Ah, but nobody shows us their weedy, empty beds do they? I can post photos of my vast quantities of bare soil in my main perennial bed if that helps @zugenie 😆 I had a major clear out before covid struck then couldn’t get new plants to fill it, so it’s been looking sorry for itself for nearly 2 years. The gaps will hopefully be filled this year, but I look back at 2019 photos when it was blooming marvellous and wonder what on earth was I thinking!
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Oh please do Nollie! Mine is a new bed so the plants are dinky at the moment, and a pond in progress on the other side. Lets not talk about further than that Â
For a work in progress that looks incredibly neat @zugenie...whenever I start a project everything else gets trashed . I'll be interested to see your pond when its done.
@Victoria Sponge If I pan further to the left you’d see all the brambles and compost bags I have made a conscious effort to be tidier with this project because my tendency is to explode stuff everywhere!! The area near the compost bin is not at all neat, but I tell myself that’s a working area so it’s fine!!Â
I’m doing the liner tomorrow so I’ll post a photo tomorrow once it’s done Â
Quick question for anyone that knows: I have lots of buds on my Julia Child / ab fab , but the stems under the buds look slightly blotchy and red ( not the whole stem, and does not i think seem to be expanding) . Is this some disease or pest or should I just ignore it? Also I think Chandos Beauty ( bare root jan 21, last pic) has got much nicer beautifully red foliage this year than last ( I know one or two new owners were bemoaning a slow start on their purchases). Ignore low soil level in pots - needs top dressing - photos taken mid maintenance session - but pots are at least 70x70cm
@Desi_in_London .it's a fungal infection and very common but it rarely seems to bother a rose, it's just unsightly. It usually indicates the presence of downy mildew or black spot but it would take science to pin point the exact type... when that bud has bloomed, you can cut the stem to just below the worst of it, and just above where the new bud is showing..
As always @Marlorena .. thank you! Didn't realise black spot could impact stems as well - this rose did seem to leaf out v early and got black spot or something similar -- So far I've resisted spraying and am just trying to defoliate the worst leaves ( does seem better now) .
..when I grew that rose, I found that it black spotted badly in the first year, and defoliated by midsummer, however in subsequent years it was a really healthy rose, one of my best for foliage. It just needed time and was growing in poor conditions in any case, but coped admirably when established. Â
Another rose from the same breeder that was 100 percent clean even in the first year, and growing in the same poor soil, full sun, was 'Wild Blue Yonder' and I recommend this shrub rose for those newer to roses.  I just wasn't keen on the colour of the blooms but that's a personal thing. The rose's health and vigour was exceptional.Â
I would normally have lots of fat buds and a good few showing colour by now, but frost put paid to all that. The Prince is still streets ahead, so for once the one I expect to bloom first will be the one that does:
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
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.it's a fungal infection and very common but it rarely seems to bother a rose, it's just unsightly. It usually indicates the presence of downy mildew or black spot but it would take science to pin point the exact type... when that bud has bloomed, you can cut the stem to just below the worst of it, and just above where the new bud is showing..
Another rose from the same breeder that was 100 percent clean even in the first year, and growing in the same poor soil, full sun, was 'Wild Blue Yonder' and I recommend this shrub rose for those newer to roses.  I just wasn't keen on the colour of the blooms but that's a personal thing. The rose's health and vigour was exceptional.Â