Spring has truly sprung, kinda. Maybe. At least we have the stinking spring winds.
I watered everyone pretty heavily yesterday and did some major inspecting in the back yard (too wet in the front yard as I just used my whirlybird sprinkler rather than the handwand). In the backyard, I believe the only roses I lost was Pascali and two mystery roses (one was dead 100% last year, but I was too lazy to dig it out). I *think* everyone else made it as I saw green canes in the bottom under all the mulch (I used the handwand to wash away the mulch and expose the canes). Even my retarded "RedGold" that is tagged RedGold, but blooms white (???) has green. Let's just see if I get any leaves on any of them.
The front yard, however, looks like it took a heavier toll. I'm sure I lost Tuscan Sun, Cinco de Mayo (
), Ebb Tide, Acadia Sunrise, Hot Tamale. Possible deaths are: Paradise Found, Paradise, Moonstone, George Burns, Gingersnap, Arizona, Montezuma, Citrus Splash, Strike it Rich...
I think there's a few others, but I can't remember. These all have either no green at all, or so little green at the base that there's almost no hope. As long as we don't get a major cold snap below 20 degrees, I'm hoping that they'll pump themselves back up. I'm worried about Tuesday night, but if we don't get any snow that day then we'll be fine. I'll throw down some fertilizer on Thursday and hopefully get everyone going. Almost 100% of the roses I got from RU pulled through.. I think I just lost Moonstone from them. All the teeny babies I got from Heirloom are 100% dead, and of the two I got from EuroDesert, only 1 is a green stick, the other is dead. No more bands for me, they just can't handle the inexperience from me and the harshness of the weather here. Granted, this was the 3rd driest winter on record and the 7th coldest (it was too cold to winterwater, which is why I have such a deathtoll), but still. It still boggles my brains (which isn't hard) that I have some roses that are graded for zone 7 doing OK and some that are zone 4 croak. Just makes no sense. However, my Blue Girl from last year stayed 100% green throughout the entire winter.. go figure.
My flowerbed, which is in a stupid spot as it gets about 2-3 hours of sun a day, is actually doing marvelously. Every single mini rose I got from Nor'East roses is coming up, actually, to tell the truth, ALL the roses in that bed are coming up! My columbines are already about 2-3" above the ground, my Ligularia is coming up nicely, the mums are starting to sprout, my hyssops are coming back. Nothing on the hummingbird vine, though, or the hostas (I think they're a later plant). My elderberry has bitty leaves all throughout the entire branches... I'll be moving my Playboy out of that bed & someplace else (maybe give it away) and putting in my new "Daddy's Little Girl" there.
ugh, I hate this time of year.
