@edhelka I always use saucers. If it is very wet in the winter then I might tip them out sometimes. I have put soaker hoses into some of my borders so this summer watering isn't such a chore. But I do some pretty much every day. Wouldn't a happy medium between us be great?
@Tack I think we get around 2000mm of rain per year. I would be happy with somewhere between 1000 and 1500 and of course with nice sunny summer, not too hot, not too cold, rain maybe once per week overnight, just to water everything Seriously, I've been thinking that we've maybe chosen a bad place to live. Even though I love it here. But we have microclimates - Porthamadog is dryer than we are, Llyn is dryer, Anglesey is dryer. But just one valley from us is significantly cloudier and rainier and anything above us in altitude is rainier. So maybe it isn't that bad but if we move, I will pay more attention to this. Saucers are a sure way how to kill a plant here.
Gosh we get 640mm average annual rainfall @edhelka. That is according to the nearest accurate measurer of such things. The further problem is that it is very unevenly distributed. After a really dry spring, June was average, but that was due to a storm one day and decent rain the next so with the wind and sun that doesn't last long.
My husband can't contemplate moving anywhere north or west of here because of the weather. He prefers helping with watering, luckily. I was a bit naive about the amount of water roses need when I bought so many this year.
I wonder if there is anywhere that attains that perfect happy medium, climate-wise! I hoped I was going to get it here, but no, just an extremely unpredictable climate, sometimes searingly hot and dry, then thunderous rainstorms that wrecks blooms and creates high humidity, followed by searingly hot sun again to scorch everything! We must have had the coolest, wettest 6-8 weeks ever, but thankfully it’s now drier and sunnier but with some cloud cover to temper the heat. At least there is moisture in the ground.
I have alkaline soil and very hard well water, but I do manage that, mostly, with ericaceous compost, soaking teabags in the watering cans and the occasional iron feed. My grumble is that roses are not as floriferous as most of yours and the colours are washed out. Julia Child and Lady Emma Hamilton are my best bloomers but I do wish the colours were stronger, especially on LEH:
Ps - @edhelka could your Belgian nursery be shut for the summer? Here, from mid July until September it’s impossible to get any commercial business to respond as they are all off on holiday. It’s often the same in France and Italy.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Today was pretty damp and rubbish in the Peak. I did out together my arch to create a rose walkway. I really want mme Alfred carriere but can't find a plant for love nor money!!
@Tack ..that's more than I get here... about 22 inches a year, which I think translates to 550mm.. parts of East Anglia could be described as semi-arid...
@Katsa ..that looks so much nicer... I've had those half arches before, attached to a house wall.. I don't know why I didn't think of it.. I got them from a company called Agriframes..
@Nollie At least you have some fun with the climate, all the extremes. Although it's not good for the garden.
You are maybe right about the nursery, although they have some posts on facebook, but they were vegetable related. That's why I haven't named them, I don't want people to be able to google their name and find critical comments. I would love to order bare root roses in September (from various places) for October/November delivery, so it makes sense to start shortlisting now.
@Katsa I love the half-arches, it looks really good.
@Katsa That looks great and not like a compromise at all.
@Marlorena I thought you would probably have less, I think as a county Essex is driest followed by other East anglian counties. My gripe mainly is how unevenly the rain falls. Flood or drought. We have had the house flooded (upriver has more rain) and it's been a near thing on a couple of other occasions. I wonder how our roses will withstand being covered in water for up to a week.
Katsa that looks so good, can’t wait to see it covered.
Nollie that’s a good tip about the ericaceous compost, will order some of that next time I enrich the beds. For now I’ve added sequestered iron, and sulphur as I have a big bag of that (sulphur rose).
I think I’ll start on a bare root shortlist...and start saving now 😆 At least TCL is pretty affordable. I’d love some arches for some climbers, too.
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Seriously, I've been thinking that we've maybe chosen a bad place to live. Even though I love it here. But we have microclimates - Porthamadog is dryer than we are, Llyn is dryer, Anglesey is dryer. But just one valley from us is significantly cloudier and rainier and anything above us in altitude is rainier. So maybe it isn't that bad but if we move, I will pay more attention to this.
Saucers are a sure way how to kill a plant here.
Ps - @edhelka could your Belgian nursery be shut for the summer? Here, from mid July until September it’s impossible to get any commercial business to respond as they are all off on holiday. It’s often the same in France and Italy.
..that's more than I get here... about 22 inches a year, which I think translates to 550mm.. parts of East Anglia could be described as semi-arid...
..that looks so much nicer... I've had those half arches before, attached to a house wall.. I don't know why I didn't think of it.. I got them from a company called Agriframes..
I think I’ll start on a bare root shortlist...and start saving now 😆 At least TCL is pretty affordable. I’d love some arches for some climbers, too.