Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Flowers and Foliage Now => Topic started by: johnralphcarpenter on April 22, 2017, 07:51:16 PM
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Rosa banksiae 'Lutea'.
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Three yellow roses working well together. Rosa ecae, probably Rosa 'Canary Bird', and Rosa banksiae 'Lutea'.
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Last fall I read a blog by a rose breeder in California. http://sproulroses.blogspot.ca (http://sproulroses.blogspot.ca)
He had roses in bloom in a few months from sowing the seed. Now, I'm used to waiting
a few years for germination of some plants (worst example: a colchicum that took 8 years,
is now 17 years old and hasn't flowered yet).
I found it hard to believe a shrub could be so quick, so gathered some hips from two
of my Austin roses and sowed the seeds on November 19. They germinated quickly,
and I have 39 plants from Tea Clipper, and 94 from Generous Gardener. They are
growing in 2 inch pots, and about half have flower buds.
Today, May 12, in a bit less than 6 months, three of them have opened.
What fun! This summer I will do some deliberate crosses.
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Crumbs! That was quick - such fun!
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Hi Diana,
That's really quick!
I remember reading that the first flower is a good indicator of colour only as the more mature plant can have more petals. So don't discard any on initial appearance!
cheers
fermi
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That's useful to know, Fermi.
Scent is also detectable in these first flowers, so I can toss any that have no perfume.
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Hard times all round in the plant world. Hard on the heals of the announcement of the closure of Glendoick's mail order business we now hear that the Royal National Rose Society is in administration and the Gardens of the Rose near St Albans may not reopen. See http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/18/british-gardens-no-longer-bed-roses/ (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/18/british-gardens-no-longer-bed-roses/)
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I have been incapacitated for the past week following major surgery on 2nd June. They said total knee replacement was a big operation and very painful. They did not lie. It is the surgical equivalent of a paramilitary punishment beating. Apparently there are a lot of nerves around the kneecap, and I now know every one of them intimately. Morphine is my friend.
So forays into the garden have been limited to a gently hobble around. Fortunately it is the time of year where everything puts on a dazzling performance with very little intervention from the gardener. In particular the climbing and rambling roses are at their peak. Here are a few:
Rosa 'Wickwar', from the late Michael Wickenden. This near-species makes a a huge rambler given the chance, with glaucous foliage and a mass of white flowers.
Rosa 'Alister Stella Gray', easily climbs through a Malus 'John Downie'.
Rosa sinowilsonii, too big for the space allocated to it, but worth all the heavy pruning needed after flowering.
Rosa 'Goldfinch' completely covers a garden shed.
Rosa 'Blush Noisette' clothes a rose arch.
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Biggest of all, Rosa 'Paul's Himalyan Musk' rambles through an old damson tree and the neighbouring apricot. One of the biggest of the ramblers, it requires little maintenance if you are prepared to give it the run of the host trees.
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Good luck with what I suspect may be a long recovery, Ralph- knees seem to be much tougher to settle down after such surgery than hips - but you are so fit generally I'm sure you will cope. If we can benefit like this from your garden strolls then it's our win! Lovely to see these big roses being given their head.
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All the best Ralph. Take it steady and have something to aim at, get your application in for next years London Marathon! ;D
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Rosa 'Nevada'
The best I've seen it for a long time. It usually gets badly affected with blackspot and I cut out old stems every year or every other year so it never got to be a big bush but it must have been healthier the last couple of years
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My very best wishes Ralph for a full recovery, and soon as possible, from your knee surgery. I have been waiting for that very thing especially since walking around Vienna and other Central European capitals last year and being nearly crippled by the end of that. Eight or nine and up to 11 miles a day and on cobbles mostly, just about did for me entirely. Hips fine, knees diabolical! But with physio therapy since December and a subsequent strengthening join class weekly since March, my knees are bearable again (with codeine adfinitum), my surgeon now feels I'd be best to avoid the surgery. I've joined a "Steady As You Go" exercise class which is specifically to strengthen limbs and keep one balanced and avoiding falls. It's not difficult, and is enjoyable in fact having given me an "extra" of meeting a lot of the local people in my nearby village, instead of being virtually on my own almost all the time. I would recommend such an activity to anyone getting older and a bit wobbly.
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Rosa soulieana
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That is lovely, but BIG! :D
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Very true Lesley. It runs up through fastigiate yew trees on either side of our gate, but every year must be heavily pruned to prevent it taking over completely ;D
So thuggish but also graceful and highly scented; now competing with wild honeysuckle in the hedgerow on the opposite side of our little country road.
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Wonderful to see a roses thread after being away from SRGC for a while. All these species look magnificent. 'Wichwar' is a rose I first saw in NZ and have wanted ever since. Some of the smaller flowered roses will flower early from seed. Such a thrill when it happens.
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These climbers are really beautiful!
Not very hardy I suspect? probably the reason why I've never seen something like this for sale around here.
Sometimes grafted large flowered cv. are available but they not last long.
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Gabriela, I bought lots of old roses from Pickering Nursery in Ontario, back in the last
century. Unfortunately, they are no longer in business, but I would hope there
would be another place you can buy interesting ones.
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Rosa 'Alissar Princess of Phoenicia'.
Thank you Maggi, David and Lesley for your kind remarks. 31 days since surgery and recovery continues, albeit glacially slowly. Still on industrial doses of painkillers, still not sleeping much. I think I was prepared for the pain but what surprised me was the effect on other bodily functions. Completely lost my appetite, and that is only just beginning to come back. Strange when the high spot of the day is a BM. Still not allowed to drive for a couple more weeks, but I am off the morphine so have been able to enjoy my first glass of wine and my first pint of beer for three weeks (not simultaneously).
Morphine does strange things: I think it was in week two when I woke up at 6:30 one morning and my brain was frantically composing one-liners. I must have been a gag writer for Groucho Marx in a previous life. Try these: "I've had a really good night, but this wasn't it". " They say it is post-operative pain; if it was post-opera pain I would be on my tenth pass through the Ring Cycle by now". " People ask me how I remain so cheerful; I say 52% voted for cheerful so I'm going along with it even though I voted the other way". " People ask me if my glass is half full or half empty. I say it doesn't matter as it's only water".
Hey ho, it had better be worth it in the long term.
Lesley, I was interested to hear of your experiences. But my understanding is that once the cartilage in the knee is gone it's gone for good. I hope you can get away without surgery for a while, but it may be the only option in the medium to long term.
David, not entering for any marathons! The surgeons say I should avoid high impact exercise in perpetuity, so no running. But I look forward to some long walks in the months to come.
This thread is meant to be about roses, so enough of my tribulations!
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My late husband had his knee replaced totally back in 1975 and I vividly remember the surgeon's description to us both, of the process itself, while Allan would be on the operating table. I had to retire and be very sick it was so horrifying!
To bring things back to the roses, we have none at present. Even the snowdrops are wishing the weather would perk up and only Cyclamen coum is really colourful.
Very best wishes John.