I wouldn't recommend any new beginners to start their garden with roses. They are really tricky to start with, unless you got the hardy ones but those are not sold in nursery nor supermarkets.
I'm pretty sure most gardeners would have those heart wrenching moment to see their whole plant wither and die within those few weeks of purchase.
And as everyone's guess - they are from Cameron Highland (which are not yet adapted to lowland climate) But all is not loss.
You can really get good tips from Rosa Sifu - she really got a garden full of roses.
Die hard fans for roses should visit her blog.
Ok - as for introduction, these are the rose (red) which were the product of pruned material, bundled and thrown out along the street side. I didn't have the heart to see this one go to a total waste and managed to get few branches and try my luck. In all of those branches, only one survived. I had left it to grow without much care until lately during the Chinese New Holidays where I took the time to hard prune it. It had finally started blooming few weeks ago and never stopped blooming since.
I got the white version from my mum, just keeping one plant too. Felt that too many roses is just too much to handle in a small garden space. This one is a trailing rose and requires to be tied on a post. I had hard pruned this one too but yet to see the new blooms. Usually I propagate the pruned pieces and pass them to family and friends.
As you can see (last pic) that one is in the waiting list to be passed to a friend.
I have heard lots of rose stories and one too often I hear is very old folks getting their foot pierced by rose thorns. And often, its a tragic case where they are admitted in the hospital due to their diabetic complication where the wound is not healing.
All for the Love of Roses.
But it is not like that before, even now - if you purchase a well formed rose from a florist - handle them with care (care on your part) as they are laced with chemicals to protect the bloom from pest. You will note that those green leaves are slightly tainted with a white liquid (chances are they might be a pesticide or a liquid fertiliser) both are not natural nor organic material.
So, do not sniff your roses and never,
I repeat never consume those roses unless they come from your garden.
James I have the perception that roses are sensitive, high-maintenance and difficult to grow. Thats why Ive never tried even once having them in my garden!
ReplyDeleteI have given up my mini rose last month. The flower got so small and the plant does not flower most of the time ;-( Those roses not in the market are the ones we should be look foward to grow... I agree on this point also. Rosa sifu has more than good tips on planting rose... she has amazing passion for all her beloved roses! Thanks for sharing from your experience. Have a fantastic weekend James! I hope you will find new plants for your garden along the way ;-)
ReplyDeleteI think roses are like beautiful ladies who love to be spoilt and pampered. They also want a lot of attention, eg pruning, fertilizing, dead heading. But I love their fragrance, certainly not the thorns. Your white roses are very pretty.
ReplyDeleteYou have some beautiful flowers over here. I like those white ones. I used to propagate roses when I was small. Now, I just admire those grown by my next door neighbour. No worries of getting pricked.
ReplyDeleteHi, James. Congratulations on propagating those roses. I've never had the courage to try. Yours certainly look healthy. No blackspot or other horrible diseases.
ReplyDeleteI used to grow lots of hybrid teas, but they need way too many chemicals, so now I grow Old Garden Roses that like a tropical climate and can almost be ignored. One, Louis Phillipe, is even tolerant of the shade and continues to yield wonderful red blooms. Maybe you can find it there?
-- Penny
You and your mother must be excellent gardener!
ReplyDeleteI like your white roses too!
Chandran - If you have a good sun in your garden, I recommend that you try them but get those cuttings from another garden instead of buying from nursery.
ReplyDeleteStephanie - Yeah, sometimes these roses just difficult to handle. They just fail on you for no apparent reason. The best recommendation are hand overs - they seemed to be more durable and hardy.
Belle - I totally agree with you. They are really spoilt.
One - You had propagated roses before? It must be some experience.
Terra - There are a lot of hybrids that are been introduced time to time but as usual, they cannot adapt well in the low climate enviornment. At most - roses last about a day or two. Sorry, I have not heard about Louis Phillipe nor would able to tell the difference between any of other hybrids.
Malar - my mum & I are the only gardeners in the family. But somehow both of us had developed a different taste in our gardening style. Strange isn't it - when to think about it.
ReplyDeleteRoses are such fun to grow and worth he effort too! Thanks for the link. I love Rosa's blog.
ReplyDelete