In the summer of 2010, I discovered a new rose and really became instantly hooked. The parameters of the plant and the variety were not important, but what was then unknown, perhaps only to the gods, was beautiful. It had thick fleshy leaves with glorious crimson flowers and clusters of off-white buds. The flowers were hooked up to a climbing rose and placed on a small three-foot long bare trellis in the middle of my summer flower bed. In spring, after a wash of continuous rain, I was surprised to see how the tender buds had managed to get through their first two winters on the trellis without peaking. In fact, the following summer’s flowers were bigger than my face!
Three years later, much of the same Babylon 5 rose is still growing happily in my garden. Same location, different planting scheme. The results are similar. Beautiful flowers, big and marvelous.
Questions to ask before you buy:
What follows below is the outline of the steps required to bring a bunch of Babylon 5 roses (or any other rose) to bloom in your home all summer long. These roses require at least six hours of daily sun, the right amount of fertilizer, pruning here and there, and a little bit of boat-anchoring if you want them to climb a little something.
Pick a spot that gets at least four hours of sun-light a day. It also must be drier so that less disease-causing debris clings to the ground.
Dig a hole about 18 inches deep and 18 inches wide. Adjust the whole depth if you feel that the bottom of the hole is narrower than the top.
Set the plant in the hole so the bud union is at the same level as the soil. If it is too low, back-fill the hole with much richer soil; if too high, fill the hole with soil to ground level.
Pour water in the hole and hold it there answering the question “Does it water well?”
If the bud union is below the level of the soil, fill the hole with soil to ground-level and water again.
If the bud union is above the ground, fill the hole with soil to ground-level and water the soil.
Observe and note the daily variations in the soil temperature. These are important to help you understand how your roses are doing.
Pruning your roses (see the next strategically-sized article) is the quarter-organized method of taking care of your roses. Autumn pruningSuntrain your roses; remove all failure-causing canes and part the crossing canes of any main stems. During the winter, remove any winter-blooming canes also.
Trim back to about 50% of the bush.
For the next year, start with a balanced feed in early spring and the build-up of nutrients in the soil.
Take a little trouble, but don’t be dramatic with the pruning and most importantly don’t forget to water. If you’re dead-heading spent flowers, cut them back to the first leaf after they have died and don’t forget to water the roses the following day.
Add some rose food to the soil when you plant the rose. Rose food is an excellent source of phosphorous, nitrogen and potassium. It’s quite a good source of vitamins B and C, as well.
The Dirt on Roses
Roses have learned a few tricks over the centuries. Dirt on roses is important to provide strong Moisture, Air and Rubus to help the Air buds to get to the inner pulp quickly to start the cycle all over again.
Before you start any planting, the dirt on roses should be tilled two or three inches deep to eliminate any shy growing.
To plant dirt or top soil, is much better to use a device called a ‘pitchfork’, a long thin stick with a blade on top, which allows you to get to the soil and loosen it up.
Standard Perennial Beds and Borders
In the case of starting a new perennial border, the best Bid will be to lay out some floral lawn or grass in one area and then add in your new perennials in the form of Heuchera, Daylilies, Perennial Mealybugs, Rosemary and Oregano. Some of the best perennials to use along with grass are Anansecentifolia, Angelicata,innocentis, Mariamba, Insulinde, Petite coupled with F sweets. These flowers will require less work and maintenance than starting with annuals. It is also a good idea to place a few annual vines as a ground cover.
Vines grown on their own will provide shade and a beautiful green backdrop to the other plants.
