Some end-of-season blooms
After putting down today's layer of coffee grounds, I decided to take some pics of what will probably be some of the last blooms of the season. As I recall from last year, I did still see some blooms through November, so perhaps I'll continue this thread until the bitter end.
Here's a baby 'Louis Philippe' between Amsonia ciliata 'Halfway to Arkansas' on the left, and a starting-to-mildew Verbena bonairensis on the right. It's the first rose on from the left in this bed, the next one being "Grandmother's Hat". This rose was among the ones I added this year to the south-facing bed against the neighbor's house. Unlike the "probably not 'Louis Philippe' but definitely a red China" I received a couple years ago from another vendor, this one from Angel Gardens has the strong "Cherry Nibs" scent.
'Rival de Paestum' from Rose Petals Nursery went in the same bed this year, on the other side of "Grandmother's Hat" and to the left of 'Napoleon' -- which were both planted last year.
The next two pics are of 'Perle d'Or', which I received from Long Ago Roses two years ago and was planted here last year. It's finally gaining size -- once I learned to NOT cut the spent candelabras down to the next set of leaves. Instead, I just snap the faded blooms off, and what was once bare flower stems becomes leafed-out soon after.
To the right of 'Perle d'Or' is 'Cramoisi Superieur', which I received from Angel Gardens this year. It's also strongly scented of "Cherry Nibs". The accurate names of this and my 'Louis Philippe' may be reversed compared to how the west coast has them, but all I cared was that I had fragrant red Chinas here. There's also "Dutch Fork China" to the left of 'Perle d'Or', but it's not blooming now. It, too, has that "Cherry Nibs" scent to its blooms, but is not as double as LP and CS.
In the back yard main-beds I have a few others showing their pretty faces now. This is 'Mlle Blanche Lafitte', which came from Vintage Gardens back in 2013.
To its right is 'Rose du Roi -- original', which is another of my Vintage Gardens roses from 2013. Unfortunately, I can't capture the dark purplish tones that I see on the outer petals.
And to the right of 'Rose du Roi -- original' is "Bermuda Spice" -- also from Vintage Gardens in 2013, and which hasn't been without a bloom since late May. With the cooler weather, the larger size and pink tones are returning. And look how big it gets after being cut back to about 12" in Spring!
I'm also realizing that the tall purple-leafed Sedum at its feet will need to be moved next year -- in the shade of "Bermuda Spice" it got sprawly, and leaned against the rose, causing that odd-looking "dent" in "Bermuda Spice". Those few purplish-pink blooms you see in the background of the second pic belong to 'Paul Neyron'. I didn't take up-close shots of them because right now they're just semi-double. PN does that sometimes with me, usually when there are just a few off-season blooms that aren't part of a "proper flush".
I still have some roses in pots which I intend to plant in the ground. I've come to realize that my "shady border" on the side of my house is actually getting hit with early morning and late day sun -- much to the detriment of the perennials I put there. So I decided to pick out some Polyanthas and related types there. Unfortunately, when I was rose shopping earlier in the year, only a few on my list were available. One of them is 'Sweet Chariot' which came from Long Ago Roses this June. I considered planting it now, but I have a feeling that when I get the others next year I'll want to move it again. So 'Sweet Chariot' remains in a 2-gal container until next year.
...to be continued...
:-)
~Christopher
Comments (27)
AquaEyes 7a NJ
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoAnother rose I intend to plant in the "not quite as shady as I thought"
border against my house is "Lindee". It's hardly been without a bloom
since I got it from Long Ago Roses in June -- sometimes just a few,
sometimes whole candelabras. I know generally where I want to put it,
but I also want to avoid putting two similar roses next to each other.
The ones on my list are either white, pink, or mauve-purple. And they
vary in plant size and double-ness of blooms. So I'll wait until I have them
all next year so I can shuffle pots around before deciding on final
placement. My aim is to not only fill empty spots but also to have roses give some shade to neighboring hostas and ferns that are getting some sun scorch.
Unfortunately, this shot of 'Rosa moschata' came out blurry. This year I finally realized that it needed extra water where it's planted, and it's doing much better than last year. I'm hoping more of it makes it through this Winter than last Winter. There's another set of canes to the left which aren't shown in this pic, but still, this plant is only half the size of its offspring 'Reverend Seidel' at the other end of this bed. I think the difference is because this corner gets about three hours less sun. I got this in 2013 from Vintage Gardens.
