I love April. A chickadee family has already moved into one of my birdhouses, there are daffodils, blossoming trees and birds singing everywhere. Now too, the roses have begun their season. Amazing to me that only weeks ago they looked like dead sticks and now they have the most beautiful shiny, lush green or red […]
Rose Care for April Read More »
This rose is special to me because it bears the name of one of my family ancestors on my father’s side, the French part. The rose was given to me by Gail Trimble, and that makes it even more special. It is a hybrid perpetual and retains the old rose form. It has large, globular
It’s a good time now to give your roses about two cups per plant of alfalfa either pellets (buy at a feed store) or meal (sold at some nurseries). Alfalfa is a great soil amendment and provides a bit of nutrition, it contains a growth hormone triacontanol which is said to be a plant growth
Rose Care for March Read More »
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,
Rose Care for February Read More »
Winter is a great time to shop for new roses. Whether you’re looking for the newest rose on the market or searching for that special rose to fill a corner of the garden, this is the BEST time of year to shop! The selection is the widest and prices are generally lower than container plants.
Shopping time for new roses Read More »
We’re deep into the winter pruning season. This is the brief period of time when roses in Marin go into semi-dormancy, and the best time to do your annual pruning. If you’re not quite done, or are just getting started, here are some things that may be of help: Learn How to Prune Roses in
Done with your pruning yet? Read More »
‘Just Joey’ rose is a beautiful hybrid tea rose with orange – copper blossoms. The elegantly, pointed orange buds open into large blooms that are four to six inches across. The wavy-edged petals are a rich apricot color when new, softening to a light peach at the outer edges as blooms mature. The foliage is
Looking to add some new roses to the garden? In addition to their beautiful blossoms, and delectable fragrance, go for disease-resistant varieties. A careful selection now can make your rose growing easier, and gentler on the environment. What’s disease resistance? It’s a plants ability to fend off infection. In our climate the diseases of concern
Dozens of Disease-Resistant Roses Read More »
It’s that time again. Hard to believe that January has arrived and time to get the loppers and pruning shears sharpened and ready to go. After the holidays, I am ready to brave the weather in January and get started on pruning my roses. Having around 150 bushes I try to do 15 to 20
Rose Care for January Read More »
Gray squirrels busily gathered plump acorns as browning elm leaves swirled across the Marin Art & Garden lawn, the Rose Garden now in the lengthening shadows of an Indian summer afternoon. I had come for inspiration for our last Rose of the Month column. The difficulty is not to be influenced by favoritism or personal