New Rhododendron Polarnacht which has exceeded all my expectations and is much darker / more violet-hued in real life. I will probably kill it in my efforts to get it to bloom this well again next year!
Same here! Hopefully we’ll get a similar display next year @WAMS
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To get lots of blooms on Rhododendrons next year, limit the number of blooms this year.
Failing that, deadhead religiously, and limit the number of new leaf and flower shoots that grow. Don't be too greedy.
I used to remove every other flower bud on a Rh "Furnivall's Daughter" that tended to exhaust itself. Often there were several flower buds on the one stalk - that's too many.
Feeding is not the answer it might be with roses.
location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand. "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
I’m rather envious of all your Lady of Shallots having so many buds and blooms. I love this rose but it never does that for me, maybe a dozen or so and any one time. Oh well, it’s in a new home this year so I’ll keep my fingers crossed for next..
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
I think the Lady of Shalott does what she likes, @Nollie!
Gertrude is out! Smelt this as soon as I went out the front door today! Amazing Day smells every bit as lovely... and Twilight Zone, just opening, already promises a scent perhaps as good as Ebb Tide's. The plant is so much healthier than Ebb Tide ever was for me.
Also- side question...
I know some of us spray, and some don't (no judgment here!), but for those of us who don't, which roses should you avoid purchasing because their disease resistance is so low they'll probably never really flourish without benefit of poisons? I asked this in another rose group and the answer was "Don't plant Austins!" but some of the healthiest and BS-free roses for me this year are DAs- Eustacia, William and Catherine, Tranquillity.
I read a comment by Chris Warner that Zepherine Drouhin is just a horrific disease magnet and should be avoided at all costs. I don't have that, but the lower two thirds of Boule de Neige have been stripped bare now due to BS. The even older Queen of Denmark is pristine. My healthiest rose is a McGredy one (Arthur Bell) and my unhealthiest new bareroot is ALSO a McGredy one (it's called Great Expectations, ironically enough)... so I don't suppose you could go by breeder or age as a reliable indicator.
Any ideas? I would appreciate suggestions of roses that are routinely unhealthy so I don't waste £££ or time on them.
Thanks @Eustace & @purplerallim, What is the fragrance of yours like?, mine has quite a strong citrus fragrance. We inherited this with the house and whatever it may be, I do like the way the blooms open up to give a coy display of golden stamens.
I am a complete newbie with roses, plus most of mine are DA, so please take my experience with a pinch of salt. My worst this year for black spot has been Bridge of Sighs, my only non DA. My best so far are Desdemona, Roald Dahl and Eustacia Vye. Albrighton has a little, Emily Brontë is pretty healthy just had to take one leaf off and Wollerton has the odd leaf.
@Cecelia-L I’m so tempted by GJ as she seems so highly rated, it’s just the thorns! She looks beautiful.
Posts
Yours looks exactly like my Celebration rose , the flower shape, the changing colour, and the red when in bud.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
..'Forever Royal'..
..beautiful opening 'Sally Holmes'..
Iris 'Benton Storrington'..
My Eustacia Vye is frustratingly close to blooming.
Gertrude is out! Smelt this as soon as I went out the front door today!
Amazing Day smells every bit as lovely...
and Twilight Zone, just opening, already promises a scent perhaps as good as Ebb Tide's. The plant is so much healthier than Ebb Tide ever was for me.
Also- side question...
I know some of us spray, and some don't (no judgment here!), but for those of us who don't, which roses should you avoid purchasing because their disease resistance is so low they'll probably never really flourish without benefit of poisons? I asked this in another rose group and the answer was "Don't plant Austins!" but some of the healthiest and BS-free roses for me this year are DAs- Eustacia, William and Catherine, Tranquillity.
I read a comment by Chris Warner that Zepherine Drouhin is just a horrific disease magnet and should be avoided at all costs. I don't have that, but the lower two thirds of Boule de Neige have been stripped bare now due to BS. The even older Queen of Denmark is pristine. My healthiest rose is a McGredy one (Arthur Bell) and my unhealthiest new bareroot is ALSO a McGredy one (it's called Great Expectations, ironically enough)... so I don't suppose you could go by breeder or age as a reliable indicator.
Any ideas? I would appreciate suggestions of roses that are routinely unhealthy so I don't waste £££ or time on them.
Also
That's so lovely!
What is the fragrance of yours like?, mine has quite a strong citrus fragrance.
We inherited this with the house and whatever it may be, I do like the way the blooms open up to give a coy display of golden stamens.
Gertrude Jekyll, everyone’s favourite it appears.
Fragrance is old rose, but not citrus, and not as strong as say BfY or Sheila's Perfumed. Wonder if these are related types.
I am a complete newbie with roses, plus most of mine are DA, so please take my experience with a pinch of salt. My worst this year for black spot has been Bridge of Sighs, my only non DA. My best so far are Desdemona, Roald Dahl and Eustacia Vye. Albrighton has a little, Emily Brontë is pretty healthy just had to take one leaf off and Wollerton has the odd leaf.
@Cecelia-L I’m so tempted by GJ as she seems so highly rated, it’s just the thorns! She looks beautiful.