My Roald Dhal from David Austin. Whilst I’m here, could I ask you guys for advice regarding canes/branches of the rose that seem to droop or hang low, as though it’s outgrown the weight supporting capacity of the cane itself? As you can see in this pic I have tied that one drooping branch to the others to keep it upright - partly because it creates a more pleasing shape but partly due to the fact the cane looked as though it could snap anytime with the weight of the flowers! What do you guys do with your droopy branches?
@celcius_kkw, how old is your rose? Young DA roses often can’t hold their heads up in the early days, it takes a few years for them to toughen up. I have a Golden Celebration that throws up long, weak stems that still can’t support the weight of the big blooms. It’s it’s third year. I am going to train it as a short climber next year, but at the moment I have various supports and strings holding it up like you do!
I don’t have Roald Dhal though, it could be it just needs to mature a bit, or it could be one of the naturally arching/nodding ones. Hopefully someone else has it and can help you more...
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
@celcius_kkw, how old is your rose? Young DA roses often can’t hold their heads up in the early days, it takes a few years for them to toughen up. I have a Golden Celebration that throws up long, weak stems that still can’t support the weight of the big blooms. It’s it’s third year. I am going to train it as a short climber next year, but at the moment I have various supports and strings holding it up like you do!
I don’t have Roald Dhal though, it could be it just needs to mature a bit, or it could be one of the naturally arching/nodding ones. Hopefully someone else has it and can help you more...
I only just got it from David Austin a month ago so does that count as year 1? (Obviously I don’t know how old it was at the point of sale)
I have also also got another rose from DA called Sceptre’d isle which also has one young branch drooping as it has two flowers at the end clearly weighing it down. I am most tempted to tie it up like I’ve done with the other ones but just want to make sure I’m not going against how nature intends them to be.
Hi, yes that’s year 1, so normal behaviour for a newly planted rose. It will hold itself up better in future years. That’s a lovely pot you have there, but it would be better in a straight-sided pot to give the roots a bit more space to spread out. Roses in pots do need lots of tlc, watered deeply and fed regularly to keep them healthy and help build up their strength. The rose will deplete the nutrients in the pot quickly as they are hungry beasts!
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Hi, yes that’s year 1, so normal behaviour for a newly planted rose. It will hold itself up better in future years. That’s a lovely pot you have there, but it would be better in a straight-sided pot to give the roots a bit more space to spread out. Roses in pots do need lots of tlc, watered deeply and fed regularly to keep them healthy and help build up their strength. The rose will deplete the nutrients in the pot quickly as they are hungry beasts!
Thank you. I guess I should tie them up gently for now then so as to give the branches some support whilst it strengthens itself over time.
I read that the ideal pots for roses should be 18 x 18 inches which is rather big for a balcony! I decided that I would go with something smaller as it’s rather impractical having huge pots on my balcony. I do have some rectangular ones though so I shall use those instead of the round ones in the future.
I do do water and fertilise then fairly often, and that together with deadheading are my favourite parts of my plant care routine 😊
Ah yes, a large pot full of moist compost can weigh a tonne. Rose growing can be very addictive but maybe check the load-bearing capacity of your balcony before getting too carried away. Perhaps next time, make it small patio roses or compact floribundas in lightweight resin pots!!
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Ah yes, a large pot full of moist compost can weigh a tonne. Rose growing can be very addictive but maybe check the load-bearing capacity of your balcony before getting too carried away. Perhaps next time, make it small patio roses or compact floribundas in lightweight resin pots!!
Haha fair enough I won’t want to see my balcony collapse. It is cemented flooring though. All of my pots are made from fibreglass type material which is very light weight. There’s no way I could even contemplate using large terracotta pots that weigh a tonne. They are much cheaper though.
David Austin "Grace" As I have just found out how to get my photos on the forum I am making full use of it. Have already posted them on another thread but why not on here as well.
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I don’t have Roald Dhal though, it could be it just needs to mature a bit, or it could be one of the naturally arching/nodding ones. Hopefully someone else has it and can help you more...
I have also also got another rose from DA called Sceptre’d isle which also has one young branch drooping as it has two flowers at the end clearly weighing it down. I am most tempted to tie it up like I’ve done with the other ones but just want to make sure I’m not going against how nature intends them to be.
A
I read that the ideal pots for roses should be 18 x 18 inches which is rather big for a balcony! I decided that I would go with something smaller as it’s rather impractical having huge pots on my balcony. I do have some rectangular ones though so I shall use those instead of the round ones in the future.
I do do water and fertilise then fairly often, and that together with deadheading are my favourite parts of my plant care routine 😊
David Austin "Grace"
As I have just found out how to get my photos on the forum I am making full use
of it.
David Austin "Amelia".