I've not posted anything on here in ages. We went away on holiday for a week and since then we've been busy trying to clear our new allotment.
Roses have been quite quiet, Malvern Hills has been blooming for the longest. But most of the roses are putting on fresh growth and developing new buds right now. The Generous Gardener has two opening up and has also thrown out this new cane from the base which is growing rapidly
Malvern Hills has two really long canes.
Mortimer Sackler has a lovely flower on it, well it did...this was it this morning
and this was in the afternoon, after it got hot...
It's such a shame as it's otherwise a brilliant rose. The foliage is a lovely shape and colour. The stems are a nice shade of red with few thorns. Very healthy. The scent is wonderful and it's great having it near the doorway.
But the blooms can't handle the sun.
I might have to relocate it to somewhere North facing. Maybe behind the shed at the allotment.
@Mr. Vine Eye your roses are doing well... first season Austins are notoriously tricky and you will not see typical bloom performance at this stage... there is no need to move your rose as it's perfectly capable of dealing with heat as an established rose, which it isn't right now.. I'm not saying 100F heat, it will crisp in that, but the sort we usually get.. ..here is an example of mine on a hot July day when I had it..
It's west facing, at the front of our house, in a large pot, which I know isn't ideal but I wanted a climber and this was the only way I could have one at the front. I've been forbidden from lifting paving slabs.
Its the largest pot I could find though and it's done very well so far this year. It looks happy. If that changes I can always replant it at some point.
I'm really pleased with my Winchester Cathedral rose this summer. It's now about 10 years old and is covered with lovely white blooms again at the moment. The Gertrude Jeykll next to it though isn't doing quite so well, which is unusual.
...Winchester Cathedral seems to do well for so many people Lizzie.. it must be a good rose..
@Mr. Vine Eye aah.. I didn't know it was in a pot.. Austins need tons of water in pots otherwise they will shrivel up quickly... it's not a rose I would put in a pot really.. when I dug mine up which was 8 foot tall, the main taproot had run some 6 feet through the ground... which is what it does.. best of luck anyway, maybe some shade is needed in your case...
..actually, whilst here, may I ask a question please... I notice in your first picture above you have concrete posts... going from your name I take it you are adept in the use of vine eyes.. I see you have some inserted into the posts.. I thought they would crack if you did this... what implement do you use to get those eyes into the post please?.. I'm not sure if I could do it anyway, or try, but I'd just like to know.. thanks...
Most of my roses are between flushes at them the moment and fungal diseases are quite bad (as everywhere around this time, I guess).
Joie de Vivre is almost continually flowering, probably my best performer this year. Also quite fragrant at the moment (it wasn't too much fragrant in June/July but it is now). I would happily recommend this rose to anyone, it's trouble-free, compact (easy to maintain at 60x60cm, if you let it grow bigger it tends to be wider than high, mine is around 75x90) , easy and rewarding.
Another crazy cane on unknown red floribunda. I like this rose because the blooms last for a long time. It either does single blooms or these crazy heavy canes.
The second flush on Gertrude Jekyll
Scented Garden quickly becoming one of my favourites, I am really happy with it. Healthy, vigorous, weather-resistant and reblooming qickly.
Lots of buds and new growth on Sandringham (bought in July).
I'd read lots about how to attach to concrete posts. In the end I just decided to have a go at it and hope for the best. Luckily the posts on that side of the garden were relatively easy to drill in to. The concrete was relatively soft.
I used my normal cordless drill - which has hammer action - and did a test pilot hole with a 3mm masonry bit. Then enlarged it with a 7mm bit which was the final size hole and plugged it with some standard 7mm plugs and screwed in the vine eye.
I used Wilko 'pick n mix' fixings bags to get the vine eyes, as I needed lots for all over the garden. By far the cheapest way to get them! They have two sizes - I wish I'd got the shorter ones while doing this job as then I could have got away with drilling shallower holes.
I aimed right for the centre of the post to avoid the metal rebars.
I was lucky though, when I tried doing the same with the posts on the opposite fence I couldn't get through them at all. They were much tougher concrete. For those I ended up buying some of these. https://www.rivelinglenproducts.com/concrete-post-fixings---wire-anchors-33-c.asp , these work fine on posts with curved fronts like mine, although all the photos show flat faced posts, just need to get the right size.
@Mr. Vine Eye .. thanks for that, this is useful information.. I like the multi purpose drill bit.. we have a drill and various bits but we are not d.i.y'ers… I prefer the wire anchors and I've measured my concrete posts and find that size 1 wire anchor is suitable.. they are quite expensive if you need several but I think I could manage to fit one of those... and I spend a fortune on roses... ..I thought you had drilled in yours when I looked at them... not something I think we could attempt … thanks again for answering my questions comprehensively... you are clearly good at what you do...
