Roses & Geums...

As well as roses, I collect & grow geums & I plant these under & around my potted roses. Both grow very well together & I think the geums help the roses by keeping their roots cool, they use any excess moisture (rare thing these days LOL) & they let me know when the roses require water (by wilting slightly) well before the roses become stressed. The smaller growers don't take over & they add interest to the pots when the roses are dormant. The roses help keep the geums happy by shading them during summer.

photos!

Cannot sleep so I will try & find some photos! LOL

I went outside & took some pics of the roses & geums (and got a slug between my toes for my effort haha) but I still cannot get the pics from my camera to my computer for some reason!

I will look through my existing photos & see if I can find some suitable pics until better ones are possible!

For starters, the pic below is of Geum "Flames of Passion" growing under "Just Joey" & a rose that is supposed to be "Bernina" (you can just see the geum foliage above the bloom of "Bernina" bottom left...I hope):

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I hope it shows clearly what I am talking about because I can't see the photo large enough to see if it does & it is not showing fully in the preview!

I grow lots of things - both small and large - amongst & through my potted roses. The group of plants pictured below grows with "Just Joey", "Bernina", "Scouts Honor", "Julia's Rose", "Peppermint Twist", "Nozomi", "Blackberry Blossom", "Tivoli" (underplanted with Geum "Cooky"), "Nicola", "Nearly Wild", "Starlight Rose", "Marjorie Atherton", "Green Ice", "Snow Carpet", "Crepuscule" (underplanted with Geum rivale älbum [water avens]), 3 of my own seedlings & a few others. At night there are lots of little frogs amongst it all:

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Very nice Damo. Are the under[plantings actually in the pots with the roses?
I have numerous self- seeded Four o' clocks in my rose pots. They do look nice but they are too much competition for the roses. Their roots go so deep I can't get them out at the moment. When I repot the roses I'll get them out.

Thanks orchid40!

I have plants growing in the same pots as the roses & I have pots of just mixed plants (with no roses) in amongst them as well.

For some reason I grow better roses in pots than in the open garden but the climate here is pretty harsh & the wildlife is brutal. Neighbours animals (ponies & 20+ geese also take their toll when they visit grrrr). I have just spent the arvo putting up a wire fence because my "Cecile Brunner" & "Perfume Delight" got mauled last night. My rugosas copped a trimming too...

I am very fond of Four o'clocks but they do go deep hey & yes, once they get a hold they do take over & are hard to remove without a great deal of effort & disturbance!

A lot of my roses are in pots because the soil here is just awful - sand and limestone. I've replaced the soil in 2 big beds with garden mixture and half my roses are in there, but the other half are in big pots. I'd love to get them into the ground but it just isn't possible.

Sounds familiar as well...I think the soil on my property changes every few metres though! I never know what I am going to get when I sink a spade in! LOL

I can't grow roses in pots... it's a certain death sentence... just too much to do around here to have to worry about trying to keep pots properly watered Everything here goes into the ground eventually.

My potted roses are right at the back door under lights & near the tap & if they weren't I think things would be very different. I enjoy tending them at night (when it is cool & the frogs are out). I would much prefer to plant a lot of them in the ground (and I will again in time) but I need to sort a lot of things out first.

Your pots look so healthy Damo. Youve encouraged me to get out and rescue mine today as its a bit cooler and Im not running around like a headless chook. I love geums and only recently found out there is more to them than just Mrs Bradshaw (although i do love her) My fav atm is pink frills with the lovely antiquey (yes its a word!...now) pink flowers.

Hi Ripley,

I love "Pink Frills" too...a real stunner! I have about a dozen different geum & lots of seedlings I am watching (hoping for something different LOL).

Due to wildlife I have had to save some of my roses in the heat of summer & all have done very well. I just trim them back, soak them in a bucket of water overnight, plant them in large enough pots in 1/2 potting mix & 1/2 garden soil, keep them shaded & moist for a couple of weeks then I gradually move them out into the sunlight. All have done very well. Too easy...

Happy gardening!

Simon, I am glad that I am not the only one that can't grow Roses or much else for that matter in pots. I have a nasty idea that it is because I forget to water them

More mixing & matching:

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