Feeding of Roses

dennisd wrote:Photo of my Braidwood garden at 4 years old November 2011
Dennis

where have you put your photo?....

Hi Dennis,
i do hope you are recovering now and your open garden is a great success. Looking forward to seeing your photos!  

John generally I plant my bare rooted roses in a pot for 12 months. I use potting mix with Seamungus and blood and bone added. When the rose bushes start to shoot I water in a mixture of Thrive and Seasol on a weekly basis for a couple of months then I add a handful of Neutrog orchid fertiliser monthly.

Wow! This orchid fertilizer is getting around! I also use it on azaleas and camellias! Another orchid lover told me about this. I used a recommended rose potting mix - Debco - to pot my roses, so would I be ok to use the same monthly program as you, Ausrose?

It's worth a try. I would make the point however unless you keep the nasties off your roses you won't get the best results for you efforts.

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i have mastered placing photos on forum! dennis

Thank you,
Cheers
Dennis

Lovely Entrance, Hope you have a successful Open Garden Week End on 23rd Nov.
Happy Gardening.

Gosh Dennis - I'm jealous! lol Well done with your photo!  
Ausrose, thank you for your comments. Will combat nasties with Dennis' recipe!

Dimity, sorry to have missed your post re am I the best grower in Sydney? The answer is very plain and simple
NO! But then I might be second.

My tutor over the years has been a three generation propagator who knows more about growing and propagating roses without water and fertilisers than anyone I have ever known. He produces some very good yearlings every year using only the things available on his property.
He doesn't have poultry or animals for manure and the soil is light with a clay base down approx. 15"s.
No sprays, no fertilisers or animal and bird manure.
Yep! I'm a follower of his because he has real talent.

On the other end of the scale are people who spray, fertilise with several commercial varieties and just turn on the tap when it gets dry and spend the rest of their time dead heading and picking up Blackspot infected leaves.
I know that is the way to exhibit top blooms but being commercial it's not viable. There are some of the best in this group.

There is a lady near me who has rose workshops and goes into great detail about growing roses in Wellington Boots, old pots, wheel barrows and old tyres etc. The old ladies who visit for these workshops are fascinated and can't wait to get some of this rubbish to grow their roses in. She can pronounce the names of all these old French named roses like a French native. I recon she is number one in Australia in this group. Sorry I under estimated her, she could be the best in the world.

I think you may have the message now so please don't be shy, which group do you belong to?

Do you mean Garden Rose Groups that I belong to. Also the lady who does the classes does she travel to do them. Also is she on the web & do you have the dates & places she does this & do I have to be an OLD LADY to go to them? She sounds like my kind of lady.

Dimity, she ordered some Heritage roses from me and the gate has been closed a lot more than usual so haven't been able to deliver them. Sincerely hope she is OK, one of the nicest ladies in the district. Woop's just worked out I'm probably older than her.

Roses are a great source of enjoyment what ever group one falls into. I have made my choice being a propagator and see customers that fit all the groups. Most unusual is a Naturapath (Spelling?) grinding up species roses and adding to various oils. She's convinced her patients get great benefits from these potions but I'm not all that convinced it would work for me. I'm trying the sleep potion next time and will let you know how well it works.

Ozeboy, let me know if you get any info about your lady.
About what group do I belong to - I am a bit of a loner, enjoy my garden too much at times perhaps. - I have an illness that causes me to walk alkwardly (spelling)? now so I have gone from a very active outgoing person to one who has crawled into a shell. I have an Auto Immune Disease.- Also as posted before I am a Cancer Survivor - So I guess I belong to a few Groups.  

Dimity you are a Survivour and obviously a gutsy lady.
There are many groups not covered in past posts all love their roses one way or another.
There are the "Too Serious" group and the "World Tour Group. The latter group don't have any roses growing but tour with rose clubs anywhere there is a garden to see.
There are some very good people in this group taking on responsible positions within the clubs.
There is another group and those are the "Asked to Leave a Rose Forum Group". Actually I'm a member of this group.
When asked why the members wanted me gone they could only mention they only disliked my writing style. Just goes to show you don't have to do much to be thrown off a Rose Forum.

When I'm serious which is not very often, I do like to stress the importance of making rose growing a healthy enjoyable
pass time come hobby. I will call and see how the unusual lady with plants in all sorts of containers is getting on.
I'm sure she is very artistic in an unusual way but I know she loves her roses. I wouldn't be surprised if I go there one day and the Knee Boots are painted vivid yellow and purple. Keep smiling Dimity and enjoy those roses.

Dianne, I'll second Ozeboy's comments, you are one gutsy lady. I admire your determination and your openess to new ideas, evident from your varied interests and knowledge. Please don't withdraw into your shell! I know you gain much joy and healing from your garden but maybe this forum will in some way help too.
PS. Your auto immune disease wouldn't be Lupus would it? I have it in my family.

