Spring 2017 - Zone 9b Islamabad
Khalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)
7 years ago
Spring flush of my roses is just on the door step. Few of my roses are already blooming, most of them will be in full bloom in week to 15 days time.
Most rose bushes at the moment are loaded with buds..... By and large, most bushes are quite healthy this year and other than an attack of powdery mildew on few bushes (that has been controlled effectively by spraying diluted milk), there has been no diseases.
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Khalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)
7 years agoFew roses that have started blooming....
Strong fragrance and delightful deep burgundy blooms.
Just Joey has been absolutely brilliant this year so far. Moderate to strong fruity fragrance and pink to orange shade blooms.
Friesia has just started blooming. Fragrance is mild.
William Morris, as always, has been brilliant. It is one of the best DA roses in my house. Fragrance is mild to moderate.... hardly ever in the strong shade. However, it blooms profusely.
Health of my LEH bush is just average. It keeps blooming though
stay tuned
Khalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)
7 years agoFew more...
Westerland is continuously blooming. Fragrance is just mild.
Lot of buds on Spirit of Freedom. The bush is quite healthy but the fragrance is just mild.
There are so many buds on Jude the Obscure. I havent' seen so many buds on a single bush in the past.
As always, a reliable performer. Fruity honey fragrance of moderate intensity.
Troika has a high quality fragrance of moderate intensity.
Strong fragrance and a lovely shade.
Related Discussions
Spring Flush 2016.... Zone 9b
Comments (172)Straw: Didn't see this thread since long and missed your comment. I think primarily it is the river soil that is the main reason for deep colour. It comes with lots of trace elements which are in the form of fine particles formed due to the crushing of mineral rich rock high up in the glaciers. I have observed that many of my plants, planted in plain river soil, do well for years. My potting mix contain mainly river soil (6 parts) and lots of humus material including home made compost (2 parts), leaf mould (1 part or a little more) and remaining is some chicken manure (may be 1/2 part out of 10), some cottonseed cake etc. I would conclude that it is mainly river soil along with home made compost that is rich in Potassium, Calcium and trace elements. best regards...See MoreMy Roses in Burning Heat...... Zone 9b
Comments (143)Straw wrote: "Khalid: Your roses look very good in high heat, nice colors and healthy foliage. My Just Joey looks really bad, blooms bleached out to beige, so I don't even post pics. I might move it to partial shade for better color. We are in hot & dry phase, up to 90 F, or 32 C." Straw: 90*F is not high heat for roses in my view. I mean in this temperature, my roses were performing very well. Could there be other (primary) reason for your Just Joey or any other rose not performing that well. I am not sure if 90*F alone is enough to cause deterioration in performance of a particular cultivar. I mean some mineral deficiency / excess or some issue with the soil that gets amplified due to rise in temp? Or could it be that my roses have slowly been acclimatized to perform better in heat? Just trying to understand what could be the reason for my Just Joey being quite yellow in 105*F and your's turning beige in 90*F. best regards PS: Sam, did you see the photos of Rose Biomes posted above? Jess: Alec's Red hasn't impressed me much. It is almost completely non fragrant since the temps rose above 100*F and is blooming sparsely. When I compare it's performance with many other roses, I would rate it quite low with regards to performance in summers though it performs much better when it is cooler. Sorry no experience of growing Christopher Columbus. I haven't actually seen it here....See MoreOctober Roses..... Islamabad zone 9b
Comments (29)Khalid: Thank you for those nice pics. & I'm impressed at how large and healthy the leaves are. Your Chartreuse de Parme is beautiful, same with Belle E. Own-root roses are much smaller than grafted, and my cold-zone makes roses 1/2 the size of warm-zone. So I have to go with REALL BIG roses if I want own-root in a cold-zone. Some of the wimpy own-roots like Love Song, Bishop Castle, Jude the Obscure are sold for $40 each at Heirloom roses since it takes longer for them to root. The problem with our winter & growing indoor: STERILE potting soil is used, that doesn't have mycorrhyzal fungi for fast root-growth. Rooting OUTDOOR with fast-drainage & loamy soil plus mycorrhyzal fungi resulted in THICKER roots for me. But I have to mix that in a month is advance. If you click on the below link, you'll