Gardening

[Lat-Literal]

Does anyone know what to do about roses that drop their petals? I had three fantastic orange blooms on one bush that came and went in 72 hours. Could it be a water problem?

[Bryn]

Does anyone know what to do about roses that drop their petals? I had three fantastic orange blooms on one bush that came and went in 72 hours. Could it be a water problem?

To quote the Chinese poet Mao Zedong, "Flower fall off, do what one may". However ... .

[Lat-Literal]

To quote the Chinese poet Mao Zedong, "Flower fall off, do what one may". However ... .

Thanks Bryn. I am choosing changing weather conditions rather than thrips etc although there is the small matter of some having chalk and some having clay and my garden being 25% chalk, 25% clay clods, 25% flint and 25% brick from the original 1968 building site. There has also been some discussion about the treated manure that I had delivered from up north. Nice people and tremendous reviews but I am finding it difficult to argue against local suggestions that it is mainly bark and other bits of wood chip although I have tried.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

What are you feeding your roses, Lats?

(If the answer is "Nothing" or "Yer wot?!", try sprinkling a couple of teaspoons of powder/granule Rose feed - bought from Garden Centrew, B&Q-type places, or even Poundland - around the soil at the base of the plants, trying not to get any feed on the plant itself. I do 2 - 3 feeds each year, about six weeks apart, starting after the final frosts have finished, and ending by the end of January [to prevent the plant producing young flowers that will get killed off by the first frosts].)

[Lat-Literal]

What are you feeding your roses, Lats?

(If the answer is "Nothing" or "Yer wot?!", try sprinkling a couple of teaspoons of powder/granule Rose feed - bought from Garden Centrew, B&Q-type places, or even Poundland - around the soil at the base of the plants, trying not to get any feed on the plant itself. I do 2 - 3 feeds each year, starting after the final frosts have finished, and ending by the end of January [to prevent the plant producing young flowers that will get killed off by the first frosts].)

I did buy a rose grow product, ferney, but the application was probably quite clumsy. It has all been very late - roses delivered, planted, watered and fed - all since mid/late May so perhaps it the timing of the feed. They are doing best in the front garden which is quite the opposite of what I expected. Less sun there, I would say. Overall it isn't going badly - I doubt that I have so regularly nurtured but I don't have green fingers. And I am not completely sure if they need the water I am giving them which is daily but the earth is so dry.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

What state are the leaves in? If they're getting too much water, the leaves will have pale or yellow patches in the centre and along the veins*. Shade shouldn't cause many problems - I have a couple of rose plants in the back garden that is shaded for most of the day by the house itself, and they still flower very happily.

(* = leaves that are mostly yellow and only green at the veins have an iron shortage, which can be a problem with chalky soil - here the rose feed should quickly sort that out.)

Feeding is dead easy - a couple of teaspoons of feed sprinkled near the base of the plant (even just once a year) and gently hoed into the soil. Wear gloves and wash your hands after.

[teamsaint]

FWIW, we bought 3 climbing roses from The Range last year for £5.( That's £5 for all three, not each). Stuck them in the ground, did the basics, and hey bungo, this year three fine climbers with loads of blooms.
Definite recommend, and AFAIK, they are still running the offer this year. We certainly bought three more this year.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

It doesn't surprise me to hear that bargain offer plants are successful, ts - I have a Camellia bought for a pound from a sale in Woolworths, fifteen years ago. And the most successful Clematis I have I bought for £3.99 last year from Aldi! (Puts to shame the £8.50 and £12.99 versions I bought from a specialist Garden Centre - the latter of which has died!)

Supermarkets and other such places tend to sell the cheaper, more familiar - and more successful and hardy - varieties.

[Lat-Literal]

What state are the leaves in? If they're getting too much water, the leaves will have pale or yellow patches in the centre and along the veins*. Shade shouldn't cause many problems - I have a couple of rose plants in the back garden that is shaded for most of the day by the house itself, and they still flower very happily.

(* = leaves that are mostly yellow and only green at the veins have an iron shortage, which can be a problem with chalky soil - here the rose feed should quickly sort that out.)

Feeding is dead easy - a couple of teaspoons of feed sprinkled near the base of the plant (even just once a year) and gently hoed into the soil. Wear gloves and wash your hands after.

They arrived in good condition, including the leaves, and some already had blooms. I suppose a part of it might concern when they are supposed to bloom - some have faded, some are about to happen and some are doing nothing. But the orange "sparkle" and one other were odd because they performed spectacularly but for just three days. I bought from a reputable - even renowned - seller via Amazon at a price because Monty Don had advised not to buy from supermarkets. Actually, there were three others that I struggled back with for five miles from a garden centre, that is, them in two plastic bags and me wearing gloves - they are better - but I doubt that I will be going through that procedure again.

(If it sounds like I have acres, I don't - the plot is tiny but I had grand ideas of recreating my childhood rose garden up to the age of six - it was huge although we lived in a shed)

FWIW, we bought 3 climbing roses from The Range last year for £5.( That's £5 for all three, not each). Stuck them in the ground, did the basics, and hey bungo, this year three fine climbers with loads of blooms.
Definite recommend, and AFAIK, they are still running the offer this year. We certainly bought three more this year.

Yes, good - I have bought some other cheaper plants - bedding etc - from supermarkets.

