Also, Cindi, please add your lovely photos of La Villa Cotta and Rosarium Uetersen.

Rose (Rosa 'La Villa Cotta')

Rose (Rosa 'Rosarium Uetersen')

I was going to import them from this thread, but then I noticed that they have no watermark or any other form of copyright protection, so I hesitated.

Zuzu, I'll see if my daughter can help me do that. I'm using a tablet and my phone, and while I do have fast WiFi here, I don't have much battery life. I have loads of photos I want to add.

Yippee! I'm looking forward to seeing them.

If you go to your profile page, click on "Change your site preferences," and choose a watermark, I'd feel less hesitant to import your photos directly from the thread. Or if you don't care about copyright protection, I can do it without the watermark.

zuzu, I have my fishing trip cancelled today so I am staying home on this weekend. Not much enjoyment outside in 105*F.... I will hopefully posting quite a few photos in the database this weekend.

CindiKS said:Khalid, the soil, compost, and mineral mix you've developed sounds perfect. I've wondered if the potting mixes that contain peat are what cause potted roses to boil in the summer heat. My eldest daughter grew potted roses in the summer heat of Las Vegas, so I know it can be done!
How big are the pots you are using? Are they clay? I can tell you put a lot of work into growing your roses and they are stunning.

Cindi, I tried peat moss but one, it doesn't contain much in terms of nutrients and has to be fed heavily. Since I don't use synthetic fertilizers anymore, it becomes difficult to produce a fertile potting mix with peat moss. Worst, it dries out quickly in hot weather and roses dehydrate. Natural soil is a much superior option as per my experience.

Regarding pots, all my pots now are terracotta. Had very bad experience with plastic pots last year and I had to shift all roses in plastic pots to clay pots this winters. In my climate, roses suffocate in plastic pots and affect of high & low temps is severe. Clay pots with better air circulation work much better in my climate. They are heavy but much better for roses in my area. Most of my first year bushes are in 14" or 16" pots and almost all old bushes are in 18" pots (I am not sure how much it would be in terms of gallons). However, 18" is the diameter of the rim.

best regards

Cindi ... you have to keep in mind that container soil and container type for Khalid's climate may not be perfect for your climate as your climate is more humid and gets much colder during the winter months. The ambient temperatures really do make a difference in the type of soil mixtures and containers that work in a given climate.

Although I have the high summer temps in the high 90s and low triple digits container gardening is a nightmare for me because there is a 40 to 50 degree difference between my day temps and night temps. If I water for my day temps only, I can easily end up with root rot. If I don't hydrate the plants well enough, I end up with fried plants. I can do it, but, for me, it requires a lot of care and attention. In San Diego, it was almost a no brainer because I didn't have to deal with major temperature fluctuations.

Clay pots with a heavier rock content in the soil won't wick the water away from the soil which is probably why they work well in Khalid's climate. The soil mixture with that kind of rock content also is why plastic would not work well. The soil mixture as well as the ambient temperature and humidity dictates the type of container that will be the most effective in a given climate.

I agree completely about avoiding peat in a hot and dry climate. If peat ever dries out, it repels water. I have actually used it to control invading bind weed. It's like putting down concrete. Nothing will grow through it. I haven't found any commercial potting soil or compost that did not include peat, so if you can find organic material to make you own mix, you are way ahead. However, if you garden in a climate where it is not going to dry out completely, you are not going to have the same problem.

So, "it depends." The real take away is Khalid's willingness to observe and experiment to find what works best in his/her climate.

btw ... Khalid, I am very impressed with what you have shown us with your roses and thank you for sharing what you have learned from them.

Edit ... forgot a word ... oops !

Delightful strong fragrance. Performed well in spring but in hot summers, the bush is just surviving.... no more blooms since over a month.


