Just a few words from Rosemeadow

Life in Tasmania is good and the rose planting is going well. I have been hooked on doing my ancestor's history on Ancestory.com. I hope you are all well and enjoying your garden.
I got your roses planted, Bruce.

Hi Rosemeadow !!!!

Here in Brisbane, I had to put all 11 pots under shade cloth. They don't like the hot hot sun at the moment

Unusual that they do not like the sun. Are they still babioes?
Ours grow out in it and roses by nature love the sun. Most "thrive" in the mediterranean climate that have summer days a lot hotter and dryer than what we have.
If anything I have found the humidity is the real worry.
Some of ours have Powdery Mildew at present (from the hot days and cool nights) but we just put up with it as goes away by November.
Our best time of year seems to be April - May except for the spring only flowerers.

The roses in the garden are very happy, ones in pots are not. It's probably because I don't have time to water them twice a day

Karen, I'm pleased they survived and nice to know you are well. There are some wonderful old roses amoungst them not available elsewhere.
'Agnes Smith' details are in the Heritage Rose Society Spring Journal as being removed from Rookwood due to people stealing pieces of it.
It is still the best known rose from Rookwood so I am going to propagate it hopefully to make it available so Rookwood is left alone.

The history surrounding some of these treasures is fasinating but unfortunatly when the rose popularity dies the story behind them dies with it.

It's only in the last week I found out how 'Chips Apple Blossom' bred by Riethmuller got it's name.

Some of your roses can only be found in the National Collection at Rustons or here.

Hi everyone ! The ground where I have put some of the roses is very wet because I wanted the garden over the whole paddock. So it will be a experiment to see if the roses can handle it and do well enough.
Your roses, Bruce, are up where it is a bit dryier. Alot of them are in the same row together, my row of rare roses. I will be looking forward nto seeing how they grow. Actually there is alot I am looking forward too !

Karen, nice to know you have all your roses planted. What a big job moving and planting so many. Roses usually like well drained soil.
Best of luck.

We have had roses virtually growing in water up here when we get the big wet. All have survived while other types of plants have given up and died.
Not saying plant them in a swamp and they will do fine but I don't think they mind sitting in water for a little while.

Hi Bruce. The roses you sent up a doing great. Souv Pierre Notting has flowered and Climbing Lorraine is doing just that. She's climbing. I just have to clean up a spot for her.

Karen, I'm so pleased because after going to all that trouble there has to be a reward at the end. Wait until you get 20 or 30 blooms on Lorraine Lee at the same time, then on a balmy still night go out and smell her fragrance. It just fills the air around her, definately one of my favourite girls.

Both yourself and Balinbear (Gary) have one off the same clone (Bush).
I have bought a few climbers from other nurseries and quite a few don't climb. Seems they are using the wrong buds as I can just about guarantee 100% climbers propagated here.

All my roses, but two duds are happy and thriving in the ground and in pots and only one discounted throwaway has most likely died. They’re still coping well with the amount of sunshine and heat here in Brisbane and I wont worry about sunburn until the middle of summer. I don’t water twice a day or even every day because my roses went from being well mulched to super mulched when going through a yellow leave phase just before spring.
At the moment there are only few new yellow leaves in places where the sun doesn’t reach and all the new leaf growth is much darker and more intensely green. I don’t know if that’s because the plants acclimatized or because I’ve started to foliar feed with worm tea, but the difference is very obvious – old leaves actually appear washed out in comparison. I stopped spraying my homemade bicarb soda solution, because many credible sources suggest leave health is a better way to prevent blackspot than spraying, and because I wasn’t sure if changing the leafs’ PH might defeat the purpose of foliar feeding. Only time will tell, but at the moment I think the worm farm was my best investment since the actual roses.

Most roses have done well here and in water for ages, in the bath and in the ground. A few I noticed recently have sulked and it is a bit doubtful if they will make it. The ownroot single white banksia giant hasn't had a shoot come out on it and its been in the ground now a long time. Also my own root Zephin Drouhin, 2 x Souvenir de la Malmaison, Souvenir de St Anne and my giant Benjamin Britten have a few tiny leaves but that are looking very sad, which is sad. But Luckily I had three own root Souvenir De La Malmaisons and I had put one up on the higher ground and its doing good so I am happy. The other Bourbons are just going to have to survive or die, I am not moving them. There are other grafted Bourbons there that are doing better there.
The roses have done well for what they were put through. Just pushed into the station wagon or trailer or dog trailer, with no wapping around them. Only the first time was there black plastic taped over the top. A few of the trips took a few days longer because of when I could get the roses dipped and when I could get bookings. O ne trip I was real plased that it was wet weather during the second part of trip down. Anyway the roses have been very tough. I still have about 100 or more roses to plant, but they are mostly healed in but that means they hav heaps of leaves on them now and I will have to be careful when I lift them up and untangle the roots, cans and leaves.
Talking of worms I didn't see any when I was diging a few months ago but recently I have seen heaps and one day I found a worm that was almost as long as the bottom of my gumboot ! The longest worm I have ever seen.

Rosemeadow, big worm are the best sign for healthy soil and roses, they know where to hang out and I’d plant my favorites in places where there are many.
What good luck you have. At least you don’t have to do a thing to improve the soil over and above all the hard work you’ve been putting in. You must exhausted by now; but what a picture it will be, once everything has settled in.

Balinbear, I forgot to say, thanks for telling me about your roses in the big wets that you have up in Queensland. Bruce, I hope Lorraine Lee does grow well down here for me, it would be nice to have what you discribed. Jac, I thought I had it made here, but now I wish I could look into the future and know that I am going to have the garden I have believed I could make here. Well, it won't be because I didn't try anyway. Out of eight hundred roses, there should be alot that do make it and that can handle it here, or are on the ground here that is not as wet for as long. Great experiment, anyhow.

Gardens can be planned only to a certain point; they often do their own thing and are never finished, no matter how big or small. Chances the garden that’s in that land will surpass your hopes and dreams for it, because of the good soil coupled with the amazing experience you must have gained over the years it took to collect eight hundred roses. I don’t think you need a crystal ball here; maybe just some help from family and friends with 100 more roses to plant.

Karen, Jac2 mentions another100 of which I have 16 listed to propagate for you. That leaves 84 for you to find.
'Souv de Wootton Clg' has been one of the first to bloom here.Think I'm the only one in Oz with the bush, Rustons have a climber. It's a rose for the Heritage garden, might suit your climate in Tassie. If you don't already have it would suggest adding it to your list.

I think you will find Karen has 100 more to move.

I have about 100 or so to plant but that is a piece of cake, only thing is I am slacking off in between bursts of planting. As well I have left 100 still in the hot house up where I use to live, but I am not worrying about them too much. I am very satisfied how it has all gone.
You are right Jac2, the roses should be wonderful once they get some growing done. The other thing is I hope it looks better after with the roses and not worse, as the view looks spectacular with my green slope, trees around the house and all the green grass on the hills in the distance and I want it to blend in with that view and not just be a cluttered mess of canes and thorns on my slope that look great before I attacked it.

We’ll be seeing some amazing pictures posted here soon, I’m sure.