..at least you didn't call it 'Elsie Braithwaite'..[as per Horticultural Week in a DA report]..
..incidentally. DA roses turned over £25 million in 2019...
'Chawton Cottage', new from Harkness Roses, is turning into a really good climbing rose, it has lots of buds and the foliage is dark green, glossy and totally healthy.. however, it is loved by lots of other little things too, besides me..
..no such problems for this one though.. ..these tall stems on 'Terra Limburgia' look good enough to cut for a vase..
I mentioned earlier that I am doing some feeding tests this year, some roses are getting alfalfa tea, some are getting monthly liquid feed, some nothing (other than usual slow release rose food). I will do some report about this later in the season, mainly about the alfalfa tea. I also used some granulated lime in spring, more to be sure there's enough calcium and magnesium than to seriously alter the pH. I can't really say I know what I am doing
Anyway, I was worried a bit about the acidity of the alfalfa tea so I did some tests (testing both the tea and the soil where I've been using it), to be sure the tea isn't too acidifying and that I haven't overdone the lime.
The tea (a relatively strong batch, ready to use) has pH somewhere between 5.5 and 6. This could get even more acidic as it ages (bacterial nitrogen-decomposing activity making it more acidic). I also tested seaweed extract which is slightly alkaline, undiluted is around 8, and it would make sense to add it to the alfalfa tea.
The soil tests surprised me, I did two, one is somewhere between 7 and 7.5, the other one between 7.5 and 8. So yes, I used too much lime. I haven't seen any chlorosis and it will leach out eventually, so I am not worried. But I won't use lime in the next year or two
I did all this because I have a theory why are so many people so excited about the alfalfa tea, reporting miraculous growth (nothing like that here). I think it is actually very good organic nitrogen-rich plant food for alkaline soils. For acidic soils, it's just like other sources of N but I guess it can make wonders for roses in alkaline soil.
..alfalfa tea is much loved by U.S. gardeners.. I think we have to be careful we don't read too much into that, as their conditions, climate, soils, rootstocks, many own root roses, are so very different to ours.. ..gardenweb is full of interesting threads, old and new, but most isn't relevant to my own conditions... nor mine to theirs.. the same rose can look very different in another country..
I agree, it certainly seems to behave differently depending on the climate (hot vs cold summer), soil and other factors. But I am restless and love to try new things. It's also too easy to see big roses full of flowers from some warm country and feel envy or feel incompetent. But so far, I think that roses do what they want to do unless I do something very wrong. They forgive most of the mistakes which is good but they also don't become miraculously good just because I feed them, it's quite clear they have their limits and need their time (bad for impatient gardeners). My Gertrude Jekyll is growing new basal almost precisely on the same day as the last year. I think this is just her time to grow.
Interesting feeding experiments, @edhelka - I was intrigued about the results US growers get with both alfalfa tea/pellets and fish emulsion but not sure if it would apply here for the reasons Marlorena says. It’s rare for me to get anything other than a ‘half flush’ on roses - nothing like M’s exuberant blooming, but I put that down to the coping strategy of roses with high temperatures. Maybe alfalfa would help in my alkaline soil...
I have been feeding more tomato feed this year, but it’s been cooler and we have had lots of rain. Thus, I can’t pinpoint the exact reason that some DAs (MW also GJ and HC) are more floriferous this year, could just be maturity. On the other hand, LEH and LofS are of a similar age, have been very sparse and very spotty, so far. My yellow and white roses get some very minor pink spotting, but the red inhibitors in the peach/oranges seem to break down very much faster, looks like your Joie de Vivre does the same!
Harlow Carr on second flush:
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
@Nollie There is so much buzz around the aa tea in rose groups right now that I think it is only a matter of time before we see many stories from the UK and Europe about how miraculous it is. I have to say I am very sceptical about these, thinking they are either placebo (newbies seeing all the new growth on happy roses thinking aa does that) or people who see so great difference maybe underfed/underwatered before. On the other hand, I guess acidic feed could do bigger difference on alkaline soils and it should be also rich in calcium and magnesium so if someone has soil deficient in these, it could also be a great help. I am sceptical about the main benefit which is triacontanol, a growth hormone. The rest is basically a good organic NPK source with added magnesium, calcium and other goodies, probably a slightly better mix for roses than nettle tea or comfrey tea but not too much different.
I’m willing to give it a go. A bag of pure alfalfa pellets from a horse feed supplier is pretty cheap. Not feasible to get to all of the roses with a watering can so I’ll probably crush up the pellets and water it in. Nothing to lose really.
Posts
..incidentally. DA roses turned over £25 million in 2019...
'Chawton Cottage', new from Harkness Roses, is turning into a really good climbing rose, it has lots of buds and the foliage is dark green, glossy and totally healthy.. however, it is loved by lots of other little things too, besides me..
..no such problems for this one though..
..these tall stems on 'Terra Limburgia' look good enough to cut for a vase..
I also tested seaweed extract which is slightly alkaline, undiluted is around 8, and it would make sense to add it to the alfalfa tea.
..gardenweb is full of interesting threads, old and new, but most isn't relevant to my own conditions... nor mine to theirs.. the same rose can look very different in another country..
Harlow Carr on second flush:
I had rather hoped The Prince would stay more purple tho, now clashing a bit with the brickwork around my door!