see how Jobes' fertilizer NPK 3-5-3 (with bacteria & fungi) makes a big difference in Julia Child's flowering. Ingredients in Jobe's fertilizer NPK 3-5-3 are "Protein Hydrolysate from feather meal, bone meal, composted poultry manure, sulfate of potash and various bacteria, endomycorrhizae, ectomycorrhzae and archaea." https://www.amazon.com/Jobes-09426-Organic-Granular-Fertilizer/dp/B002RBGO0U/ref=lp_3032347011_1_10?srs=3032347011&ie=UTF8&qid=1477666753&sr=8-10 Here's what Jobe's fertilizer for roses contain: " A consortium of three microorganisms - bacteria mycorrhizal fungi plus a unique species of archaea that breaks down complex materials." That the same microbes in compost. One person reported the best result with rooting was with coco-coir (for fast drainage) and compost. I like home-made compost better than store-bought-compost (mostly cow-manure with antibiotics, salt, and that nasty quick-lime added to deodorize)....See MorePests and Diseases during fall, Zone 9b Islamabad
Comments (31)Made a huge bouquet of Lemon Spice this morning and found a lot of ants in one of the blooms. VV, was that you that had ants eating your First Crush? What did you do? The ants might eat my new green lacewing eggs also and I need them for the aphids! Khalid, yours is a timely post for me! I haven't seen mildew at all and this morning I see what appears to be mildew on the new plants that I bought from Home Depot. They are my first grafted ones and were so inexpensive that I couldn't resist. I'm also wondering if it could be some sort of fungicide oozing out of the leaves? I questioned one of the nurseries about that when some arrived looking that way last fall and they said that it was fungicide, which I wasn't thrilled about. I've had these for two weeks though and it just appeared. Might try some milk on them also! When I did it last year, I sprayed every few days but not sure what the proper protocol is....See MoreKhalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)
7 years agoThere are so many bushes that are full of buds and needs a few more days.... just a few photos.
A corner of my house under a tree where roses, most in pots, have been kept at different levels. I think this area will have an effect when all roses will be in bloom.
Roses in different places in my house; most of them are loaded with buds.
Lets hope for a good show next week. I will be out of Islamabad for few days but my son will take photos.
best regards
Khalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)
7 years ago
Black Prince is brilliant these days. Strong damask fragrance
Chippendale is healthy now. The white stains that you see is the dead powdery mildew after a spray of milk.
First bloom after last spring. After 17 April 2016, GJ never bloomed for me. Fantastic fragrance though
Fantastic fragrance nowadays of all the roses in my house. There are over 50 buds on one bush of Graham Thomas
JtO is full of buds. Lovely lychee fruity fragrance.
Khalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)
7 years ago
The Prince also joins the party. White stains are dead mildew.
Lovely moderate fruity fragrance and majestic blooms
Just a hint of fragrance on SoF
Khalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)
7 years agoStayed out of Islamabad for one week and when I came back, it was a great joy to see so many roses blooming. I think I missed a few days of blooming and couldn't take the photos.... however, still lot of roses and lot of blooms
August Luise has been brilliant. Blooming is outstanding but fragrance is just mild.
At last I saw my BB blooming. Last time it bloomed was in April 2016. It did not produce a single bloom whole year, after the spring flush. Bush is healthy but fragrance is just mild.
Belle Epoque is blooming profusely. Fragrance is just mild though...
Black Prince has been brilliant. So many highly fragrant blooms. Strong damask fragrance.
Stay tuned.....
Khalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)
7 years agoBronze Star is producing huge size blooms with moderate fruity fragrance.
Casino is always a top bloomer in my house. Mild fragrance but lots of blooms.
Condesa de Sastago is also blooming non-stop. Mild fragrance
Chippendale blooms open orange, turn pink and finally become almost white. Mild fragrance
The overall look is not bad. Love it...
Khalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)
7 years agoStrong lychee fragrance
Geoff Hamilton has been brilliant this year. Mild fragrance.
Another rose that just didn't bloom after the spring last year, despite all my efforts. The fragrance is outstanding....strong old rose.
As always, GC is brilliant, in the pot as well as in the ground
Khalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)
7 years agoThere are so many more roses to post..... and I am short of time.