'Mutabilis' arrived in June from Rose Petals Nursery, and is still in its 2-gal container. I repotted any of my Chinas and Teas which I wanted in 15" pots, but not the ones I intended to plant in the 22" barrels. My landlord STILL hasn't fixed the garage door, and that means I'll likely be sticking all the roses in my enclosed back porch. The barrels won't fit there, but smaller pots will. This bloom on 'Mutabilis' opened yellow yesterday, and is pink today.
'Oakington Ruby' came this Spring from Rogue Valley Roses. Initially I planted it right from its band pot into the ground, but later changed my mind about where I put it. So back into a pot it went, and getting my "magic mix" brought forth a flush of new growth. Now it's in a 15" pot. Interestingly, it smells (to me) just like 'Louis Philippe' and my other red Chinas -- a "Cherry Nibs" scent.
'Homere' came in June from Burlington Roses. Blooms are small but keep coming -- and smell great. The plant itself is getting rather big in its 2-gal container. Next year it's going into a 22" barrel, and this Winter it'll be tucked away in my back porch.
"Boone Hall China" is a found-rose being offered by Angel Gardens. Mine came with the others back in June. It has the "Cherry Nibs" scent I like, but it also is one of the few roses that is fighting mildew here. I don't spray, and it keeps on growing and blooming regardless. I think this may be one of those "affected by mildew when young" roses, since it comes and goes. I have it in a 15" pot.
Oh, and in the upper left corner you'll see blue-green grass-like foliage and pink blooms. That's my Dianthus 'Rose du Mai' which has almost never been without a bloom since its heavy flush in May. I have it planted at the "peninsula" of the bed, draping over the log edging. Blooms are strongly scented of cloves.
'Gruss an Coburg' came from Long Ago Roses this year. I have it in a 15" pot, and it's sent forth two stout basals already. The blooms and fragrance last for days, but unfortunately the colors don't. Here's how it starts, in bud. That buff bloom in the background is about five days old -- faded, but still fragrant.
Another unopened bud, this time on 'Happy Child', which I planted in the ground straight from its band liner in 2014. I got it from Heirloom Roses. It was rather slow to start compared to most of my others, but I realize now that that's likely because it never got to sit in my "magic mix". This year it took off.
'Clotilde Soupert' came as a band from Long Ago Roses back in 2013. Yes, it has balling issues sometimes, but for me that's only when it's cool and wet. Cool and dry, no problem. Warm and wet, no problem.
And finally, here's a "glamour shot" of 'Golden Buddha', which I received as a band from Rogue Valley Roses back in 2013. All I do is cut back dead or in-the-way stems in Spring, and snap off faded blooms during the growing season -- it doesn't get any other pruning, yet stays compact and provides these blooms in waves. The color does fade, but the petals don't look tattered for days. And for me, it gets absolutely no blackspot despite growing in a no-spray NJ garden until late in the season. Last year I saw a handful of spotty leaves in November -- the first all year. Bravo, Paul Barden!
