Snowfire

Right now, you are heading out to the retail gardening stores and seeing lots and lots of bareroot roses on the shelves.  You see the varieties and all the exotic looking names and get excited about what would happen if you planted a rose garden.  At 2-5 bucks a pop, why not?  So you start choosing those bare thorny stems with their colorful pictures that have names like Blue Girl, Perfume Delight, Olympiad, Garden Party, Mon Cheri, Snowfire, Moonlight Magic, and a New Day........and several more that you forgot about putting in your cart......and your final bill comes out to around 150 bucks minus the soil needed to plant these guys!:) 

New Day

Well this story is my story and I have learned a lot from these guys this year and they haven't disappointed, but I may have been a disappointment to them.  The simple fact is that they were super easy to care for and also very easy to grow.  They have survived extremely cold nights here, severe cuts, overwatering, and an infestation of bugs in Spring.....yet they still grow and flower in January!!!  Here's the skinny on these guys....fertilize in Spring and in September or October before they start to bloom.  I have been finding that in Tucson not all roses bloom together in our diverse microclimate neighborhoods. Feed with a season long balanced fertilizer once leaves start to show.



Moonlight Magic

Mulch with organic matter to conserve water, improve soil and reduce weeds.  Prune to remove dead canes and blooms.  Each spring cut rose bush cane back to approximately 8". Water daily twice each week until established then water as needed.  For me this was my error as I had the roses on a drip line system and overwatered the poor guys.  They enjoy full light but some protection from the afternoon sun is required.  In Spring, they begin to leaf out and soon afterwards, they'll flower.  Make sure you cut spent blooms to encourage newer roses to grow on your plants.  During the summer, they get a little battered and the leaves will burn a bit, but that's okay, they'll recover again in fall and begin flowering around October or November.  Whatever you do, keep them out of the strong wind areas of your garden.  These roses hate strong wind and will look terrible after the wind has left.



Mon Cheri

So what do I need to do with them this winter? There are a couple that I messed up on and need to replace.  I'll pull the ones that haven't recovered from the overwatering incident and put them in the "hospital" to heal and grow strong again.  I've moved the dripline so that they won't be overwatered and I am going to reapply some more soil into the garden.  Overall, these roses performed beyond my expectations.  They are worth the wait and people absolutely love them.  Now is the best time for choosing from an amazing selection of bareroot roses at your local garden center.  Remember to soak your bareroot roses in a bucket overnight before putting them into the ground....then water twice daily and wean the water slowly from them as they get established into the soil.  The smell, the color, and the smiles are worth the time and money.  You won't be disappointed.  Until next time, happy gardening!!

PS.  I am embarrassed to put these pics up as they were from my beginning days blogging this last year.  I had a poor camera and the shots are a bit blurry, but I am ready, this year, for the new blossoms when they arrive!!



Labels: blue girl rose, garden party rose, hybrid tea rose, mon cheri rose, moonlight magic rose, new day, olympiad rose, perfum delight rose, roses, snowfire rose

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So yesterday I went outside and discovered that my roses could be doing better, but they aren't.  The roses are small and shriveled and I noticed the stems/canes are black.  I went crazy today and cut all the black slippery stems off and thorned myself on several occassions using some bad language.  I talk a lot to myself when I'm working with the plants and don't realize that I am talking outload sometimes. If only I could see how I look to my neighbors....:)  It must be quite the sight. 

Notice the black canes on the left and the healthy green ones on the right. What is going on?

My sense is that I overwatered these guys and created a fungal disease. Canker?

Here is where you all might have something to say.......

I trimmed the bushes to the ground leaving the main canes shorter and then I moved the irrigation tube. All suggestions were to remove the black canes so that they didn't infect other canes....well that made me cut the bushes severely as a lot of black canes were attached to the main node.  I will put some fertilizer down and this may be a waste of time?  I am new to roses and they are treated a bit differently than some of our other plants....so I'm wondering, am I doing the right thing?  Help!!:)

Labels: black canes, rose canker, roses

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Greetings, It has been a couple weeks since my last blog. Things have been busy with school coming to an end. I have one more week before summer starts!!! The summer is fast approaching and things are starting to explode all around the garden.....I will be taking A LOT of pics as everything gets taller. The garden is just that....at the beginning of its' journey. Therefore, things are still being moved around until I see a happy plant. Today I moved the lilacs to pots as they seem happier there. So what's been going on? Since the last post, caladiums and elephant ears have all surfaced from the ground and it will be quite a show. The jacaranda tree has purple flowers!!! It took two years for it to happen, but it happened:) The chitalpa tree has nice pink flowers and the castor plants are meeting various success in different areas of the garden. Overall, I am currently VERY happy with the progress around the property. A lot of good things are happening and it's exciting to watch. On the negative side, I am still battling palm seedlings by the hundreds...they seem to keep popping up daily. The last of the oak leaves and pollen will be cleaned up next week. And I pulled up the dead persimmons tree from the ground. The roots were all twisted and matted. It was replaced with another persimmons tree but this one was NOT bare root. Weeds seem to be drying out. Plums have been struggling a bit, but they are green and growing so I will not touch them unless I see a major die back. Overall, it is encouraging to see that things are beginning to pay off.....stay tuned for more garden posts. Chris

Labels: Jacaranda, Nerium, Oleander, roses, Verbena

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The Fuyu Persimmons Tree

This weekend I was out of town and very anxious because I wasn't working in the garden. It's weird how I feel this way but I am afraid that if I leave the place, everything will go to hell. However all is well and everything is alive...or is it?? This winter I planted A LOT of plants. Some are doing well while others seem to be struggling. I have major issues with the juniper trees. They don't seem to work for me...partly because I don't think they get enough sun. I've been re-evaluating it and considering something more productive for the property corners. Perhaps several orange trees?