Very nice tea fragrance.....
Jude the Obscure and Tradescant, getting along well. Jude has a lovely fragrance.
Hardly any fragrance but very nice blooms......
Khalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)
7 years ago
Mary Rose blooms profusely and has strong fragrance too but it smells like a cough syrup. I am not sure if I like it
Lovely fragrance. I think my Nahema likes this spot where it gets lot of shade.
Pat Austin is one of my favourite. Moderate mango like fragrance
Large size blooms, nice old rose fragrance
Strong sweet fragrance....
Very nice moderate spicy fragrance..... I love this fragrance. Blooms in spring are more in the purple shade but in cooler months, they used to be slate blue.
Anna
7 years agoKhalid: such a nice comeback. Your liv Taylor is a beauty like many others. I love candy pink color roses.
Look what I noticed. We have the same taste not only with roses.
Khalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb) thanked Anna
lavenderlacezone8
7 years agolavenderlacezone8
7 years agolavenderlacezone8
7 years agoKhalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)
7 years agoAnna: That's a cute bird indeed and good to see you also have the same lights. These are nice lights indeed.
Lavenderlace: My Jude is still grafted. I have planted a few cuttings this year.... lets see.
The green wall is the ficus climber. It looks lovely no doubt but there is a heavy price to be paid. It's a very vigorous plant and sends long routes in all directions, sucking each and every ounce of nutrition from the soil. Roses just can't grow in the area where ficus is planted. The previous owner planted it and I had two options when I moved into this house. One....to remove it and replace 3-4 feet of soil near the wall. Second, to let it stay like this and plant roses 5 ft away from the wall. The area between the wall and the lane of roses to be covered with large size rose pots. So far this arrangement is working well.
You can see the arrangement in detail here. Wall with ficus creeper, rose pots and roses planted in ground, 5 feet away from the wall.
Few more photos to share....
Scentimental forms a lovely roundish bush and produces plenty of blooms. It is more striped when the weather is cool but as it gets hot, it becomes almost red. Fragrance is mild to moderate. Though HMF describes it as strong fragrance but I rarely noticed a strong fragrance on my Scentimental.
Delightful fragrance that is quite strong. Sharifa Asma doesn't produce as many blooms in my house as do so many other DA roses like Golden Celebration, Teasing Georgia, Geoff Hamilton, William Morris, Crown Princess Margareta, Pat Austin etc
Sheila's Perfume usually has a moderate fragrance. It needs high P diet to produce strong fragrance
Shocking Blue has a very nice spicy fragrance in moderate to strong range. Blooms freely whole year.
Signature has a sweet fragrance, usually of moderate intensity. Blooms are majestic, the classic HT shape.
best regards
Khalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)
7 years agoAnna: That looks good. Please do share the results.
Few photos in past couple of days.... there was a severe thunderstorm last night that devastated many of my roses....
Lovely lemon fragrance....
My Sheila's Perfume has little fragrance..... hope it improves
Lot of blooms and sweet strong fragrance....
St. Swithun is absolutely brilliant these days.... moderate fragrance and lot of large sized blooms. Graham Thomas and Nahema in the background
Nahema is brilliant too. Lovely fragrance
First bloom on my Summer Song.... lovely fragrance that is different from all my roses and what a shade. I am eagerly waiting for more blooms. Bush is healthy
Khalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)
7 years agoFew more....
Westerland has very less fragrance.....lot of blooms though
Moderate fragrance and lot of blooms
PAOK has no fragrance nowadays... huge size bloomsFrom right.... Geoff Hamilton, Teasing Georgia, PAOK, Nahema
Augusta Luise. Black Prince and Sharifa Asma in the background
Chartreuse de Parme, Condesa de Sastago, Belle Epoque
My favourite corner. Prominent roses include Gold Medal, Doris Tysterman, Oklahoma, Casino, Golden Celebration, Spirit of Freedom, Geoff Hamilton, Nahema, St. Swithun, Graham Thomas, Teasing Georgia, Benjamin Britten, Pat Austin, Sharifa Asma and Alec's Red. Most roses are in pots
Signature, Crimson Glory, Papa Meilland, William Morris and Tradescant
best regards
Khalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)
7 years agoThanks Sam. Yes....... it takes away all the tiredness when I come back in the evening. I just like to sit there and do nothing..... some times doing nothing is also a great pleasure.