:-)
~Christopher
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Hong Kong: end of season blooms
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Comments (32)Nicole--si, il cuor verde d'italia, esattamente! :-) It's an apt nickname. If you ever get the chance, go there! Of all the places I've been on this planet, it stands out as the most enchanting, hands down. And the wine is unique and wonderful. I call that corner the Heart of Darkness because it's where the property line meets the seawall, and it's overgrown with clusters of palms of various sorts that never seem to get manicured--and so all of the dead fronds hang there and it becomes more and more like a tiny jungle as time passes. Small *cringe*. Anyway, I'll be glad to send the cutting either way. I know your trees are young. But if you make me an offer I can't refuse, I might then hafta accept :-) We'll talk about over the winter LOL it'll give us something to do while are plumies are bare naked sticks. Thank you, Wendy! :-) You're very kind. And I don't expect you to bother John on my behalf--it's all good. If I decide I MUST have that tree (and put it where???), then you've given me enough info to, theoretically at least, find out from John what that sassy little plumie is named, if not Tangerine Dream, and then order me one! LOL it makes my day to know that y'all enjoyed my storytelling :-) You hafta have a sense of humor, I guess, right?, 'cause if you don't, one minute the iguanas are downing your trees, the next minute you're going postal! hehe In seriousness, the iguanas still come 'round often enough to decimate any progress that a few of my smaller trees have made-- it only takes 1-2 visits a month on their part. It's sad--Mary Moragne and Kona Hybrid each came to me as short 2-tips, and they've been picked clean so often that the nubby tips are tapering up to nothing. Another one recently broke a branch off Haleakala, on its way to shred the leaves, kinda beaver-style LOL. It's MADDENING but I guess there are some things that one cannot control. G...See MoreEnd of season blooms
Comments (24)Sylvia, MP is a great rose! I got her a few years ago from a friend who got her as a give away at a Mini Nationals convention. She didn't want it so I took it in. Glad I did! She is a bloom machine! At the moment she has some weed invading her pot that is covered in powdery mildew and her her leaves are clean and she has 5 buds showing color! They probably won't open now but she's still trying. Our spring was very late so I didn't get a very big spring flush. The extra rain made fungal diseases rampant. Blooms seemed few and far between on most of the roses. I have 11 roses that never bloomed at all this season. These are not new ones either. Most of the 11 are well established 3 to 5 year old plants. They just didn't bloom. If they don't bloom next spring they're out of here!...See MoreAquaEyes 7a NJ
8 years ago
Virginia, the scent of "cherries" or "dark berries" is also common among many red wines, so I totally get your comparison. For me, the first thing that comes to mind is Cherry Nibs, seen in the pic below. Consider buying a bag to be "educational", and therefore the calories won't count.
;-)
~Christopher
AquaEyes 7a NJ
8 years agoAquaEyes 7a NJ
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoAquaEyes 7a NJ
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoI came home from work and was greeted by this HUGE bloom on my baby 'Devoniensis'. The rose is quickly filling its 15" pot, with stout new basals coming up. Hard to believe this was just a band four months ago. I cut it, two blooms of 'Tamora', and a small spray of 'R. moschata' for one of my yard-sharing neighbors. I saw her through her kitchen window doing school work, and thought she could use some olfactory distraction, and she set them next to her in a vase.
There are a handful of others out there. If it's still light out after dinner, I'll take some more pics.
:-)
~Christopher
AquaEyes 7a NJ
8 years ago
nikthegreek
8 years agolast modified: 8 years ago
ozmelodye
8 years agoAquaEyes 7a NJ
8 years agoAquaEyes 7a NJ
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoToday I took a few more pics. The first one is rather similar to my previous shot of "Bermuda Spice", but this one shows a bit of its neighbors. Swallowing the raised deck railing near the upper left corner is "Nouveau Monde -- In Commerce As". It's not blooming, but it sure is growing! After its bloom, I cut its canes back to the top of the deck railing -- which, incidentally, is six feet from ground level. It more than replaced that growth, so what I've got will be kept. And what you see arching over the railing are actually laterals -- the main stems were trained in arches and/or horizontally along the deck railing. That encouraged lots of laterals -- which grow long and generally unbranched. I'll likely have to train it a bit better in Spring, however.
To the immediate left of "Bermuda Spice" is 'Rose du Roi -- original. It doesn't have blooms now, but there are a few unopened buds hidden among the foliage.
In the pots at the bottom, there's 'Mutabilis' on the left, and a sprawling "Ferndale Red China" on the right. Both are also bloom-less right now.
I also shared a pic of 'Sweet Chariot' previously, but this shot shows the whole plant. This came as a band in June, spent some time "planted directly" in the ground, then was removed and repotted in a 2-gal container after I decided not to put it where I had it. It'll eventually go on the side of my house, helping to give some shade to the ferns and hostas and other things that seem to be getting too much sun there.
This is 'Miss Lowe's Variety' in a 2-gal nursery liner, currently sitting next to "Bermuda Spice". The buds you see are actually mature, but were closed because it was so cloudy when I took the pics.