Roses are starting to put out blooms and they look wonderful. I did spot several aphids and clean them off. However someone is picking the flower petals off and just leaving the stem. I was a bit pissed....I don't know why as the rose buses are for everyone....but that's just it...they are for EVERYONE!! They need to be clipped, etc, but still.....people shouldn't be picking them yet. I'll take some pictures tomorrow and post soon. They are quite beautiful.

The Red Baron Peach tree is doing alright and seems to look normal, but it hasn't leafed out too much. The lilac bushes haven't done much. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but I'll hold out for them a bit more to see if they will grow.

The castor beans. Several have sprouted while others have not...I am waiting for more to come up....so I am crossing my fingers. The elephant ear bulbs or caladiums STILL have not popped their little heads.....and speaking of no budding, my persimmons tree has popped a single bud. The plums, nectarines, apricots, peaches, apple, and fig have all started leafing out, but not the persimmons. Temps have been in the 70's and mid 80's with lows in the upper 40's to lower 50's.

My ash tree looks amazing and the verbena are so vibrant and purple....it just sprawls and looks amazing. An oleander bush almost fell over so I put a stake up to keep it in place. The bamboo has yellow on the leaves but that is normal for this time of year....soon this stuff is going to start shooting up.

That's all for now. Stay tuned for more......

Labels: castor, fuyu, persimmons tree, roses, Tucson

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Peach Tree, Red Baron, blooming

El Presidio Gardens

Ash Tree Where do I begin? Over the past several days a lot has gone on in the Presidio gardens. Spring is now officially here!! Or so say the trees and bushes:) Our ash tree has new leaves. Yesterday there was NOTHING on the tree. Today, there are signs of life all around from the ash tree to our crape myrtle trees. This is exciting because they are just sticks in the ground and with that little bit of green begins that joy gardeners feel when they see that the garden resting period is over. How tall will a tree grow this year? How many buds will it have? The flowers? Nothing, and I really do mean this, is more exciting than spring and seeing your garden awake. So today it begins on my very appropriate "spring break".

For inspiration today and design ideas, I went to the Tucson zoo. While it's not large like the big city zoos, it still has a nice layout for the animals. One of the things I find fascinating about the gardens at the zoo is that there are VERY LARGE bamboo plants all over which gives the zoo a bigger feel and provides privacy for the animals. Here in Tucson, we are able to grow several types of bamboo which include the Alfonse Kerr Bamboo. On the Presidio grounds, I have planted the Buddha's Belly variety because of the way the culms bulge out during times of stress. At the zoo, there were bamboo specimens taller than the trees themselves.....at least 4 stories high. I sat at the park bench and just watched and listened to how the wind blew through the culms making that hollow wood rubbing sound. It is really quite lovely and I highly recommend it for everyone if an opportunity arises. Another tree that I don't see here in Tucson often is the Silk Tree which has thorns on its' bark. These trees were mixed in with the bamboo and offered a really nice contrast with one another. If you do go to the zoo, head towards the South American entrance first and you'll find this private and beautiful section very inspiring.

Speaking of bamboo, which is not really bamboo at all, is the Nandina or Heavenly Bamboo. On the Presidio grounds we have several "bushes" of these lush plants. But as with every year, comes that painful trimming. I trimmed everyone of those bushes and it was difficult as they provide a lot of privacy. Now some of them look like sticks in the ground....but I know they will come back green and fuller than ever.....they just don't look so great right now.

Our live oaks which are very large and amazing (the whole reason why we bought our place.) are starting to lose their leaves. You see most trees drop their leaves in fall and winter, but not these lovely trees. They decide to drop in March. When I say drop, I mean DROP. Thousands of leaves all over the patio/courtyard....I just cleaned it yesterday!! And if you think that's bad, wait until the pollen drop....what an ugly mess!!! Acorns, leaves, and pollen...extremely messy tree but also a very noble tree that has earned its' right to protect us from the desert sun:)

Finally with our winter rains, weeds have had a blast establishing themselves all around the grounds. I spent several days pulling weeds and more still seem to be popping up!! Roses have buds on them...once the flowers are on the bushes, I'll snap a couple photos. I can't wait to see what happens. It's the first rose garden I have planted and I named it after my favorite librarian at the school where I work. She inspired me with her own rose garden. During April, she brings in all of her rosebuds and puts them on the desk for the students and staff to smell. Every color and every smell....I hope to have created the same feel on our grounds. That's all for today....spring is here folks in the Southwest!! Happy gardening!

Labels: Alfonse Kerr Bamboo, ash tree, Buddha's belly bamboo, crape myrtle, heavenly bamboo or Nandina, leaves, oak trees, prune, rake, Rohrer, roses, Tucson zoo, weeding

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