One good thing about the dry weather is that the petals of the unreachable spent blooms on Albertine flutter prettily to the ground after a little shake instead of becoming a soggy mass stuck to the unopened buds after a shower of rain😊
Princess Anne looking rather unhappy in its second season. Here’s today versus last August (I bought it in early June last year). Any thoughts on why it may be looking so stunted and bleak? It gets sun from 8am til 2pm this time of year. Last year it was one of my healthiest roses!
@jonathanmichell23 What does it get in terms of water / feeding / any additional treatments?
Same as all the others - fortnightly tomorite (diluted) plus DA rose food back in early April plus a light mulch at the time. It’s watered a little less than some of the others due to getting a little less full sun, and it’s in the part of the garden with the most clay in the soil. But still watered a few evenings a week.
@jonathanmichell23 If this was my rose what I would do is stop the Tomorite and stick to the two annual feeds of rose fertiliser, and do a once weekly watering but very deep. I know others do different things with feeding, watering etc, but this works for me.
Thanks @Omori, the Harkness site is one I don’t I have ever looked at, but sounds like a good one for information so will have a gander and look up the ones you mentioned.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
My Desdemona arrived today, beautifully packed as usual from DA. It is full of buds and a bonus opened bloom. Potted it in the recommended mix of 50/50 Multi Purpose and JI No3 with extra grit added and manure. I hope I've put the pot in the right place, because the weight of it now, means it ain't going anywhere else.
@jonathanmichell23 If this was my rose what I would do is stop the Tomorite and stick to the two annual feeds of rose fertiliser, and do a once weekly watering but very deep. I know others do different things with feeding, watering etc, but this works for me.
thanks @Omori - I'll give this a go. In general I would say the roses along this fence (Graham Thomas and Lady of Shallot are the other two) aren't as green as they were last year. GT and LoS are much healthier than Princess Anne though so i'm less worried about those. Maybe it's overfeeding?
What Omori says makes sense to me, @jonathanmichell23. I think you started the high-potassium tomato feed too early. Plants need more nitrogen in the early stages of coming out of dormancy to promote good strong leafy growth. They will normally find enough in the soil but if your soil is nitrogen poor, a feed of nettle tea can help them early on. Too much potassium too early may have locked out nitrogen and other essential nutrients they needed earlier. It’s possible that Princess Anne is just a bit more sensitive than the others or there is a variance is nutrient availability between planting spots. Like with tomatoes, I only start using a half strength tomato food when the first fruits (or in this case rose buds) have developed, to give them a boost. I find the amounts recommended on the bottle too strong.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Posts
today
This is my only offering. Nearly fully opened. Can't wait till it opens fully!