My first Abraham Darby bloom is so tiny!
Mishu
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Ashley Smith zone 5a
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I think my Abraham Darby hates the sun
Comments (21)Aha WS2K. The trick is to grow him in dappled shade intermingled with small bushes or other plants to provide him with some shade in a mixed border or informal hedge. Works perfectly in that way since its growth pattern is a bit strange to readily make a proper standalone bush, especially in a warmer climate. He would grow through the greens to show spots of burgundy. He is quite shade tolerant. As I said above, when given lemons make lemonade. Mine is growing betwen mahonias and carissa macrocarpas (natal plum) and together create a quite impenetratable barrier under an acacia tree. Strange mix but it works for me and the blooms are never fried....See MoreLet's have a round of applause for my Abraham Darby
Comments (10)Get ready -- once 'Abraham Darby' sets down its roots into rich soil, it will grow like gangbusters. That's what mine did. Mine came as a VERY tiny band in 2013, but by the end of the following year, put out thumb-thick canes that stretched over six feet in length. This Spring I cut it back "hard" -- to about three feet tall -- and it's already over five feet tall. I want mine to be more self-supporting and shrubby, so I keep nipping it back a bit more with every dead-heading. Here's Abe as he looked when he arrived April 2013, after being potted-up into a 2-gal container for growing-on. Here he is in May 2014. In this pic, AD is just a smidge to the right of dead-center, and looks like it was trained into a check-mark. And a close up of that arching cane on the right, showing buds. A month later, blooming, and sending forth new thick canes. Abe is in the lower right corner of this pic. The pics below are from May of this year -- note this was after being pruned back pretty hard. I don't have pics of it from the end of the 2014 season. And the last pics were taken a few days ago, during its third flush of the year. Note in the first pic that the only peachy-pink blooms belong to Abe -- and note how far apart they are. That's its width. Every time I dead-head, I cut canes back until they are between vertical and about 45 degrees -- any closer to horizontal and the weight of the blooms drags the canes down. You may not experience this in your location because mine isn't in full all-day sun -- just morning and late afternoon sun. :-) ~Christopher...See MoreAbe Darby first bloom
Comments (9)Sara Ann, Beautiful! I am new to roses. What sorts of abnormalities are there with first blooms? I bought some roses this year and one has a very off color, making me wonder if it is the right rose. Another had a much smaller and shorter lasting than the bloom on identical plant. So I was wondering what sort of variations there are with first blooms. Thanks!...See MoreGuessing game: Can you spot Abraham Darby?
Comments (29)Lisa, fun post and gorgeous blooms! (in January!) (Congratulations to Nik and all players) Sheila, I was interested in the DA own-root RMV question, too. Last spring I called their Customer Service who said they’d research the source of own-root cuttings and got back shortly to say they’re all from back home in the UK. They believed the mother plants there were grafted, but that doesn’t sound like a problem, does it, since they apparently aren’t plagued with the virus there, fortunately. (Nice, husky own-roots from what I’ve seen.) Not too late to say “Happy New Year!” to all! Linda...See Moreken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
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