a bloom, just more leaves at every growing tip. I'm used to seeing blooms on roses by now, is this normal for SH?

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Comments (5)

fig_insanity Z7b E TN
8 years ago
Assuming it really is a SH, and not mis-labled, it sounds like it's making vegetative growth at the expense of blooms. It just means she really likes where she is, lol. Did you by chance use a high nitrogen fertilizer? In any case, if it's really SH, when she settles in she'll bloom her head off.

John
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kentc
Original Author
8 years ago
When it started growing I gave it a handful of 10-10-10. Right now my whole yard is new so I'm not very concerned, everything else is still filling in. I was just curious if SH had a different bloom habit than other roses.
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One of my favorite gardening design idea sites (gardenia.net) has a great photo of Sally Holmes with lots of grasses and purple companion plants. Photo from: https://www.gardenia.net/garden/A-Pretty-Late-Season-Border-Idea-with-Asters-Roses-and-Grasses Isn't that a great design? I'm trying to create a similar effect, but with a few substitutes to the plants in their design. I'm using verbena, purple fountain grass and lantana instead of what they have there. Asters could work here too... but I haven't added them yet. And of course I want Sally Holmes to be a tree instead of the little baby bush they have there. I may end up putting a couple Peace rose bushes in there too because they are currently orphans without a home and I can't figure out where to put them. I love Sally Holmes. As a tree, climbing over a structure, trained horizontally through a ranch style fence. It's fantastic and super easy here in CA.
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There were 3 podocarpus (fern pines) that were growing along the fence and they were getting huge and were so messy so they had to go. Roots could definitely be an issue. It's been 3 years since we got rid of them and last summer I threw 3 lantanas that I got off the $3 rack from Lowes into the space. They work fine but I need height. I'm trying to remember if I hit roots when planting them. I guess I'll be digging tomorrow to find out. For the spot out front. Clay soil that has not been amended. I think Sally will be ok there. We don't get rain often like we did this year and in future heavy rain years I can always get an attachment that drains the water to the street. I am constantly reinventing my yard so I'm not afraid to get rid or move something if it's not working but still like to research first. Thanks for the feedback!
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I'm afraid I don't have any glamour shots of my Sally, but I'll share what I've got. Here she is in 2018, the year after she was planted -- no height yet, but doing well: I'm training her up over that black structure, which is the screenhouse where I grow fruits, vegetables occasionally, and cutting flowers. Last spring I placed a bench in her spot and moved her down a bit. Not sure if she resents the bench, likes the bench and wants to be friends with it, or just thinks it's in her spot: She gets blackspot on her feet and defoliates, but continues to bloom: I included her in this very blowsy arrangement, which had already started to lose its petals when I snapped the photo: Just a note that this is the first time I've tried to upload photos via Houzz, and they all look kind of blurry here in this preview window. Not sure if they'll clear up once I submit the post.
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Plants in pots lose one zone of hardiness. I too put 1 gallon pots of Tea roses (z 7) in an alcove next to the house. Sally Holmes is rated z 5b. In the ground, planted, your plants should be fine. I lived in Alaska for 33 years and was in z 3. Up there, it really was a challenge. You should be able to grow all roses Dawn without winter protection in the ground. I, like Judith, love to pamper the pots that are portable but 24 degrees is not too much for an in ground Hybrid Musk rose. Watering is a great idea, even in the ground.
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jerijen
8 years ago

A healthy Sally Holmes can be a huge, very floriferous plant. You can grow it as a very big Shrub, or even as a climber. It may be just trying to grow to its desired size before blooming, but it's hard to say. Can you show us what your foliage looks like?

The large white rose in the middle of this is Sally Holmes -- so you can see how large she CAN be. (Our poor dry garden no longer looks like this.)
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jerijen
8 years ago
Oh, generally speaking, it's best NOT to feed a new rose until after the first flush of bloom has come and gone.
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kentc
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I took a couple of photos of my SH today.

I should have taken a closeup of one of the tips, but they are all the same, not a sign of a bud in sight.
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