Burgundy Iceberg has performed very well for me this year and it's blooming perpetually. Last year, the same bush had very slow growth and remained fungus infected most of the time. This year, I raised teh pH level of the soil through application of wood ash when it was raining. With a higher soil pH (between 7 to 7.5), it is doing very well.


The ability of Chippendale to change shade from orange in the beginning to light salmon pink after two days is quite cool and one can see different colour blooms on the same bush. However, my bush didn't do well in acidic pH and remained infected with mildew. I gave it some woodash when it rained and it is doing well now..... no hints of mildew. Fragrance is nice. I once had a Austin rose named "Queen Nefertiti" that displayed similar traits. Can find it anymore in the market now.

RoseBlush1 said:Cindi ... you have to keep in mind that container soil and container type for Khalid's climate may not be perfect for your climate as your climate is more humid and gets much colder during the winter months. The ambient temperatures really do make a difference in the type of soil mixtures and containers that work in a given climate.

Although I have the high summer temps in the high 90s and low triple digits container gardening is a nightmare for me because there is a 40 to 50 degree difference between my day temps and night temps. If I water for my day temps only, I can easily end up with root rot. If I don't hydrate the plants well enough, I end up with fried plants. I can do it, but, for me, it requires a lot of care and attention. In San Diego, it was almost a no brainer because I didn't have to deal with major temperature fluctuations.

Clay pots with a heavier rock content in the soil won't wick the water away from the soil which is probably why they work well in Khalid's climate. The soil mixture with that kind of rock content also is why plastic would not work well. The soil mixture as well as the ambient temperature and humidity dictates the type of container that will be the most effective in a given climate.

I agree completely about avoiding peat in a hot and dry climate. If peat ever dries out, it repels water. I have actually used it to control invading bind weed. It's like putting down concrete. Nothing will grow through it. I haven't found any commercial potting soil or compost that did not include peat, so if you can find organic material to make you own mix, you are way ahead. However, if you garden in a climate where it is not going to dry out completely, you are not going to have the same problem.

So, "it depends." The real take away is Khalid's willingness to observe and experiment to find what works best in his/her climate.

btw ... Khalid, I am very impressed with what you have shown us with your roses and thank you for sharing what you have learned from them.

Edit ... forgot a word ... oops !

Fully agree with what RoseBlush1 wrote above and I have always tried to follow the same line of thinking. And if you see my write up, I have used phrases like "my experience", "my area" and "my climate" etc to emphasise that this is how I experienced it. I have learnt the hard way that there are no universal rights and wrongs that apply everywhere equally well when it comes to dealing with living things. Their behaviour and performance changes with change in climate, living environment, individual living habits and host of other factors. Therefore, I believe one should share his / her experience as it is. The environment (or any other variable for that matter) in which that particular experience took place should be described as accurately and honestly as possible and then, it should be left on the knowledgeable readers to draw their own conclusions, considering their own environment / climate.

Terracotta pots and potting mix of river soil and homemade compost has worked very well for me, in my climate. This argument doesn't and shouldn't in anyway be taken to establish that "Terracotta pots are always better than plastic pots, no matter where you live" or "river soil is always the best soil" or" one should only use home made composts" etc.

best regards

Few photos taken today morning.... temp today is not too hot (like 102*F).


Though the bloom size is smaller (3" as compared to 5" in spring), it was so refreshing to see and sniff this bloom of Frederic Mistral. Growing in a 14" pot.


First bloom on a cutting of La France that was planted in mid February this year. Not a bad performance in 4 months. In Islamabad, own root cuttings grow real fast and become a full size bush in 1 year or little more. Fragrance is nice but the shade is a bit different. More a peach than the soft pink that it is supposed to be.

best regards

First blooms can be deceptive. It's certainly an impressive performance for a 4-month-old cutting.

My Nahema is four years old now and has never produced a single bloom, but it's an own-root rose and I have trouble growing own-root roses unless they're OGRs or landscape shrubs. It's growing, however, and is now about 4 feet tall, so I'll just be patient and wait for blooms.