@edhelka … gosh lovely roses... Joie de Vivre sounds really good, I've often looked at it... and I'm so pleased you are happy with Scented Garden... mine is due to start its 3rd flush and grows in my worst location for sun... very little until late afternoon.. yet it's a stellar performer.. one I think I need 2 of..
I really must get Sandringham.. your photo has convinced me.. I love Bourbon roses and one can see the influence in this rose with the foliage, peduncles and buds...
..just to be boring and show what I mean by that... Bourbon roses were first recognised on what was then the Ile de Bourbon [now Reunion] in the Indian Ocean around 1817... a chance seedling was discovered later called 'Rose Edouard or Edward' when taken to nearby Mauritius.. from there it went to India and the Med. where it's become endemic on some islands... 'Rose Edouard' is the foundling of the Bourbon class..
...this is my photo from Mannington, showing the foliage and buds, ... 'Reine Victoria' a famous Bourbon...
..I hope you see the family connections with your rose but they are much hybridised today of course.. David Austin sometimes uses them in breeding..
Posts
Roses have been quite quiet, Malvern Hills has been blooming for the longest. But most of the roses are putting on fresh growth and developing new buds right now. The Generous Gardener has two opening up and has also thrown out this new cane from the base which is growing rapidly
Malvern Hills has two really long canes.
Mortimer Sackler has a lovely flower on it, well it did...this was it this morning
and this was in the afternoon, after it got hot...
It's such a shame as it's otherwise a brilliant rose. The foliage is a lovely shape and colour. The stems are a nice shade of red with few thorns. Very healthy. The scent is wonderful and it's great having it near the doorway.
But the blooms can't handle the sun.
I might have to relocate it to somewhere North facing. Maybe behind the shed at the allotment.
..here is an example of mine on a hot July day when I had it..
It's west facing, at the front of our house, in a large pot, which I know isn't ideal but I wanted a climber and this was the only way I could have one at the front. I've been forbidden from lifting paving slabs.
Its the largest pot I could find though and it's done very well so far this year. It looks happy. If that changes I can always replant it at some point.
@Mr. Vine Eye aah.. I didn't know it was in a pot.. Austins need tons of water in pots otherwise they will shrivel up quickly... it's not a rose I would put in a pot really.. when I dug mine up which was 8 foot tall, the main taproot had run some 6 feet through the ground... which is what it does.. best of luck anyway, maybe some shade is needed in your case...
..actually, whilst here, may I ask a question please... I notice in your first picture above you have concrete posts... going from your name I take it you are adept in the use of vine eyes.. I see you have some inserted into the posts.. I thought they would crack if you did this... what implement do you use to get those eyes into the post please?.. I'm not sure if I could do it anyway, or try, but I'd just like to know.. thanks...
I used my normal cordless drill - which has hammer action - and did a test pilot hole with a 3mm masonry bit. Then enlarged it with a 7mm bit which was the final size hole and plugged it with some standard 7mm plugs and screwed in the vine eye.
I used Wilko 'pick n mix' fixings bags to get the vine eyes, as I needed lots for all over the garden. By far the cheapest way to get them! They have two sizes - I wish I'd got the shorter ones while doing this job as then I could have got away with drilling shallower holes.
The drilling took a while, had to stop and cool the bit regularly and I had to replace it eventually. https://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-straight-shank-multipurpose-drill-bit-7-x-100mm/78311 Got one of these - which instantly improved things.
I aimed right for the centre of the post to avoid the metal rebars.
I was lucky though, when I tried doing the same with the posts on the opposite fence I couldn't get through them at all. They were much tougher concrete. For those I ended up buying some of these. https://www.rivelinglenproducts.com/concrete-post-fixings---wire-anchors-33-c.asp , these work fine on posts with curved fronts like mine, although all the photos show flat faced posts, just need to get the right size.
..I thought you had drilled in yours when I looked at them... not something I think we could attempt … thanks again for answering my questions comprehensively... you are clearly good at what you do...
I really must get Sandringham.. your photo has convinced me.. I love Bourbon roses and one can see the influence in this rose with the foliage, peduncles and buds...
...this is my photo from Mannington, showing the foliage and buds, ...
'Reine Victoria' a famous Bourbon...
..I hope you see the family connections with your rose but they are much hybridised today of course.. David Austin sometimes uses them in breeding..