Lyn, I am with you about growing roses in container but sometimes it is unavoidable. Right now I have about 70 seedlings from this year and last in 1litre pots and about 25 rootstock in 7 litre pots. The baby pots needed to be watered 2 to 3 times a day last week! I would really be better off with some sort of automatic drip system but I am not sure if I want to pay that sort of money for the hopefully few extremely hot days that we have each year.

Thankfully, the heat-wave is over and we had quite a hefty storm this afternoon - petals and leaves AND BRANCHES FROM MY NEIGHBOURS BIRCH everywhere! But it is cooler and I got to dig another two trial beds for my roses and iris before the storm hit.

Took quite a few pictures this last week, far too many, but when you see a beautiful bloom - well click, clickety click! Just love the digital age!!! so I would like to share them with you.

The only two Austins in my garden - Tea Clipper and William Shakespeare with a NOID 'white sort of Austin'.

Doris Tysterman and France Libre

From left to right, Bonica, Blue Girl and Lavender Joy


Amber Queen (looking very yellow) - Brown Velvet - Charles de Gaulle (a bit stingy this year) - Charmant (a beautiful dependable bloomer)


Hanky Panky (half-half instead of striped) - Herkules (first bloom - I expected it to be larger) - Honey Dijon (just love the colour on this rose, also the way it ages)


Julia Child (bloom progression) - King's Macc (bud and bloom, an amazing rose) - Lichtkönigin Lucia (good bloomer and lovely scent)


Mind Games (can only recommend) - Paul Ricard (perfect form) - Rock & Roll (always different) - Rosengarten Zweibrücken (take off this year)


Rokoko (close-up and bloom progression) - Scented Air (another favourite) - Tea Clipper (up close)


Stephen Rulo (just love this rose!)


And last but not least, two of my own babies from 2013
Maggie May (Deborah X Westerland) and Verian (Deborah X Arthur Bell)


I have so many more but I think I have posted enough for one day - appreciate so much being able to share and hope you enjoyed seeing some of my roses.

Wonderful! More, please.

Sharlene ....

As usual, your photos are breath taking and induce a serious case of drooling ... Thank you for sharing ...

Not in this garden, where high temps are the norm during summer, but when I lived in San Diego and did a lot of container gardening, I developed a system to use a potting soil mix for my cuttings / seedlings that drained well during normal periods while slightly raised from the hardscape and wicked water well during heat spells lasting a few days to a week with water trays, which I changed once a day, during periods of triple digit temps.

I only had to water them once a day.

The same potting mix doesn't work quite as well up here because of the dramatic change between day and night temps, but when I started this garden, I did have a lot of plants in containers and did use water trays to wick moisture up into the plants up from the bottom of the plant and to increase the ambient humidity around the young plants until they were large enough to plant out. It was all about experimenting and balancing things out, but I didn't lose any plants. Maybe you might want to experiment along those lines. For me, it was something I just had to do because I had far too many small plants to care for in high temps.

I just didn't have time to give them the attention needed to water them 2 or 3 times a day.

Another technique that my rose mentor used to propagate cuttings for plant sales and to bring his own seedlings along was to use a mist house which misted the cuttings or seedlings several times a minute. This, too, maintains the proper moisture and humidity. It's always fun to experiment.

Lyn, hope you have a napkin

But seriously, thanks and thanks for the suggestions. it is always fun to experiment! That's what got me into this predicament But it isn't going to stop me. I am still hoping that we have a normal summer with normal temperatures this year - for us around 28C - and rain every night would be an added bonus

I do have need of that napkin, Sharlene ... ... I may be able to get some bloom photos, but temps actually get warmer towards evening when I have better light. It should be about 32C tonight. The heat from the valley climbs the mountains and it really doesn't begin to cool off until after dark. At least it cools off up here. In the valley, it stays HOT.

Day temps for the next few months will be between 35C to 40C with 20% humidity with night temps dropping down to 15C to 22C with 55% tp 70% humidity and no rain at all. That's why container gardening is very tricky.
Having water wick up from below to create moisture in the soil and ambient humidity during the day works best in this climate. Watering from the top down just doesn't give the same results. I can adjust it by timing when I remove the tray and when I put it back in the morning and keep the soil in the small containers evenly moist.

This is a method I've come up with for working in a more extreme climate, but I am thinking you might want to use a variation when you are going through what you might consider a "heat wave".