In the background you can see lots of brown among the grass. I put down seed in the patches where the crabgrass has died off for the season, then topped it with Milorganite, then peat moss, then coffee grounds. Each layer was just sprinkled, and the total is still less than half an inch. I probably should have done this a month ago, but it's already starting to germinate. Fescue is fast.
That tuft of blue foliage near the upper left corner is Dianthus 'Rose du Mai' which still has blooms. Above it is the one yellow bloom on 'Happy Child' which I show better later. There's also some blue foliage in the lower right corner. That belongs to Dianthus 'Horatio' -- not blooming. It sorta spills out onto the deck there, which I like even when not blooming.
In the center of this pic is 'Nigrette', which is the same rose sold under the name 'Louis XIV'. I don't know which is correct -- perhaps 'Louis XIV' was reintroduced under a new name, or perhaps someone found an unnamed 'Nigrette' and matched it to 'Louis XIV'. Doesn't matter to me. This rose would probably be miserable in the ground, but when living in a 15" pot filled with my "magic mix", it grows and blooms and remains healthy without further assistance. There aren't open blooms on it now, but if you look closely, you'll find LOTS of unopened buds. I do hope they show their faces before a hard freeze.
The pot in the upper right holds 'Oakington Ruby', which was once planted in the ground right from its band lined but later removed and potted up. It also has a couple of blooms on it, but they're rather ragged now.
The pot in the lower right holds 'Chateau de Clos Vougeot', which isn't blooming now. It wasn't doing much for a while, until I realized it wasn't getting much sun. Since moving the pot to here, it sent forth two new basals that are a bit thicker than a pencil. All three roses came as bands this Spring from RVR.
'Lady Hillingdon' was hit pretty hard by blackspot this year, but then refoliated with those pretty plum-colored leaves -- and has a bunch of buds forming. This is the only bloom currently open. Those naked canes against the railing by the steps belong to 'Reine des Violettes'. It has lots of leaves at the tips, but didn't refoliate after blackspot hit. Instead, it just continued growing, and kept its leaves on the new tips.
Here's 'Golden Buddha' with a range of ages among its blooms. I usually don't remove them until they start turning brown, which isn't for a week or more. But the initial color lasts only two or three days before fading to the off-white color you see on some here. Also note the foliage -- while it got no blackspot this year, I am noticing a bit of mildew along the tips of some stems. We had an unusually dry August, then a whole bunch of rain for a week in September, then it stayed rather cool and dry. That combination seemed to cause a bit of a mildew outbreak on several of my roses. I'm still studying how they do, so I'm not intervening. I'm considering using sulfur spray alternating with liquid castile soap for next year, and that's about as toxic as I'll go.
Oh, and that photobombing foliage that doesn't "match" in the lower right belongs to 'Souvenir de Victor Landeau'. I pegged two of its long canes, and this one stretched about six feet. I'll probably nip the tip back so it doesn't overlap 'Prospero' (not pictured, to the right of 'Golden Buddha').
'Clotilde Soupert' is having such a heavy flush right now, its canes are bowing over from the weight. A couple are showing a touch of balling, but overall, they're mostly fine. We did have a cold wet night somewhat recently, and I think that's what did it.
"Sophie's Perpetual" is growing at a glacial pace, but I'm fine with that. I'll just have to surround it with annuals next year to fill all that empty space I left in anticipation of the size I thought it'd be by now.
'Honorine de Brabant' had "scattered rebloom" during the Summer, then stopped in August. I suppose if I gave it a haircut it'd done better with an Autumn flush, but I'm still in the "let them grow wild" phase. This was a band two years ago, and is already reaching the roof of the garage. I pulled this cane down a bit to take the pic.
'Happy Child" got hit with spotty leaves somewhat recently, but keeps sending blooms regardless. Frankly, for this time of year, I don't care about spotty leaves. We have just a few more weeks before most of the leaves will drop, anyway. 'Happy Child' is planted between Dianthus 'Rose du Mai' and 'Honorine de Brabant', with some other miscellaneous things.
......to be continued
:-)
~Christopher
AquaEyes 7a NJ
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoSo that previous post was in the back yard. Most of the roses I planted in the front went in the ground only this year, so I appreciate each and every bloom those babies give.