Ozeboy, I'm gobsmacked you are a member of the Asked to Leave a Rose Forum Group. Either you have drastically changed your writing style or they were "Too Serious Group" members who just didn't recognise your talents. C'est La Vie, their loss I say.
I reckon I'm in the Lazy Gardener With Big Ideas Group. People in this group invariably have splendid visions of a profusion of blooms cascading all around, a little wildness in their garden, a little wildness in their heart. They are marked by their feverish activity in bursts, but at heart they are lazy. "yes, I must give them Seasol today, I'll do it later" is a common refrain in their brain.

Silky, I'm still the same old guy with the same old writing style. I have given away just as many roses as I have sold.
While I can keep the ratio at 50% then I feel I'm putting something back and making a lot of mutual rose friends happy.

Yes Ozeboy I am gobsmacked, thank you so much for caring. And thank You Silkyfizz for your concern. I do not have Lupus but it is very similar - I have numbness from my tips of my toes to above my knees and from my fingers to my elbows both sides of my body. It is a Neuropathic Auto Immune Disease and it is getting worse my nerves in my stomach are now being affected and I don't feel like I have eaten so have to watch my diet, because I have no feeling in my feet I have a lot of falls (I am not a drunk, wish I was). Thus the operation for a Knee Replacement in a couple of weeks. Though I have this numbness I have terrible pain & spasms so have blood infusions for 4 hours every 3 weeks. I wanted to try to get out of my shell tried to join a Rose Club, and it took me weeks to get up the courage to do it, went along said I was a new member, paid my money to join. There are probably around 80 -90 people at each meeting. I have been to 2 meetings now no one has come & introduced themselves to me asked me any questions. Is it because I am a younger person with a walking stick who walks funny do you think. I also belong to another group that I have belonged to for years, this is quite a prestigious group I understand & well known. They our group do not have meetings & I had never met any of the members before. They had an outing so I thought well I just can't sit at home all of the time feeling sorry for myself so I got up the courage to go along. Well same thing, yes they said hello but then they went into their little clicks. So maybe it is because they think I am contagious.
I guess we really should not be talking about this here so I had better be a good girl and  

Hi Dimity,
Shame you are not nearer Canberra or I would have you in the Old Parlament House Volunteers Group like a flash. They have so much fun, are so friendly and take averyone as they come. Even those who use walking sticks are welcome, we have some who sit and dead head roses, some who stand, some who can only sit flat on the ground but they all are welcome and have fun. Always a coffee after. My advice, go another couple of times and if they do not accept you, find somewhere else where you are welcome. Very best and good luck. Dennis

Dimity never fear you are amongst friends here and I'm sure all wish you well. If anyone starts to put you back in your shell then out you come and I'll do everything to help by sicing my writing style onto them. Worse than an enraged Pit Bull.
Go well and enjoy life.

Thank You so much, you are a crazy lovely lot I feel I have made some FRIENDS in the short time I have been here. It is different to talking to my husband as he has heard it all already, but I am back out to the garden now to do a bit more pruning of shrubs that have finished flowering & cutting off spent flowers from the roses that got a bit damaged in the thunder storm. Thank You again for perking me up.

Dimity, you sound like lovely person, and I would hope that you come out of your shell. These things that plague you are beyond your control and are not your fault. To think that people would not speak to you because of these conditions is their loss and not yours. You have every right to enjoy these groups and it's a shame when people do not take the time to see the real you. My problem is shyness so I am the type to sit on the bench rather than join in, so I have an idea what being in a shell is like. But I feel for you what you are going through physically, it must be hard. I'm glad for your input to Rose Talk and to my questions on rose growing and hope that you will continue to contribute. As you say, Happy gardening:) 

As for Ozeboy, I quite like the way he writes and hope that he doesn't plan on leaving anytime soon.

Dianne I really feel for you in buoying up your courage to attend these meetings and then being left on your own. My heart went out to you as I read your post. Felt like giving you a big hug! What a shame you don't live in Canberra, Dennis' group sounds great. Says a lot about him too to nurture such a group. I hope you find a group that values you for who you are and looks beyond the walking stick. Meanwhile you have already made friends here!

Oh Dianne. what a dreadful thing for people to do! I do know how you feel. I walk with a stick after suffering from a stroke at the ripe of age of 57yrs! people look at you/me and I can see them wondering what I'm doing with a stick. Sometimes I feel like asking them if they have a problem - NOT me!! LOL I find my sense of humour gets me through, although sometimes even that hides. You are a strong lady and you have a wonderful gift of imparting knowledge to others who are not so clued up as you. You are strong and very likeable. I wish you lived near me!