Few more pics today....
St. Swithun is just brilliant nowadays...
So is Nahema, love her fragrance
Crimson Glory, strong perfume
Geoff Hamilton is also blooming profusely
Chippendale also has many blooms and buds
Always a wonderful scent
Blooming well this year....
This rose fascinates me. Hoping to see more blooms. Many buds forming up...
This rose, named Tipu Sultan, has been bred by a local breeding. Has a strong scent.
best regards
Khalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoYou are welcome Kelly. And yes, Summer Song has a unique shade and fragrance is unique too. I am happy I purchased this rose (though it too me lot of effort and time to get this rose to Islamabad).
Few more pics.... it's raining since the last five day including a couple of thunder storm that devastated few of my roses. Many blooms were destroyed and due to continuous rain, there is hardly any fragrance
Both bushes, after the mildew attack, are doing great. Crimson Glory has a strong spicy damask mix fragrance and it is maintaining some of it during heavy rains too.
Blooming non-stop
Doris Tysterman is always a prolific performer. Susceptible to powdery mildew though.
First bloom on Ebb Tide this season. A lighter shade that I hope will get darker in coming days...
My DD bush was devastated and my branches were broken.
Geoff Hamilton is still doing great..... so many blooms. Fragrance is just mild.
Jubilee Celebration.....huge size blooms on a small bush.
Khalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)
7 years ago
This one might interest you Kelly. Nahema has just been brilliant this year for me. Most of my roses are being grown in pot BTW, including Nahema.
My PAOK bush was almost devastated during past 5 days of rain
but still had many large sized blooms.... no fragrance though
Blooming non-stop. Light spicy scent
Scentimetal is blooming well. Haven't noticed any fragrance on it yet.
St Swithun has a good bloom life. Unlike most Austins that turn lighter with age, St. Swithun doe the opposite. Blooms get darker with age.
Khalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)
7 years ago
Westerland is throwing wonderful bunches of apricot blooms. Hardly any fragrance though.
Tom Brown has also been performing great this year.
Another porlific perfomer.
Khalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)
7 years ago
Chippendale has been outstanding these days
Moderate tea fragrance and lot of blooms......
Crimson Glory has lovely fragrance......
Khalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoLavenderlace: Growing in pots, overall, needs more care because there is little room for error and one may keep fighting against one deficiency or the other that might keep happening in a pot (at least that has been the case with me but I learnt a lot about the roses during the process). However, it has the advantage that one can shift the roses as per the requirement during different seasons.
Very showy blooms on Rouge Royale. Just a hint of fragrance
I love this rose. Large size upright bush with clusters of highly fragrant blooms that transition from orange to light salmon pink.
Lovely fragrance though of moderate intensity. It used to be quite strong last year.
Westerland is blooming non-stop. Hardly any fragrance nowadays but it used to be quite fragrant.
First blooms on tiny The Poet's Wife bush. Nice citrus fragrance of moderate intensity
Jasmina is spread all over the place and is blooming non stop. Light sweet fragrance
See the difference in first and second day blooms.
First bloom on young ORA bush. It is growing well.
best regards
Khalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoFew more clicks.....
Very nice fruity fragrance and beautiful clusters of semi double blooms. Great impact
Sweet fragrance and a cool shade
Spicy clove fragrance. Bloom size is small but there are so many of them
Hardly any fragrance. Blooms don't open up properly
Nice moderate tea fragrance and lot of blooms
Moderate damask fragrance
Strong sweet fragrance. This is the only rose with a higher than moderate fragrance. The shade of RdR is usually darker..... this flush is lighter
best regards
Khalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)
7 years agoA dark GC with a nice moderate tea scent
Moderate damask scent
Very nice fragrance and I love the shade.
Just a hint of fragrance in my Sheila's Perfume.
St. Ethelburga is very impressive. Lovely fragrance and lot of blooms
St. Swithun is amongst the best DA performers in Islamabad climate
I lost the tag on this one. Could this be Heritage? Any views?
William Morris is always a top performer
Khalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)
7 years ago
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