Days of Rain Promise Our Rose Gardens a Great Start

Barbara Streisand is our new lavender rose. Many celebrity named roses are especially attractive. This one leans to the Left, so I had to straighten the cane with extra soil.

Our friend got married a little too early in the spring to have roses from our garden. Last year's plants are fully leafed out and ready to bud. We have one little rose that buds and bursts into yellow roses all at once, then fades away as fast. That was a bargain rose and certainly earns its money in showing off beauty.

The last big shipment was set to arrive during Holy Week - how thoughtful - and in the midst of various rainstorms. I found time to dig holes one day and planted another day. The worst part was softening front yard holes with water that did not drain down. That turned into a mud wrestling match that I lost. I will put extra mushroom compost there to help the earthworms tunnel and soften the clay. Normally when I use a clump of sod the next day, the soil can be crumbled, but this was more like hardened rubber cement.

The large shipment took a long time to arrive by truck from California, about four or five days wrapped in plastic and damp rose diapers. I took their advice and soaked them in rainwater until they were all planted. There is never enough rainwater, so I poured two barrels together and filled the second one with city water. The directions said "Add a little bleach" and I thought, "Springdale did that for me."

A bright spot was planting 10 bargain roses from Gurney's. Their net cost was $5 each, roughly the price of one rose at a flower shop on Valentine's Day. The soil was easy to dig and mold, and the roses were very large and strong, more like three year roses. I suspect the company was unloading roses that were getting too big to sell commercially. One was a monster, the biggest I have handled. Like the ones we got from TV last year, this had oddball names and were not the high profile roses. Even those famous roses have trouble staying as best sellers.

We had our own Lazarus rose. I dug it out because I was sure it was gone, my only loss from last year. However, I had pruned it bad hard, just in case. Once dug up, it showed up two sprouting canes, so I put it around the corner. The name from the TV rose special was still on it - Falling in Love.

Mr. Lincoln sprouted real leaves 24 hours after planting, the fastest exit from dormancy I have seen.

Heeling In
One answer for roses coming at the wrong time is to soak them 24 hours (not my plan). Another laugh-provoking idea was buying Vitamin B-1 to help them get over their shock and bring them out of dormancy.

Another one is to heel them in, digging a shallow hole and covering them with damp soil. That violates the Maynard G. Krebs Prime Directive - adding unnecessary work. Sassy is an Australian Heeler, but she only supervises.

I might as well dig them in crudely in the right spot. I can garnish their home later with mushroom compost, newspaper, and wood mulch. That is what I did with most of them, because time was shrunken by the weather and various things to do.

Mr. Lincoln has so many good characteristics that rose growers still demand it. Mrs. Ichabod asked for plenty of them, and Mrs. Gardener loves red roses.

First Steps in the Rose Being Established
The rose bush needs to be planted in a reasonably good spot, with sun and good drainage for the soil.

The roots and canes need to be watered daily for the next two weeks. The root hairs need the water to grow and set up shop with the microbes (not inorganic fertilizer) that will feed it and promote healthy growth. The canes have dried out during shipping, so they need a daily shower too.

If roses seem to remain dormant, without sending out new, green/red leaves, they can be awakened with some sharp pruning. I love the diagrams people provide, because each rose is different. The idea is to cut away crossing canes and dead wood, blackened canes, etc. The rose wakes up with pruning and the roots grow faster.

Tropicana is famous for its day-glo color and for lasting two weeks in a vase.

Daily Rain Possible the Next Week
We had some plans for some limb pruning this afternoon. Our landscaper neighbor loved the pruning saw I bought for the occasion. He was already planning more work with it after trying it once. He had the maple tree pruned in five minutes.

The backyard will probably not get attention during the next week, since large zones of rain will move across Arkansas. We had a steady rain this morning. Sometimes we only get a mist. The rain is leveraging all my previous work:

1. The old rose garden.
2. The expansion.
3. The rose garden for Mrs. Wright.
4. The rose garden for Mrs. Gardener.
5. The carrots, peas, asparagus, beans, and sunflowers planted.
6. Crepe myrtle and butterfly bushes.
7. Upcoming Giant Alium and Crown Imperial bulbs.
8. Bee balm and honeysuckle vines.
9. Tomatoes.

Last year in the spring I had grass and weeds. Bargain roses and rototiller-phobia got me involved with a late planted rose garden in front of the porch, Jackson Mulch and earthworms feeding the roses, toxin-free. I added Knockout Roses and had great results with them, especially the red ones.

Peace remains a favorite.

Chicago Peace is harder to find, but I found it.

Pink Peace completed the Peace Trifecta.