Thanks @Marlorena, you would think, if anywhere, the wax would have melted here, but it was such a thick layer! Still, they were only cheap roses, so just a gamble that didn’t pay off.
My Californian Poppies are still just little seedlings!
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Well, whadda ya know - too busy peering at the reds to see which one will be first to flower in the garden (the others to date being potted ones in the poly). Then this sneaks up to take the lead...
Susan Williams-Ellis:
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Oh lovely rose @Nollie... I have one in a pot waiting to go in the ground, but it's well behind yours.. it does have buds though... I gather it's very fragrant, is that right? it's not one I know otherwise..
There is a faint, sweet, sort of classic rose perfume, to my less-than-perfect sense of smell, @Marlorena. Be interesting to hear what you think when yours blooms.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Clematis 'Guernsey Cream' opened today... earlier than usual like everything else.. I find it a strange colour, and I wouldn't want to see green in real Guernsey cream...
I do not have a great camera but I managed to get a close up of this Yellowjacket wasp today on one of my roses.. I read they live on insects and can sting even if unprovoked.. that's nice to know, I wasn't aware of that when I took the picture.. ..they are different from Paper wasps which have orange tipped antenna.. Yellowjackets are thicker bodied and have black antenna...
Hi @edhelka, it was part of my original batch of DAs, so it is three years old. Growth is still fairly spindly and it has never been a great bloomer. It does get black spot, like they all do. In fact, it was one I was going to get rid of but maybe, like all Austins, it just needs time so I’m interested to see how it does this year. Although in the garden, it is in a pot. Following Marlorena’s advice I have fed it an inorganic fertiliser and I think that will help. If it does ok this year I might incorporate it into my new rose border and try it there.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Talking of disease resistant DA. I cut back Claire Austin to about 50% and removed several badly diseased canes in the winter. I've been quite disappointed overall by this rose. It balls badly and is very prove to bs. I've fed it it twice. Including a sequintial feed. Fingers crossed it looks healthy currently.
In David Austin’s 2019/20 handbook, they list the following as ‘best for health’ and ‘particularly tough and disease resistant’:
Olivia Rose Austin The Mayflower Mortimer Sackler Princess Anne Hansa England’s Rose Kew Gardens Susan Williams-Ellis Claire Austin Roald Dahl Tottering-by-gently Malvern Hills
But so much depends on your conditions. In mine, they are not disease-resistant at all. Not surprising, really, given the clue is in the name ‘English Roses’.
Lady of Shallott is meant to be pretty healthy but here, absolutely not. Hansa died right back and never did well, SWE and Kew Gardens get BS and have never bloomed strongly so far. Stronger, more disease resistant ones with better bloom power for me include Lady Emma Hamilton and Munstead Wood. However, the stronger colours fade in the summer heat, with the general exception of RD Braithwaite, a good strong bloomer, but that gets bad blackspot and defoliates by mid-summer.
I did have a hit list of DA roses I was going to get rid of, but given it’s impossible to buy alternative plants at the moment, I am glad I hesitated, and didn’t hoik them out. At least I can enjoy the early season display before the strong heat kicks in.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Posts
My Californian Poppies are still just little seedlings!
Susan Williams-Ellis:
I find it a strange colour, and I wouldn't want to see green in real Guernsey cream...
I do not have a great camera but I managed to get a close up of this Yellowjacket wasp today on one of my roses.. I read they live on insects and can sting even if unprovoked.. that's nice to know, I wasn't aware of that when I took the picture..
..they are different from Paper wasps which have orange tipped antenna.. Yellowjackets are thicker bodied and have black antenna...
Olivia Rose Austin
The Mayflower
Mortimer Sackler
Princess Anne
Hansa
England’s Rose
Kew Gardens
Susan Williams-Ellis
Claire Austin
Roald Dahl
Tottering-by-gently
Malvern Hills
But so much depends on your conditions. In mine, they are not disease-resistant at all. Not surprising, really, given the clue is in the name ‘English Roses’.
Lady of Shallott is meant to be pretty healthy but here, absolutely not. Hansa died right back and never did well, SWE and Kew Gardens get BS and have never bloomed strongly so far. Stronger, more disease resistant ones with better bloom power for me include Lady Emma Hamilton and Munstead Wood. However, the stronger colours fade in the summer heat, with the general exception of RD Braithwaite, a good strong bloomer, but that gets bad blackspot and defoliates by mid-summer.
I did have a hit list of DA roses I was going to get rid of, but given it’s impossible to buy alternative plants at the moment, I am glad I hesitated, and didn’t hoik them out. At least I can enjoy the early season display before the strong heat kicks in.
Vanessa Bell - two photos of different buds. This has the pink 'glandular stipitates' (
And some crab apple blossom - it's in the same family, so it counts!