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Drooping rose

alan544alan544 Posts: 36
in Problem solving
I purchased a David Austin Princess Anne rose 3 weeks back. Potted up with multipurpose compost and John Innes No.3. I fed it with Miracle Gro Rose & Shrub last week but the roses look a little sorry for themselves and are drooping. The side stem that holds the rose feels a little limp and therefore unable to take the weight of the head. 

Any ideas or help would be much appreciated.


Posts

  • PianoplayerPianoplayer Posts: 624
    Hi
    I don't think there is anything wrong - it looks good. Droopy blooms are characteristic of David Austin roses, particularly when they are young. Often it improves after a couple of years, but it depends on the specific rose. Maybe someone on here grows this one, and will be able to give more info on how it develops.
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    David Austin roses typically have nodding blooms to a greater or lesser degree depending on the variety so I don’t see anything wrong there and it looks healthy and well-cared for - hopefully you have at least 50% JI. 3 in your potting mix for longer-term nutrient oomph?

    Is your MG rose food the slow release one? If so excellent choice. You can also use a dilute liquid tomato feed weekly, this is high in potassium so will help boost blooming.

    Be generous with your watering, especially in hot weather and more so if that’s an unglazed terracotta pot, from which water evaporates easily.

    The clusters of blooms to the left and right of your photo are finished so just need deadheading. When you are deadheading, don’t just snip off at the top, trace the stem down to a full set of healthy leaves and cut to just above that point to encourage that stem to rebloom. You should see a teeny nubble lurking between the leaf axil and the stem, this is a dormant bud waiting it’s turn.
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • alan544alan544 Posts: 36
    Nollie said:
    David Austin roses typically have nodding blooms to a greater or lesser degree depending on the variety so I don’t see anything wrong there and it looks healthy and well-cared for - hopefully you have at least 50% JI. 3 in your potting mix for longer-term nutrient oomph?

    Is your MG rose food the slow release one? If so excellent choice. You can also use a dilute liquid tomato feed weekly, this is high in potassium so will help boost blooming.

    Be generous with your watering, especially in hot weather and more so if that’s an unglazed terracotta pot, from which water evaporates easily.

    The clusters of blooms to the left and right of your photo are finished so just need deadheading. When you are deadheading, don’t just snip off at the top, trace the stem down to a full set of healthy leaves and cut to just above that point to encourage that stem to rebloom. You should see a teeny nubble lurking between the leaf axil and the stem, this is a dormant bud waiting it’s turn.
    Thanks for the detailed response. Yes, it was roughly 50/50 JI3 so all good there. 

    It's not a slow release one. Its one I have to feed every 2 weeks so that's in the calendar.

    With regards to watering, I have a moisture meter so check it each day to make sure it's firmly moist.

    That's very interesting re. deadheading, as with the other ones I've just been snipping off close to the flower so I'll now follow your advice and snip above the healthy leaf.

    Thanks again.
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    Example, I would snip here:


    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    I grow that Rose and drooping flowers seem quite common with it, and as @Nollie says, it is a characteristic of some DA roses.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    Sounds like you have everything well in hand Alan. The only reason I favour the granules is that I find they work out better value, but then I have around a dozen potted roses so the costs of liquid feed can really mount up!
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • alan544alan544 Posts: 36
    Nollie said:
    Sounds like you have everything well in hand Alan. The only reason I favour the granules is that I find they work out better value, but then I have around a dozen potted roses so the costs of liquid feed can really mount up!
    TBH, I'm new to all of this gardening lark so never that sure what I'm buying. Only saw the granules the other day and thought that's what I would do when I've used up all other feeds.
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