When I first moved up here, I couldn't propagate roses at all. I just grew brown sticks until I came up with a way to control the moisture for my cuttings. The same was true for starting seeds. I got so desperate for some success, I just broke the rules ...

A couple of weeks ago the foliage on almost all of my roses, even the micro minis looked like this from the saw fly larva infestation:



The roses are getting their foliage back, but don't have many blooms because I've had to continue dis-budding due to the curculios. I've left the damaged foliage on the roses because it does provide some protection to the canes from the intense mountain sunlight. I took both the photo above and this photo today. The photo below is on the other side of the plant.



I don't have many blooms in the garden, but here's a couple of photos I managed to get before a breeze kicked up and everything in the garden was a moving target ...

Baby Austin :



Si:



Yes ... I have these tiny plants in the ground instead of growing them in containers. I guess you can tell I really don't like container gardening up here ...

Kardinal:



Sweet Chariot:

Beautiful photos Sharlene! Please do share as many as you'd like, you'll get no complaints here!

Lyn, your roses are rebounding well . Si is a unique little rose, the bloom form reminds me of oxalis blooms.

I'm seeing more Japanese beetles around the garden but not the mass hordes of them I've seen in the past. I can still see the blooms from a distance and they are still beautifying the garden even though many have a few beetles dining on the petals. This is a great improvement over past years when all that could be seen was a black, writhing, mass of beetles that completely cover blooms till there are no more petals. Roses have been the primary source of color in the garden for the last 6 weeks or so, but with the onset of hot weather, Lilies, Daylilies, Echinacea, Phlox and other perennials are commanding all the attention now

Thanks, Neal. I think Si is just one of those roses I just hve to have. It does look rather lonely as I am rearranging the garden, but I don't want to transplant things in the high heat. btw .. I truly hate oxalix ... it is so invasive, while Si is so very mannerly ... Not a cutting rose, but there is something special about have a rose with the smallest bloom in the world.

Have you tried the dead Japanese Beetle technique mentioned in the article a few weeks back ? Does it work for you ?

Haven't tried it yet, but plan to soon. It has been such a busy spring and start to summer and I've had little time in the garden. I've got another wedding this weekend, I believe it will be the 8th weekend in a row I've had weddings, but thankfully have the following weekend free! Hoping to catch up on some garden projects then, including the lovely task of making jars of beetle yuck soup

Sounds just yummy ...

Today is the last day of June! Can't believe how quickly it has gone - half the year is already over and I still have so much to do! But you know what they say 'time flies when you are having fun'! Raining this morning but should stop this afternoon so I can get some roses planted. I have finally made a selection of my seedlings from 2013/2014!

Haha, Sharlene, you got to the last day of June before we did. Your post on my screen shows June 29, 10:52 PM EST.

I've been enjoying your photos!

As for me, I got my first bloom from Cinco de Mayo (on rootstock, from trade this year--thanks, @kousa!) Very nice deep coppery color, very different than any of my other roses.

We had quite the storm a few days ago, and the rain was needed! Very few blooms on roses right now because of the dry weather. Dublin Bay just finished a flush but has many buds, but other than that, just Cecille Brunner (spray variant) and Champney's Pink Cluster is at full speed, non-stop.

@lovesblooms, Taqiyyah

This is just a curiosity question ... I only saw a couple of roses on your plant list and am curious about what other roses you may be growing. I grow roses in a much more arid climate than I suspect you may have in your garden, but have not found that low humidity slowed down bloom performance as much as high summer temps above 95F seemed to send some roses into summer dormancy. Is that what your are referring to above ? And to satisfy my curiosity ... which roses ? ... I hope you don' mind my asking ...

btw ... I love your plant list.

Oh! I have Mrs. Dudley Cross, Crown Princess Margarita, Twilight Zone, South Africa, Molineux, Madame Antoine Mari (a baby), Duchesse de Brabant (a baby), Monsieur Tillier, Belinda's Dream, Louis Philippe, Souvenir de la Malmaison...

... and I'm pretty sure Ghislaine de Feligonde and Grande Dame have rooted, as well as one or two others...

But all of the above are three years or younger own-roots from cuttings, so I don't expect much from them in terms of blooms. I get maybe a couple a season from them and I'm happy. I just dream of a few years down the line...

