2009 Releases...

Just wondered what everyone thinks of the new 2009 roses from Swanes? I love the look of 'Topsy Turvy' and also 'Cherries n Cream'. 'FIREfighter' looks good and I'll have to get a 'litl Romeo'. Guess I can order them when I order my Ebb Tide to replace the one that I lost..

I would be cautious about getting a lot of new releases... there are suggestions in there that I make me wary:

1. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

It says:

Disease Resistance : Good in the dry areas

. Where you are in QLD it is not dry. It is humid, moist and hot with more than 1650mm of rain per year. This suggests it will be disease prone in your area. It was bred in 2003 in the U.S. where it was released as 'Disneyland Rose'. It is listed on HMF (http://helpmefind.com/plant/pl.php?n=44225) where they say it is susceptible to black spot.

2. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Looks like a good proposition in most areas. The only thing that concerns me is that it comes from a very long line of mostly floribunda and I doubt that your climate would agree with it andit is rated to zone 9b.

3. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Is rated by Jackson and Perkins as being suited to grow in USDA zones 6b-9b. I am in zone 9b down here in TAS. According to this map produced by the Australian National Botanic Gardens Beerwah is in Zone 10-11 (Aus Zone 5).

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

4. Of all of them Firefighter is the most appropriate to where you live. HMF says it is heat tolerant and it received a bronze medal from the National Rose Trial Grounds. Keep in mind this is in VIC, which is very different in both soil and climate to Beerwah. There is pretty much nothing but HT in its background and it wants to be a bush of 6ft of more which would make it difficult to grow in a pot.. sure you could keep it pruned back but in the long run this is not beneficial to the rose.

Up there, I would be looking at some of the older Tea roses. There are some smaller ones that are suitable for container growth. You won't find them on the Swanes catalogue though

Thanks for your suggestions Simon, I appreciate the ideas and will have a look at finding some of the older Teas.

I have a good friend right up the road from you in Mooloolah Valley, who has a terrific 5 acre+ rose garden. I also just spent some time in Beerwah recently, small world.
If you like, email me with your address I can send it to my friend to contact you. I am sure he can give you lots of sugestions. He grows mainly Teas China Noisettes.

We have a little group that chats about roses for warm climates with some who live in very humid hot areas. Let em know if you want to join in.

Can you plant your roses in the ground?

Thanks, will contact you with address. At the moment we're renting, so not really in a position to plant in the ground. Hopefully, if I can get a job soon (recently retrenched) we can be in a position to buy again.

Growing roses in pots is not easy in a hot climate.
Just some sugestions which might help

Biggest pots you can get, min 20" and even bigger is better.
Pot needs to be shaded, plant in sun. Can do this by placing the pot sort of behind another plant with the rose above the other plant. Or putting up some kind of sun barrier in front of the pot like a fake box front. Or you can put one pot into an even bigger pot and put some insulation in the space between them.
Light coloured pots.
Don't place them where they will get radiated heat, like near walls or on concrete.
Give shade during the middle of the day.
Water..sometimes several times a day.
Potting soils often have excellent drainage, which means they also do not hold water and dry out very fast. Adding some good garden soil to them will help them hold water longer. However, where you live this will be a balanceing act between downpours of rain drowning your plants and the need to imporove the water holding capacity so in dry times they stay wet for longer periods of time.