I want to grow those Rugosa or Dog roses that produce the big hips for winter tea, but I haven't found one that hasn't been monkeyed with yet. I just want the old timey, good smelling rose that takes care of itself. I have no time to babysit yet another plant!

I'm with you Sunny. I've always tried to stick to plants that didn't need too much coddling. Things like wrapping, laying on the ground were extra steps I wanted to avoid. There are lots of people who grow roses back in NY but they were willing to do the extra work they required. I was not.
The only rose I had sucess with was one I grew from a seed. A fellow on an internet rose hybridizers group was giving away some seeds he had hybridized away. I put my hand up and got I don't remember how many but only one seed made it to adulthood. It looked and performed very much like a rosa rugosa. Lovely fragrance and loosely blown blooms about 4" in diameter. Color was a very deep pink. When I moved from that house I took a runner from it with me (plant had grown to 5' tall so I wasn't about to move the whole thing!) but the runner died in a drought that summer. The best thing about that rose was it never needed any extra care. It had one big bloom in June and several smaller ones throughout the summer. By August there were rose hips on it.

MollyD

Here's one from Chamblee's that might work. http://www.chambleeroses.com/o... Sharon Yearwood (savagegardener) is a fellow Tennessean ordering one from the Rose co-op. http://cubits.org/notfortheser... She seems to really know her stuff on roses.

You may be able to get in on the end of the co-op if you hurry. I think they're still taking orders today from people who will Paypal right away.

I'll see if I can get Sharon to come comment on this rose here.

Red thank you for that link! That Dark Lady is a wowzer! That's the kind I like. It's not on the coop list of ones available though.

MollyD

It shows up in some of the later orders, so they probably checked with Charlene via c-mail to add it. That's what I had to do with my order.

Oh! Too bad I missed it. There is also a cut off date of March 5th. Did that change?

MollyD

Not officially, but it looks like they've been accepting stragglers as long as they Paypal. Charlene's going on the 12th to do the pickup, so they're going to have to cut it off soon. For anyone who misses it, I'm sure there will be other co-ops, and then there's always ordering directly from Chamblee's. For a small order, it may not make much difference anyway in the overall cost.

yeah I think I'll just wait a bit. I think late April or early May would be best for me anyway.

MollyD

Thanks knox, that color was beautiful on that rose you linked. However, I opened one of my herb catalogs today and lo and behold, they sell the wild rugosa that makes the big hips after first frost! I really appreciate this company (Horizon Herbs) and will probably make a humongous order after tax return time this year. They carry an extremely large selection of medicinal plants, specialty plants and seeds, natives, etc., in addition to presses and other herbal medicine materials, tea plants and all kinds of cool stuff. One of my long-term goals is to grow a complete 'medicine chest' of my own, particularly in the preventative, tonic and tea arenas. More dreams that fill my head :D

Molly, if you're interested, I can add stuff for you when I make my order (if I actually get to make it...LOL)

ok. i 'm working on my quota for stupid things to say.....but what exactly are rose hips?

i've always heard that but never thought to ask what they are.

i know I'm gonna say.....duh

Rose hips are actually the seed pod that develops after the flowers die. They are normally a very bright red or orange color, and extremely high in Vit C. They make an excellent tea or jelly. Here is a photo link to give you an idea:

http://www.mooseyscountrygarde...

I actually saved some seeds from some hips I harvested a year or so ago and I am going to try planting the seeds and see what happens

LOL my dad has a bunch on his roses still.....i noticed them while we were sitting on the porch Monday enjoying the warmer temps.

ya learn something new every day, huh?

"ya learn something new every day, huh?"

it's either that or we've died and no one has told us Phyl!

MollyD

I ordered some of the roses from the Chamblees co-op, I'll try to remember to post which ones do well for me. I know I got Julia Child (big, yellow and fragrant - well, all of mine will have scent or they'll get shovel pruned) Tradescant - (http://www.chambleeroses.com/o...), Don Juan pink (that's a climber, Molly - http://www.chambleeroses.com/o...) Mountain Music (I hope it's as pretty as it's picture! http://www.chambleeroses.com/o...) and New Dawn, one of the Earthkind roses, reportedly don't need spraying, or much intervention. Also a climber, but a very delicate pink - http://www.chambleeroses.com/o... I've seen this one grown here, seems to thrive.

I hope they do well here, I went a little crazy ordering. Just wait until I have to plant all of these....omg....

Sheryl tell me more about these New Dawn roses. I hadn't heard of them before and anything that wants me to leave it alone gets my attention!

MollyD

New Dawn is one of the "Earthkind" roses, called that because they need a minimum (supposedly none) chemicals to keep them beautiful, kind of like the Knockouts - pest and disease resistant, I guess you'd call of them. New Dawn is only one of them (although a lovely one). Chamblees carries a bunch - http://www.chambleeroses.com/o... - but I bet there's more out there, just for the googling!

These guys explain it better than I do (Texas A&M):

""Roses with an EarthKind designation have been proven to have tremendous heat and drought tolerance, even in temperatures of 105 degrees Farenheit," George said. "They also do well in almost any soil type, from well-drained acid sands to poorly aerated, highly alkaline clays. In most loam or clay soils, these roses do not need commercial synthetic or organic fertilizers as long as one follows our EarthKind compost and mulch only approach to soil management. "

Many of these roses have been out there for years, they're just picking up the designation now.

Thanks Sheryl. I'll have to keep my eyes open for that designation from now on.

MollyD

Yippee! Charlene has the roses and is going to start shipping soon. Of course, now I need to figure out where they're going to be planted. Sea Foam has a designated spot, and Red Cascade is going to be in a container for the forseeable future. The Fairy grouping of 3 is going in one of two spots, both of which need to be cleared out. I haven't figured out where New Dawn is going, but I had to have it. I had one in GA and it is such a good grower. It's supposed to be somewhat shade tolerant (that's a very relative term - it's still a rose, and doesn't want actual shade). It is one of the thorniest roses I've come across, though, so it needs to have plenty of clearance from walkways and such.

hey....please, please, let my life get back to normal for awhile....there have been 4 deaths in our neighborhood or family or extended family this month.

i guess its something we cant help but still...



has anyone every tried to root roses in the spring? i was reading in the Antique rose emporium catalog that Ive been drooling over to do it in the fall, but I just wonder if Spring would work?

Sorry things have been so rough for you. It's bound to get better now.

As for the roses, yes, you can definitely root in the spring. You can use either soft or semi-hard wood cuttings this time of year.