[oddoneout]

Earwigs can be good at sabotaging rose flowers, and not leaving much if anything in the way of evidence. They nibble away at the base of the petals, and the flower looks OK until it's knocked - or in my case cut to bring indoors - at which point there is sudden confetti. The perpetrators tend to absent themselves from the scene of the crime during the day. Same thing happens with dahlias.
Buying from supermarkets can have drawbacks - they may not have been treated very well before and during the display/sale process, and the plant may not be what it says on the label, especially if not in growth/flower.Not a reason to avoid, but a bit of common sense and caveat emptor goes a long way. We don't all have Monty Don's advantages when making plant purchase choices.... Using a well-known supplier is not necessarily a guarantee of good customer satisfaction if things go wrong, whereas supermarkets may well refund without undue fuss if you have proof, even some time down the line. I have got redress(in person and via email) for among others, hostas not being '3 mixed', and bulb varieties not as stated,despite both being bought dormant, by having the receipt and taking pictures.

[vinteuil]

.

... most irritating - we discovered this morning that the little rosemary bush in the back garden is infested with Chrysolina americana -

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=555

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[Lat-Literal]

Earwigs can be good at sabotaging rose flowers, and not leaving much if anything in the way of evidence. They nibble away at the base of the petals, and the flower looks OK until it's knocked - or in my case cut to bring indoors - at which point there is sudden confetti. The perpetrators tend to absent themselves from the scene of the crime during the day. Same thing happens with dahlias.
Buying from supermarkets can have drawbacks - they may not have been treated very well before and during the display/sale process, and the plant may not be what it says on the label, especially if not in growth/flower.Not a reason to avoid, but a bit of common sense and caveat emptor goes a long way. We don't all have Monty Don's advantages when making plant purchase choices.... Using a well-known supplier is not necessarily a guarantee of good customer satisfaction if things go wrong, whereas supermarkets may well refund without undue fuss if you have proof, even some time down the line. I have got redress(in person and via email) for among others, hostas not being '3 mixed', and bulb varieties not as stated,despite both being bought dormant, by having the receipt and taking pictures.

Thank you - very sensible and helpful comments.

.

... most irritating - we discovered this morning that the little rosemary bush in the back garden is infested with Chrysolina americana -

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=555

.

Sorry to hear your news, v. I have just planted rosemary - just a branch - on advice, although I have my doubts.

[gradus]

Some roses will drop their petals very quickly when in flower, perhaps holding them for only 2 or 3 days, we have several very beautiful roses that do this, others will hang on for much longer and even become unsightly before finally letting go.
Was the rose root soaked before planting - mail order delays can dessicate bare roots - and planted in a good hole that has been pre-watered, if so, the rose will eventually get its feet down. If it came in a pot, was the compost wet or had it dried out and was it planted and watered only when the dry root was already in the ground? If so it is very unlikely that the root would have sufficient water from a watering can.
It is also possible that if your rose came in a pot, that it had only been potted recently, having been dug up and its root system unavoidably disturbed, in which case I think it is always better to leave it in the pot for several weeks, feeding and watering until the root has established and can be eased out without breaking. We have a couple of English Roses planted this season that have flowered immediately after planting and then gone quiet, hopefully getting on with business of establishing themselves.
As you have planted the rose I'd suggest watering all around the plant to encourage rooting which it won't do in dry soil. Better to give it a good drink once a week with a half strength liquid rose food than daily drip-feeds.
It's also a good idea to mulch around the rose after watering but don't cover the stem.
Which variety is it?

[vinteuil]

Sorry to hear your news, v. I have just planted rosemary - just a branch - on advice, although I have my doubts.

... it's sad really - the beetles themselves are pretty little things - shiny, green with thin maroon stripes. But they are not good if you're trying to grow rosemary...


Umslopogaas will I'm sure have tales to tell of little beasties that, at one level, are amazingly pretty as creatures - but horrendous for humans and the crops on which we depend...




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[Lat-Literal]

Some roses will drop their petals very quickly when in flower, perhaps holding them for only 2 or 3 days, we have several very beautiful roses that do this, others will hang on for much longer and even become unsightly before finally letting go.
Was the rose root soaked before planting - mail order delays can dessicate bare roots - and planted in a good hole that has been pre-watered, if so, the rose will eventually get its feet down. If it came in a pot, was the compost wet or had it dried out and was it planted and watered only when the dry root was already in the ground? If so it is very unlikely that the root would have sufficient water from a watering can.
It is also possible that if your rose came in a pot, that it had only been potted recently, having been dug up and its root system unavoidably disturbed, in which case I think it is always better to leave it in the pot for several weeks, feeding and watering until the root has established and can be eased out without breaking. We have a couple of English Roses planted this season that have flowered immediately after planting and then gone quiet, hopefully getting on with business of establishing themselves.
As you have planted the rose I'd suggest watering all around the plant to encourage rooting which it won't do in dry soil. Better to give it a good drink once a week with a half strength liquid rose food than daily drip-feeds.
It's also a good idea to mulch around the rose after watering but don't cover the stem.
Which variety is it?

Thank you - I think most of them were dry when they arrived - and yours are instructions I can follow.

I did not water the hole as much as I should have done. They have been mulched and fed and are getting daily watering.

Would there be any potential problem with over-watering even in this weather?

This is about right although I am losing track a bit:

Sparkle - orange, grew three fantastic blooms which disappeared in three days
Chardonnay 1 - white, arrived with blooms which disappeared quickly
Chardonnay 2 - white, arrived without blooms, then bloomed wonderfully, then blooms disappeared
Simply Gorgeous - blue, hasn't done a lot yet
Claret - red, not doing anything
Lucky - pink, bloomed but blooms now lost
Charlie's Rose - pink, doing nothing
Amber - orange/yellow - doing ok, blooms
Absolutely Fabulous - orange/yellow, doing ok, blooms
Arthur Bell - yellow, not doing anything
Lady Marmalade - orange, doing nothing
Moulin Rouge - red, several buds appearing, reasonably promising
Mum in a Million - pink, doing nothing
Super Trouper - red, growing well with blooms but fading slightly