Been a while, so I will update you all. All the roses now pruned - and I need to confess I got so into the zone that I realised I had fed and mulched 10 roses, before realising that this is mid-February and not mid March! Not that it will probably be too much of a disaster!
I also heard word that the 'big house' next door (which burned down a few years ago) is about to be sold to a developer. I remember playing there as a child (well over 50 years ago). It was laterally an old folks home belonging to the council, so I contacted them to ask about the old walled vegetable garden. Luckily, I got permission to collect some of the old terracotta rope edging and the path pavers - not that there are huge amounts! I see it as an intervention rescue before the bull dozers move in.
So now all I need to do is clean it all up and lay a nicely edged small patio for a bench to overlook the pond. Nice to get something for nothing for the garden and keep it from landfill. It will also remind me of all the old folk I used to visit as a small child, when I went out to play.
I really am a sentimental old fool - but I see nothing wrong in that.
I re-potted my climbing rose Open Arms into a larger pot today. It's looking very healthy on top with plenty of new shoots, but there was not much of a root ball - I hope it will be ok.
I have a question about defoliating The Country Parson, which is still covered in green. Do I need to (I'm worried as it's so prickly), and do I take each leaf off separately, or take the whole group (I'm sure there is a technical term) of 5 or 7 or however many including the stem they are attached to?
@Tack I had a look at my fairy ring today… not much happening there! I tried taking a photo but it doesn’t show much among the grass. There were a few crocus buds and evidence of some crocus flowers that got munched by certain slimy garden residents 😒 I also found a few hyacinths coming up and some other green leaves (daffodils? Tulips?) - nothing is flowering yet. I’m glad you’ve mentioned snowdrops. I’ve got quite a lot of them growing around the garden so I’m going to transplant some to the ring in the green.
I’m also glad I got reminded here that it’s still February… some roses have grown so much that I was rearing to go feeding and mulching them.
Now your patio will have a nice sentimental story to it @PeterAberdeen
been busy with job and garden work.. Managed to pot all of my previous year roses to the ground.. essentially it was more or less like a bare root planting as I had to chop the roots to size with a spade to fit in the planting hole.. hope they recover well..
@Marlorena@Tack@Nollie or anyone here have experience with termites in rose pots?? I felt the roots were minimal on the two pots I had noticed termites (could be ants as well, as I was busy running against time to plant them)... wonder if they still survive in ground as well as they did in the pot
@cooldoc I have all sorts of issues here with ants, both in pots and with roses in the ground.. they tunnel through the roots and cause air pockets, which in turn causes poor growth in the rose. In pots, the only recourse I do is to take the rose out the pot and clear the nest if the rose is suffering, as much as I can, then repot. I don't kill anything so they go somewhere else. In ground, I do nothing and hope for a better year.
Sorry that's not much help. I find they are a problem in sandy soils, I never had them much on heavy clay.
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I wouldn't bother, it's far too prickly to deal with, just leave it be..
@PeterAberdeen
Lovely story and glad you got something from the garden that's of use.
I’m glad you’ve mentioned snowdrops. I’ve got quite a lot of them growing around the garden so I’m going to transplant some to the ring in the green.
I’m also glad I got reminded here that it’s still February… some roses have grown so much that I was rearing to go feeding and mulching them.
been busy with job and garden work.. Managed to pot all of my previous year roses to the ground.. essentially it was more or less like a bare root planting as I had to chop the roots to size with a spade to fit in the planting hole.. hope they recover well..
@Marlorena @Tack @Nollie or anyone here have experience with termites in rose pots?? I felt the roots were minimal on the two pots I had noticed termites (could be ants as well, as I was busy running against time to plant them)... wonder if they still survive in ground as well as they did in the pot
I have all sorts of issues here with ants, both in pots and with roses in the ground.. they tunnel through the roots and cause air pockets, which in turn causes poor growth in the rose. In pots, the only recourse I do is to take the rose out the pot and clear the nest if the rose is suffering, as much as I can, then repot. I don't kill anything so they go somewhere else.
In ground, I do nothing and hope for a better year.
Sorry that's not much help. I find they are a problem in sandy soils, I never had them much on heavy clay.
Disappointed. I think it's too late in the season and would prefer to have them early spring.