Here in Northern California we prune roses from January until mid-February, putting our roses into dormancy to provide a good bloom cycle in the spring. Most of the varieties bloom on new growth. Remember the following: dead, diseased, crossing and skimpy. Use these four words as a guide to remove canes for all hybrid teas, […]
Pruning Time is Here! Read More »
Want something brand new for the garden? Here are some of the roses being introduced now. Click on their name to learn more and see photos:
Beautiful New Roses for 2026 Read More »
It’s a favorite time of the year for us rose lovers, when nurseries feature bare root roses, both on-line and locally. Prices for bare root roses are much lower than those grown in containers, and the selection is extensive! If you’re thinking of adding new plants to your garden, it’s a good time to start
It’s Rose Shopping Season! Read More »
Want fabulous plants? You need healthy soil. While garden soil will never be glamorous, it is the foundation for our gardens. What you can see going on with your roses above the ground is largely determined by what goes on beneath your feet that is all but invisible to you. The conditions the roots of
Get your Soil Ready for Planting Read More »
If we were sitting with David Austin, having a spot of tea, and he remarked that he could not think of any other rose with quite so strong a fragrance as ‘Gertrude Jekyll’, I should rather think we would take note. Indeed, ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ is one of the best and most popular of David Austin’s
Good Pink Roses for Marin – Gertrude Jekyll Read More »
Warm days and cool nights are happening now. These are perfect conditions for powdery mildew to thrive in the garden. This common disease is easily recognized by the talcum-powder like appearance on new and old leaves, tender new shoots, some flowers, and fruits. It affects a huge range of plants, not just roses; crape myrtle,
The Powdery Blight Read More »
This month I’ll venture off into a land I’ve not had much experience with, miniature roses. Although I planted lots of them for my mother, (oh yes, watered, pruned and fertilized too), they were HER roses, and did very well there. However for me, not so great. But there are some that are guaranteed to
Good White Roses for Marin – Irresistible Read More »
The bane of many gardeners, especially rose-growing ones, is the gopher. While this voracious pest loves roses, they’re not fussy – in fact, there isn’t a lot they DON’T like! The pocket gopher is named for the external, fur-lined check pouches the critters use to carry food to their storage area. The thick-bodied rodents range
Gophers are really bad guys Read More »
‘Betty Boop’ was hybridized by Tom Carruth from a cross of the red blend floribunda, ‘Playboy’ and the pink blend floribunda, ‘Picasso’, and was introduced by Weeks Wholesale Roses in 1999. It is classified by the American Rose Society as a red blend floribunda with 6-12 petals and a very good garden rating of 8.1.
Good Multi-colored Roses for Marin – Betty Boop Read More »
Predators, parasites, and pathogens (disease producing organisms) are the primary groups used in the biological control of insects and mites along with many species of amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles. Insects that are natural enemies of pests are also referred to as beneficial insects or beneficials. The most common type of natural enemy is the
Who are the Natural Enemies? Read More »