@Marlorena Fortunately, I already have Golden Beauty and The Wren, both new this year. Very tempted by the Black Friday codes, but keeping my wallet tightly shut.
Oxford. The City of Dreaming Spires.
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils (roses). Taking a bit of liberty with Wordsworth
@Marlorena - The Wren looks lovely; will add this to my list. Does it have good vigour and health like other Kordes'?
@WhereAreMySecateurs - nooooooooooooooooooooooo. One more day and I would have had my free Sweet Honey Some very tempting Black Friday offers for sure though.
For anyone that goes for potted roses early summer and lives in/close to Herts I strongly recommend going to Harkness in Hitchin (they also have another one in Bedfordshire). I bought 6 potted roses from different suppliers this summer but the ones from Harkness outperformed all.
They have a good selection of established roses. Perfect for people like me with little patience I bought a Chandos B in a 15L pot (maybe 20L can't remember) for £27. I bought it early June and I put it straight into a medium pot (40cm). This was it on day 1:
It was about 2ft ish. Compare this to my two potted DA's which were £30 each:
By the middle of the season it was blooming like crazy and reached 100cm which is its full established height:
There are 5 main canes on it now and they are all now 2cm across.
They only sell a small selection of established potted roses but they have a bigger selection of established climbers. These are more expensive around £40 I think but they come in even bigger 25-30L pots. I took a few pictures of them when I was there as I didn't buy any of the climbers:
..those are superb photos of gorgeous summer roses Alfie @Alfie_ ... Chandos Beauty is so lovely in full flush and I do like the Lakeland Rose in particular.. it's one I've seen on the Harkness site..
.. The Wren isn't overly vigorous, very suitable for pot culture..
Your garden is going to look splendid next Spring, when the rose season gets going again..
@Alfie_ wow, I wish I'd got my CB direct from Harkness. Will try to get to the GC in Hitchin next spring. I did get given "Susie" rose recently, a huge plant, and your picture has made me even more impatient for spring.:)
@pitter-patter - lovely to still have blooms like that going into December - what a treat. I’ve just had maybe 20 buds total in the garden for last several weeks but none of them want to open.
@WhereAreMySecateurs - definitely well worth a visit for any rose lover especially if you’re only in Luton. They have a very big selection selling most of their online roses as potted roses. If you go early summer most have a flower on so a really good chance to see the blooms for yourself before you buy. They often have 5 or 6 for each variety so you can pick the best one too!
Forgot to mention they also sell standards in full bud early summer if anyone likes those. The people that work there are really nice. The Hitchin branch is also their breeding centre so you sometimes get served by the owner (Philip Harkness). He’s nice to chat to.
@WhereAreMySecateurs - I hit post prematurely. That’s amazing you were given Susie. I was tempted by their established climbers and would have gone for that one I think if I did get one. When I was there it has the most amazing scent and the blooms were so large. I’m sure you will love it!
Rescued these blooms today. I have found the colour is darker and the scent is more pleasant than it was in summer. (Left) Falstaff, PAOK, (right) Tess of the d'Urbervilles
Posts
@WhereAreMySecateurs - nooooooooooooooooooooooo. One more day and I would have had my free Sweet Honey
For anyone that goes for potted roses early summer and lives in/close to Herts I strongly recommend going to Harkness in Hitchin (they also have another one in Bedfordshire). I bought 6 potted roses from different suppliers this summer but the ones from Harkness outperformed all.
They have a good selection of established roses. Perfect for people like me with little patience
It was about 2ft ish. Compare this to my two potted DA's which were £30 each:
By the middle of the season it was blooming like crazy and reached 100cm which is its full established height:
There are 5 main canes on it now and they are all now 2cm across.
They only sell a small selection of established potted roses but they have a bigger selection of established climbers. These are more expensive around £40 I think but they come in even bigger 25-30L pots. I took a few pictures of them when I was there as I didn't buy any of the climbers:
... Chandos Beauty is so lovely in full flush and I do like the Lakeland Rose in particular.. it's one I've seen on the Harkness site..
.. The Wren isn't overly vigorous, very suitable for pot culture..
Your garden is going to look splendid next Spring, when the rose season gets going again..
Sweet Honey