@Nollie your garden is wonderful, it's amazing to think you are in Spain, I didn't realize how different it would be to the landscape and gardens I see when I go on holiday, (Menorca every year, tho sadly not this year 😔).
@Giddy123 As it’s a hybrid tea and you can prune those back quite hard, I would cut it back to undamaged wood. I can’t tell from your photos if that is possible or if the damage goes to the graft.
Regarding conifers and bark chipping, I inherited a large hedge of conifers as well as several large conifer trees, although this is not ideal I grow roses in close proximity and they are doing well. I top dress with a healthy amount of compost each year, and make sure to keep well watered. They get two annual feeds in Spring and Summer, and every two weeks I spray with seaweed extract. I mulch with bark because I have a large area to cover and it’s the most cost effective, but I don’t mulch right up to the base of the rose.
Thanks all for the compliments about my garden, I should clarify that it’s only the beds on the lower level which are my work, the land is a series of long, skinny terraces rising up to evergreen oak woodland and the lower ones were already cleared, the stone retaining walls, established trees and larger shrubs and the pyracantha hedge on top of the lower terrace walls were all there when we bought it four years ago. Definitely not a Mediterranean climate here in the foothills of the Pyrenees! There is a swimming pool on the next terrace up (horrible kidney-shaped, blue tiled thing) but it’s a godsend when it gets stupidly hot in July and August.
Yes it’s a shame about Susan Williams-Ellis. I hadn’t really noticed how quickly the delicate blooms shatter because it hadn’t bloomed much at all until this, it’s third year. I will probably replace with something more robust. Actually, the blooms of Astronomia don’t last much longer, but it’s so lovely it’s a keeper.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
@Mr. Vine Eye you just reminded me how mixture of top soil and multi purpose compost works.. my very first three roses were potted that way (I was totally clueless then and didn’t do any research at all) and they have actually done so well anyway. When I learned that one is supposed to use potting mix I even contemplated repotting them but was put off by the hassle. Turns out there’s no need!
Topsoil or John Innes is almost impossible to buy here @celcius_kkw. Actual, real garden soil is a precious commodity as I have such a thin layer of alkaline clay on rock, but I always steal a spade’s worth from somewhere to add a bit of body to my mix for potted roses. So mine consists of said spade of garden soil, one of manure then a 50/50 mix of MPC and a heavier ericaceous compost. the farmer’s fields at the valley bottom have a much greater depth of soil - I have been seriously tempted to sneak out and nick a bucketful from time to time
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
@Nollie I’m sure the said farmer wouldn’t even notice if you play your cards right.. like not digging in the same spot and keep to a rotation regime 😉 or you could always get to know them and bring them some of your flowers/crops and gently build the conversation up to ‘oh by the way you’ve got such lovely soil here..’
Actually I just had an image of a desperate gardener sneaking into some else’s field digging up soil in the middle of the night flash through my head.. lol!
I've got too much soil! Every time I plant something new I end up with more of it piling up. So my border has ended up with a miniature hill and various undulations. I really need to sort it out in autumn when I can replant some things and even it out a bit.
Its an an issue when I’m trying to water and it just flows everywhere! Although I’ve taken to creating shallow bowls in the soil for most of the plants so it’s easier to direct the water to them.
I’d have blooms now if the weather hadn’t turned! Really quite bitter outside today. Malvern Hills is nearly there, Vanessa Bell and Amber queen are starting to peel open!
I said a couple of weeks ago that my Geranium Rozanne in a pot, had gone all floppy and miserable looking after I watered her. Well she’s stayed that way, then start looking a little happier again, before now looking even sadder than before! So figured there’s something wrong in the pot maybe it was draining properly.
Went to lift her out today to check and the top growth growth just fell off! But the roots look ok and when I cleared away the soil there were little new shoots forming at the base. So I’ve pruned the roots a little as they were quite big, repotted in a 2L plastic pot. The soil didn’t seem excessively wet. Just what you’d expect after rain. Maybe the pot was a bit too flat bottomed and water was pooling. See how she goes.
When keeping ramblers/climbers in order is it good practice to prune out new shoots which are growing away from the trellis and wall (see photo). I've tried leaving them on in the past, but they just look unsightly bent round.
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Yes it’s a shame about Susan Williams-Ellis. I hadn’t really noticed how quickly the delicate blooms shatter because it hadn’t bloomed much at all until this, it’s third year. I will probably replace with something more robust. Actually, the blooms of Astronomia don’t last much longer, but it’s so lovely it’s a keeper.
Actually I just had an image of a desperate gardener sneaking into some else’s field digging up soil in the middle of the night flash through my head.. lol!
Its an an issue when I’m trying to water and it just flows everywhere! Although I’ve taken to creating shallow bowls in the soil for most of the plants so it’s easier to direct the water to them.
I’d have blooms now if the weather hadn’t turned! Really quite bitter outside today. Malvern Hills is nearly there, Vanessa Bell and Amber queen are starting to peel open!
I said a couple of weeks ago that my Geranium Rozanne in a pot, had gone all floppy and miserable looking after I watered her. Well she’s stayed that way, then start looking a little happier again, before now looking even sadder than before! So figured there’s something wrong in the pot maybe it was draining properly.
Went to lift her out today to check and the top growth growth just fell off! But the roots look ok and when I cleared away the soil there were little new shoots forming at the base. So I’ve pruned the roots a little as they were quite big, repotted in a 2L plastic pot. The soil didn’t seem excessively wet. Just what you’d expect after rain. Maybe the pot was a bit too flat bottomed and water was pooling. See how she goes.