And thank you. As I recall, you gave me one, and then I gave you one.

Here's another photo to explain the oddly squashed look of the back cushion on that chair. It's Ambrosia's favorite spot to nap. Rabelais prefers the seat cushion, and Chantilly is washing his paws nearby.

Great photos Zuzu!

Lynn, thanks- good to know. I think I'm safe, we've been getting tons of rain, and now the cattle are mostly eating field grasses. Come to think of it, the most of the salts were likely leached from the manure before I collected it. I had wanted to work some in to the root zone for these grafted Palatine roses, which is quite deep, but wasn't too concerned when that didn't work out- like you said, nature applies compost to the surface. Roots will probably form above the bud union too, and they'll have lots of richness available.

Neal,

It does sound like you are safe. The long deep roots are the roses anchor roots. Putting "food" down there really doesn't feed the rose. It just makes us feel good.

Plants are a complex community where each part has a function to serve the whole. When roses are butchered to fit the packaging, the first thing they are going to do is grow those anchor roots and the feeder root lost during handling.

If you don't see anything happening with the top growth, that is not necessarily bad news. The plant is doing first things first. When you do see new top growth, you know the plant has developed the resources to benefit from feeding and is now creating leaves to feed itself.

Old research shows it takes 35 perfect leaves to create a bloom. To get those blooms, the plant has to have a working root system and leaves to provide food through photosynthesis and feed the roots as nature intended. If we work with the plant, it will be a stronger plant and far more satisfying to the gardener.

Smiles,
Lyn

Now that it is later in the season my roses that looked truly horrible after the winter are looking better. Many that I thought would be dead are putting out new growth.

Rita, that is great news! I thought it odd for you to lose them completely with all the snow on the ground.

I gathered more manure and had enough for all but 1 of the new plants. Another trip to the barn yard is needed. That's fine though, I want to side dress some Japanese irises and a few other perennials anyway.

Lynn, seeing all those glossy new leaves makes me giddy! We're having a good spring for roses and they're looking extra happy.

I see something odd each spring on all 4 plants of 'The Fairy' (3 in one bed, 1 in a completely different location). As new foliage emerges, it looks very yellow like it is nitrogen deficient. In years past I have used soluble fertilizer or Ironite and quickly remedied the problem. This year I just observed, because everything else in the beds, including other roses, looks great. Now the foliage is greening up and looking healthy, although I've done nothing. What would cause that? In only that variety?

gemini_sage said:Rita, that is great news! I thought it odd for you to lose them completely with all the snow on the ground.

Lots of them really looked dead. There are still some that might be dead but not as many as I first thought. And I did prune them back really, really hard. It is time to start spraying them with the fungicide already!

Neal ....

>>>Lynn, seeing all those glossy new leaves makes me giddy! We're having a good spring for roses and they're looking extra happy.

Yes, I am having a good spring this year. The photos I am putting up for Rose Week were taken in prior years because my roses may be full of buds, but they have not popped yet this year ... Any day, now.

>>>I see something odd each spring on all 4 plants of 'The Fairy' (3 in one bed, 1 in a completely different location). As new foliage emerges, it looks very yellow like it is nitrogen deficient. In years past I have used soluble fertilizer or Ironite and quickly remedied the problem. This year I just observed, because everything else in the beds, including other roses, looks great. Now the foliage is greening up and looking healthy, although I've done nothing. What would cause that? In only that variety?

Yellow leaves are not necessarily a sign of nitrogen deficiency. It simply means that the rose is abandoning the leaf because that leaf will not serve its function of photosynthesis. There are a lot of variables that can create the conditions for a rose to discard leaves. If you are living in a climate with temperature changes during the spring, you may have had a period of a slight thaw and the rose will leaf out. Then temps drop and the rose will no longer put energy in supporting foliage. Some roses are more sensitive to even slight temperature changes, while others will hang onto their leaves longer.

In spring, in many climates, that's no big deal. Photosynthesis in roses is most effective at 70F and above on a regular basis. Since the leaves are not providing food for the plant, the rose really isn't going to use its plant energy to support that foliage.

Other variables that cause a rose to abandon foliage ... and this list is not all inclusive .. are too much moisture in the root zone so that a portion of the root mass has been damaged and the plant wants to replace those roots before it maintains foliage, not enough water causes the same thing, disease, too much nitrogen and the plant has burned feeder roots, the maturity of the plant and lots more.


Yellow leaves simply mean that the rose is not going to support that foliage.

Yes, it's worth a look to see why a plant has yellow leaves, but it doesn't necessarily mean that the plant is in trouble unless you are seeing it all over the plant.

'The Fairy' is a solid rose. It should be good for you.

Smiles,
Lyn

What a great week this has been! We definitely have been Celebrating Roses. I'm amazed at the number of wonderful photos that were added this week, especially the ones added to the entries that didn't have photos already.

It has been a great week indeed! Lots of good info, gorgeous photos, and enthusiasm- it has certainly made me all the more excited to see first flush in the next few weeks!

Thanks Lynn, I think you hit the nail on the head with temperature fluctuation- the yellowing is only an issue in spring, the rest of the season the foliage is deep green and glossy. The drainage is good and both areas have heavy feeding Japanese irises that bloom well, so fertility isn't an issue. The Fairy is such a hardy rose, it is usually one of the first to develop foliage, so those leaves are exposed to lots of temperature fluctuation.

That's good news, Neal.

That's how 'The Fairy' behaves in your garden. Someone else may be growing the same rose under slightly different conditions and won't have the same experience. There are just so many variables.

Smiles,
Lyn

Roses looking good!

Rita - ill get pictures of what my yard looks like every spring. My neighbors mom asked me if all my roses died because I prune them all the way to the green.. and the green is usually at ground level or a little lower. Explained to her that no, my roses are just fine, its winterkill. Now you know what I go through every year.

Skiekitty said:Rita - ill get pictures of what my yard looks like every spring. My neighbors mom asked me if all my roses died because I prune them all the way to the green.. and the green is usually at ground level or a little lower. Explained to her that no, my roses are just fine, its winterkill. Now you know what I go through every year.

This is very unusual for me. I really thought lots of then were dead. Some still might be. Not in that picture though.

Yep, Toni, mine looked like Rita's this year. I pruned them way way back, and then we got another freeze, so some had to go back even more. They look pretty good today, good enough that I fertilized a few, thinking it might not be a total waste of fertilizer.

This is a normal spring for me as far as growth & what my yard looks like. Looks like I lost *maybe* 3 roses this winter.. amazing! The snow protected the roses from the weeks of negative temps we had super early in the season, plus having 12"+ of mulch didn't hurt either. The one rose next to a trellis is actually "Purple Splash" climber.

But now I've got earwigs all over the place.. yuck! These were all taken this morning.





and the pond area.

That is great that you had such a high survival rate this year! Probably everything is getting much more established. You didn't add as many new ones last year, did you? I've noticed that if I can get them through the first summer with enough watering, then they can handle a bad winter. It all depends on the summer weather here.

Cindi - Yea, only added like 10 roses.. and 2 of those are ones that croaked. But they were end-of-season roses and I'm not too terribly surprised. I need to prune the back yard.. that's gonna take 2-3 days (4-6 hours) & take stock 100% of what's alive & what's not. I think almost everything's alive.. moved mulch on those I wasn't sure about & found new canes coming up. Just need to prune.. and prune.. and prune...