Foggy morning/Blackberry Nip

Lovely!

Thanks Autumn , the colour of this rose is starting to develope , but i still wouldn't say its a strong smelling rose , more sweet smelling i think ..

Maree, great photo of BN with the morning dew/mist on it. Well done. Lot of buds coming through. Since you have standards, and healthy ones at that, maybe you could answer something I've wondered about their care. Having never grown a standard in my life, I'm a total doofus. When you plant them, they already have their stakes. But what happens when those stakes deteriorate? How do you replace them without damaging the roots of the rose, when you bash the new stake into the ground? How often do you have to do this?

Hi Silky , i put standards in this garden because it faces the dining/family room and i wanted them high enough to see them out of the windows . What i do is , i pull that stake out that they come with and put in a metal fence post thing , star pickets, bang it in far enough , that it doesnt rub on the top of the bush , tie a piece of rubber over the top of the stake and plant the rose a little away from it , so the stem has room to grow , might need to tie a bit of wood or something in between the stake and stem to keep it straight , do a figure 8 tie in three places with soft ties . Each year when i prune i replace these ties . I also bang in those long green stakes on three sides to tie the canes on as they grow , as we live in a very windy area ... They are a bit of a nuisance , as a lot of the roses i would like don't come in standards , but they suite the spot i have them in better than bush roses would have ..... Hope that helps ..... Oh yes , bang the metal stake in first before you plant the rose .....

Ahh, thanks Marie, that clears things up. Makes sense. I see standards round the place and they invariably have the wooden stake and it got me thinking. Your method sounds good. Maybe when you get the chance you could post a photo showing star picket and ties with the bush? I don't have any plans for growing standards, but you never know where the rose journey takes you. Your roses look really lovely, healthy as.
BTW, will be going out (again) to Magic Gardens this week. Drove out there Friday and got hopelessly lost. Turns out I read the map back to front. When I finally found it, they were closed! Sometimes I'm such a ditz. Lol
Is there anything you would like me to check while I'm there? Anyone?

Lol ha ha Silky , same thing happened with us , got there after driving three hours and it closed in half a hour , husband drives a truck all over Victoria , so he never gets lost anywhere , but me , i get lost in my own suburb lol . Can't think of anything Silky , but some pics would be great , and probably write down the most fragrant ones too . Will take a pic of stakes too , probably best after pruning , have a good day at Magic ....

Have a super day at MG, silky. Hey, Upside Down Maps R Us. My husband used to say that I was neurologically hard-wired to go in the wrong direction. Every trip with me as driver is hopeless if arriving at your destination is part of the plan...

Re stuff to see: should a Louisa Jane jump out in front of you I'd like to hear your opinion. Otherwise, just the same request as maree - what's fragrant that we may have not talked much about so far...

maree, your BN looks a lot more appealing than mine...Great pix.

Betsy, your request about Louisa Jane is on my list, never fear. I will be sniffing madly girls to get the most fragrant.
Yep, trouble with maps eh? I thought it was just me. Looks to be more widespread. Lol. I tell you driving over the Black Spur, there and back, along that narrow winding road was enough to give me nightmares, especially when the locals and all the bikies zoom along like its the straight in the Grand Prix. And it wasn't even where I was supposed to be. Aarrrggghhh.
Still I know where to go now. And I even saw a place along the way selling large bags of stable manure at $4 a pop!

Oh Silky , you poor thing , i can REALLY sympathise Betsy B.N. coming along nicely , maybe fragrance will come along nicely too , heres hoping..

Maree, they are really healthy standards and lovely to see what Blackberry Nip looks like, one day I shall get it too.

maree, can you tell us what those standards of yours are? They are incredibly healthy for this time of year. Must be good roses, but more than that, it's the good gardener. Great rose growing, there ;-)))

Standards look lovely, and a great idea on being able to see them through the window. How does HT's compare in growth, when I've heard that it's better to use florabunda's? I quite like the look of Blackberry Nip as a standard.