Here's "Maggie" planted near the base of the steps to my front porch. Previously, I had 'Archduke Charles' there, but it just sat and barely grew since I planted it in 2013. I dug it up and found that it never extended roots beyond the original media it had in its band liner. I potted it up, but it gradually grew backwards and died. I think it was just a dud plant, and will try again next year -- but keep it as a pot-pet along with my other Chinas and Teas.
'Arethusa' blooms in waves, but blooms don't last very long. Here you can see a newly-opened bloom, several faded blooms, and a few unopened buds. At this time of year, I stop dead-heading. At most, I'll rip off ragged petals. I did that right after taking this pic.
'Marie Pavie' was planted here in 2013, so it's one of the "older" residents in this bed. Mine came from Vintage Gardens, and is fully-double like this except when temperatures are above 90F. If you look closely, there are many more unopened buds on it.
Here's a baby 'Blue Mist' which is also in the boxed-bed in front of my house. The plant as a whole is bigger than this pic indicates, but the only blooms it has right now are on this one short bit.
This is 'Pink Soupert', which also came this year as a band. It's been growing steadily albeit slowly, and blooms on and off in waves. Interestingly, it's somewhat "on-cycle" with 'Marie Pavie', which is just a few feet away.
If you're wondering, all that dark stuff is coffee grounds. I recently re-applied a fresh new layer to the front bed. Some of the tree leaves are under it, some fell down on top of it. I'll be dealing with the tree leaves soon -- seems pointless to bother until the last of them have dropped. So things are a bit messy for a couple weeks.
And to finish this post, here's a non-rose pic. I planted a small "band-sized" plant of Ceratostigma plumbaginoides (aka leadwort) in this bed last year (Spring 2014). It's a ground-cover, gently spreading but not smothering its neighbors. Blooms don't begin until about September, then keep coming until hard frost. Around now, the foliage starts turning red before dropping off. So there's a magic couple of weeks when it has these electric-blue blooms on red foliage -- not yet, but soon. I'll be sure to clear the tree leaves by then, I promise.
If you spot some rose neighbors, your eyes are good. To the left is "Pickering Four Seasons", and to the right -- by the tag -- is 'Baby Faurax'. Behind the leadwort is the previously-shown 'Marie Pavie'.
Winter won't be quite as long and miserable this year -- I hope -- because last year's Spring bulbs should be coming up a bit earlier. From what I remember, they're a couple weeks late in their first year, but I'm hoping for blooms appearing again in March 2016. If the roses continue a few more weeks as I expect, that means only three months without flowers.
:-)
~ChristopherAquaEyes 7a NJ
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoI was going through earlier pics on Facebook and found this one of 'Nigrette' taken July 7 -- one month after coming as a tiny band, in a 1-gal container sitting on one of the 15" pots into which it was to be planted later. My 'Nigrette' from last year died in this pot last Winter, so this one is actually sitting on the "grave" of the previous one.
When I potted this and some others into the 15" pots, I used fresh "magic mix" blended with last year's mix in equal parts. Four months later, it became the pic I shared previously in this thread, which I'll post again below. Not bad for an old wimpy stinky dark-red HT grown organically in blackspot heaven NJ, eh?
Sheila, Ingrid, and Buford -- thanks so much! I, too, am looking forward to it all starting again, beginning with the second year for the Spring bulbs I planted last Autumn. I just wish the "sleepy-time" of Winter didn't last so long. At least we're getting a "heat wave" of temperatures in the 60s and 70s for a bit. So maybe I'll get to see all those buds open on 'Nigrette' very soon. Oh, and I noticed some more on 'Mme de Sevigne' today. That was rather unexpected.
:-)
~Christopher
AquaEyes 7a NJ
8 years agoRemember 'Nigrette' from my previous post? Well, tonight we're expecting frost again, and this time I think it'll actually happen. So before work, I cut some 'Nigrette' to bring with me. The cold weather we've been having has really slowed the development of these buds, so they're extra dark. And apparently, when I take a pic of them indoors under fluorescent lighting, I can actually capture how dark they are with my iPhone. Some people who always request me came in tonight, and I gave them to the wife to take home. I'm sure they're in a better looking "vase" than that dixie cup right now.
:-)
~Christopher
monarda_gw
8 years ago
ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9