Chippendale is intriguing. I like rose bushes that carry blooms of different colors all at the same time. Also, it's the name of one of my cats. Palatine is supposed to be carrying more Tantau roses this year, so Chippendale may be among them, I hope.

Khalid, I am loving your photos and enjoying reading about your cultural methods. Thank you so much for sharing!

Cindi, I'm so excited for you, what a wonderful experience!

Missed a few days with being v busy - but wonderful roses, everyone! Adding a few to my wish list... We're now back in England and it's great to see how many roses are now in bloom or about to bloom. Some of the Austins I have in both England and France.

Fighting Temeraire (I this rose, it has huge personality)


Lady of Shalott - the perfume is intoxicating!


Graham Thomas


Winchester Cathedral - blooming better than it ever has


Summer Song - I find it really difficult to capture the colour of this one; it's very distinctive and I never seem to quite get it!


Albrighton Rambler - needs another week or so to hit full steam!


Munstead Wood


Olivia Rose Austin


Lark Ascending - semi-double, wonderful soft colours


More to come - have to go and buy tiles!

Oh, my! There are some really awesome roses and equally impressive photography here recently. I am enjoying it all immensely.

zuzu, you are right. Initial few blooms may look different at times. 4 years and Nahema hasn't bloomed That's a lot of time. I wouldn't have been able to wait that much.

gemini_sage, thanks for your comments.

cliftoncat, those are beautiful roses. Blooms of Lady of Shalott look so much like Lady Emma Hamilton. Could you comment on the fragrance of Summer Song.

Thanks, Khalid - I bought Summer Song for its strong perfume and its unique colour - not red, not orange, really attractive. David Austin describes the perfume as "Lovely, strong mixed scent with hints of chrysanthemum leaves, ripe bananas and tea". I cannot honestly say that I have discovered all those scents in it (!) but it is a strong scent that is not too sweet. You don't need to put your nose to the flowers to smell it - just walking past is a real pleasure.
I think that zuzu and Sue have this one as well - perhaps they have a view?

Such beautiful photos Mika! That shot of Winchester Cathedral showing most of the plant is magical!

Summer Song is intriguing me, I hadn't really looked closely into that one for some reason. That color with old rose form would be really nice! I find some of those descriptions of fragrance and other aspects of the plant downright silly, I do love roses I can smell without putting my nose to the bloom!

I seem to recall trying to steer you away from Winchester Cathedral a while ago, Neal - but given how it has performed this year, I take it all back! It's really stunning, covered in perfect, very white blooms.

And I just noticed where you live! Very appropriate.

I am still fighting the war-of-the-bugs. The roses are all putting on new foliage from the loss of foliage due the the saw fly infestation, but last night I had to dis-bud most of the roses again because there were curculios on all of the roses ...

Looks like I won't have photos of roses to share for a while.

The weather goes from high 90s down to low 70s with a week, so both the plants and the gardener are struggling .. By next week, it should all be high temps of summer. Oh, joy ....

War-of-the-bugs! Battle-with-the-Beetles!! No FUN - you have my sympathies Lyn!

We have had a week off work and had planned to get so much done but the weather didn't play along!! Two nice sunny days and the rest rain, rain, rain!! And I have been trying to do my first crosses of the season! But I came up with a solution
Sandwich bags - my neighbours really think I'm batty!

Here are two of my roses from last year. The first one reminds me a bit of Sheila's Perfume - am I right??


In spite of all the rain, a lot of the roses have started blooming. Sorry people - no Austins which seem so popular ...

Fellowship, Lavender Ice and Lykkefund

Iris Webb, Belle Epoque and Purple Tiger

Amber Queen, Ashram and Black Baccara

Your rose does look like Sheila's Perfume. Very, very pretty.

I love Iris Webb. The blooms are so varied that I never know what to expect when the bud begins to open.

More cut roses.