Thanks everyone , the standards as you can see are in the backyard garden and the bush roses are in the front of the house garden . At the moment i have Oklahaoma , the one with the buds , i absolutely love this rose and well suited to a standard , Firefighter, a bit too big for a standard but staked its okay , Heaven Scent the same there , a bit too big , Aoteroa , a good standard ,PJP11 a good standard , Chartreusse de Parme , good as a standard , have ordered Fragrant Cloud as standard too. Floribundas honestly are not my favourite , probably better as a standard , just prefer the single stem roses . One thing i have learnt is standards need more room,MAKE SURE YOU PLANT AT LEAST 1200 cm APART , a bit more if they are big roses , i have planted some too close and the tall bully roses are overshadowing the others , i'm about to pull out two and put in just one in that space , have had to do that in other parts of the garden too , you definately learn by experience . Some roses i wouldn't be without , some i would happily replace ..... the roses are definately organic, i think this is the key , let the bugs and seasol and company do the work for you .. Next year i'm thinking of Barbara Streisand , Amazing Grace Jardin de Bagatelle , Red Cross as standards for a long narrow bed , bush roses probably too wide ....

All that you are doing must be right, because the proof is in that lovely line of healthy standards, maree. Your 'editing' of your roses, which always sounds so ruthless (out they go@!)) is a method that cuts to the chase, too .

Lemme try this one on you: Sight Saver. I think this is an underreported one. I had heard a little bit about it before I picked one up at Swane's last month, and I have to say, I am ready to gamble and order two more.

Beautfiul form, (and large blooms but not grossly big - about 51/2"), and a great wafting fragrance that announces its presence from a distance. It's not a big gangly thing, if the HMF stats are correct, well leafed and moderately sized, with excellent repeat (again, that opion from reprts)

I'm not a light pink person, but this pale pink with just a hint of peach is fetching: not so flesh-coloured as Aoteraoa, but not the teeth-grinding lolly colour of Pefume Passion. Has a soft radiance, and the dark glossy leaves are a perfect foil.

If it continues well next year, I think it would make an excellent standard for your collection.

Ahh you know me too well Betsy , yes if the rose isn't performing to my liking yep , out she goes , try another , my little suburban block , has to support , roses , perenialls , annuals , natives , vegies ,camellias and whatever else i can fit in , i love roses the best though thats for sure !!! Sight Saver , i'll look it up , i have thought about it , but forgot , keep me posted Betsy thanks ......

I was very interested to see that Treloars have listed some David Austin Standard roses this year; has anyone grown a DA standard yet?

For some reason the DA roses seem to love growing here even though our climate is nothing like England! Mind you, we also have a very mild gentle climate without the fierce heat and cold; they just have to be able to breathe underwater now and then!!
I am so glad you asked about the staking, Silky, I have made note on the technique too!!


NB I do wonder if the map-reading/direction finding issue is one of those genetic male-female things?? We do get so see some lovely scenery along the way though!!

Now that is interesting Deb as Mike and Jan want to grow DA roses up there.

lildeb , i have had Mary Rose as a standard ,down here it had , BS , mildew and RMV , and no fragrance , i have tracked down a Jubilee Celebration from Silkies roses as a standard for this year , i think you would have to be careful about DA's as standards , that they didn't throw out their long arms , hopefully Treloars know what DA's are suited to standards ... Happy Roses i have read that floribundas are good as standards , and they are right , i remember one of the first roses i planted was a Delbard floribunda standard, it was a great rose , but i just didn't like it , not good for picking , i look through the floribundas of Treloars and really can't find one i would like ....

I prefer hybrids as well for picking over floribundas, Camp David comes up a lot as a good rose for standards.

Do you have Camp David Happy ? I have seen it , but didn't think it was highly fragrant ...

No, but it's on my list. Heard different reports on smell, I'm not sure how good it is.