Reminds me: Souvenir was worth it. I could smell its single bloom without having to bend way over to smell it, and it really went to work putting on new growth once I planted it. So did Louis Philippe.

I suppose I should add some of those roses to my list, then, huh?

I'm glad you like my list! I tore up 50% of my lawn to get room for most of those, lol.

Taqiyyah...

Thank you... I was just wondering. We have such different climates, but I was pretty sure that it wasn't the dry weather that was causing what you were seeing as I garden in dry weather .. It does make sense that your roses are putting most of their energy into growing roots and plant before putting energy into producing blooms as they are still juvenile roses.

I planted 'Grand Dame' this year. I think that will be one of the final roses I add to this garden. I am changing directions as this garden is not as rose friendly as I would like, so I am going to grow more plants that are happy with in a wet Mediterranean climate with less fertile soil. I want a sustainable garden without having to keep hauling lots and lots of organic material back the garden. I don't produce enough in my own garden to meet the garden's needs.

It's time for a new learning curve .... Of course, when I do visit a nursery, the very first plants that call my name are roses ... Clearly, I am not done with them. They keep calling to me.

Lyn, I think that's a great idea to get into more Mediterranean plants suited to your environment- there are so many fascinating and unique plants that will only perform really well in that environment. And biodiversity in the garden seems a very healthy idea to me. I'm finding the more diverse my garden becomes, the less I see issues spread. I'm sure you'll stiff find spots for some roses here and there

Neal ...

Actually, that was my initial plan, but it turned out to be one of those plans-of-mice-and-men kind of things ...

I was gifted with 150 roses from a rose nursery I had done a favor for as a house warming gift, I only knew how to grow roses, I discovered I had dead soil, blah, blah, blah .... AND my body is getting older and my curiosity about other plants is unending, so I have simply got to experiment with them before I can't ...

I don't have room for 150 roses. More than half of my property is deer territory, slope covered with junipers or house or out buildings. The rest is rock with poor soil. It's certainly not rose friendly ... However, I have learned how adaptable roses can be to less than ideal conditions and what roses will thrive in these conditions. It's been an excellent opportunity to actually experience hands on that if you do select the right rose for your climate and grow them well, there is a rose that can be quite successful. Not every rose, but you don't have to give up growing roses just because you don't have ideal conditions.

BUT ... enough of that, it's time to satisfy my curiosity about other plants .... or at least start.

I love sharing what I know about roses so I can learn about other plants, so I don't feel guilty about picking other peoples brains because I have sooooooooooo many questions ....

I've got 15 more minutes of June left, so I thought I'd post a couple of photos I got tonight before the batteries for my camera pooped out ... yeah, I forgot to charge them last night. See what happens when you go for a long time with no blooms ???

Day temps have been playing between 95F to 103F for the last several days or 35C to 39.4C. That means the buds for these roses were formed during the period when the temps were up. I've found that the blooms last longer on the plants when the buds were formed at the warmer temps, too.

Tomorrow temps are supposed to hit a high of 100F. They will be about 80F by 10 a. m. That gives you an idea that the blooms are in pretty hot conditions all day with no shade. I think most of the roses I've selected for this garden have blooms that last on the plant for a couple of days before they crisp. I have a couple of exceptions, but that 's because I just couldn't live without the rose in my garden and they look lovely in spring and fall.

'Manau Meilland' is a rose I inherited from Mrs. J. The blooms usually only last one day and altho' they should not be fragrant, they are wonderfully fragrant. Now, that I no longer am sharing my house with cats, I cut the buds for the house in the morning during the summer months. Due to the anatomy of a rose petal the oils that are on the underside of the petals that provide fragrance for a rose are "fried" and not functional at high ambient temps. Taking the blooms inside lets me enjoy that part of growing Mrs. J's rose more.




The blooms on 'Queen Elizabeth' can last a week at temps of 100F +. The plant does get a couple of hours of afternoon shade, but the temps are still HOT as it does not cool off until after dark.







Maybe I'll get a couple more photos in the morning ... if I get up early enough ..

btw ... I took these photos about 5 pm

Wow, both are gorgeous. I didn't know the scent oils are produced on the underside of a rose, Lyn, good to know where to stroke when I'm inhaling!

I was out there deadheading and telling myself to mulch for the umpteenth time (telling myself, not the actual mulching--that's yet to happen this year for some reason). Lol, it's supposed to storm this afternoon, so I really should get it up there.