The holidays are behind us and now is a good time to start your winter pruning. This is the brief period of time when roses in Marin go into semi-dormancy, and the best time to prune repeat blooming roses and a lot of other trees and shrubs. If you’re new to pruning, or simply want to […]
It’s Pruning Time! Read More »
Roses have been around a very long time – there are fossils of roses dated 35-40 million years ago that are thought to originate in Asia. The oldest identified rose is Rosa gallica, commonly called the French Rose, that can be dated back as early as the 12th century B.C. From early times, many varieties and
Fabulous Floribundas Read More »
Looking for some more new roses? Featuring deep purples, to brilliant oranges, old-fashioned style, to elegant hybrid teas, towering grandifloras to dainty shrubs, here are some of the introductions for 2024 from Weeks Roses and Star Roses. Descriptions and photos are courtesy of Star Roses and Weeks Roses catalogs. Cosmic Clouds – Flowers of magenta
More New Beauties for 2024 Read More »
As we approach pruning season, you’ll be looking more closely at your roses, and you may encounter rose canes that appear darkened or dead. Likely, this is dieback, a condition characterized by the progressive death of stems and canes that can ultimately compromise the health and appearance of your rose plants. The dying areas may
Watch Out for Dieback Read More »
It’s nearly bareroot season, and time for the annual process of rose introductions. A new player in roses (at least new to me) is Altman Plants with renowned rose hybridizer Ping Lim. According to their website, Altman Plants began with the vision to grow the highest quality plants and make them available to everyone. Today,
The Newest True Blooms Read More »
With the first rains of the season comes the potential for Botrytis – the disease that can turn lush blooms into a brown, soggy mush. This common disease is also known as Botrytis blight, bud rot, gray mold, wooly mold and when growing on grapes, the “noble rot” where it can either ruin a crop
Nobel Rot on your Roses? Read More »
There is nothing quite as lovely as a rose bud unfurling, framed by lush, healthy, deep green foliage. Rosarians strive to attain and maintain their roses for this often-illusive picture. With the advent of modern roses (developed after 1867), more and more roses have been hybridized, and the results have been variable. Some plants looked
Dozens of Wonderful Disease Resistant Roses Read More »
Spiders get a bad rap; many people go to great lengths to get rid of them. Is it their other-worldly appearance? Concern about being bitten by a poisonous type or simply the idea of “creepy, crawling” things? Whatever the reason, before eliminating them, it’s good to understand the invaluable role they play keeping pest populations
Mostly Good Guys for Garden Pest Control Read More »
What in the world are single roses? Roses that grow individually on a stem or plant? Roses that like to grow alone? Well, neither – when we refer to “single roses” we are referring to the form of the flower, in particular the number and arrangement of the petals. Petals are the most visible portion
Dozens of Wonderful Single Roses Read More »
Thrips are generally bad news for the gardener, whether you have one type of thrips (the name is the same – singular and plural) or more. Not visible to the naked eye as they often feed within buds and furled leaves or in other enclosed parts of the plant, these extremely small insects cause damage
These Bugs are Bad News Read More »