 Roses - The Queen of Flowers
by BDHS Secretary
Shari-Lynn Safir, Master Gardener and the Current President of the National Canadian Rose Society, was the featured guest speaker at BDHS's May 6, 2009 meeting. She grows roses in her in Toronto Zone 5 garden and at her Thunder Bay, Zone 2 cottage.
Highlights of Shari Lyn Safir’s Presentation on Roses
Her first piece of advice was not to give up on your roses too early in the spring. Lateness of season varies from year to year.
Planting: Plant all roses deep! Bud unions should be planted 8-10 inches below the ground in a mixture of 1/3 compost, 1/3 manure and 1/3 black earth. Add 2 banana peels per rose. Fill the hole with water and tamp down. Do not fertilize the first year. Use 2 handfuls of alfalfa pellets per plant instead.
Nutrients: She recommended that one not use 20-20-20 fertilizer but rather compost and manure instead.
In the Spring: Add ½ cup of Epsom Salts to each plant at the end of May and the end of June to encourage new canes and increase flower bud set.
In the Fall: At Grey Cup Time, hill up all roses 10 -12 inches, with good black earth as a precaution. Pile leaves on top of the earth and manure on top of the leaves.
Places to Buy Bare Root Stock: Pickering Nurseries Inc., Hortico Inc. and Palatine in the Niagara Region.
Pruning: Prune when forsythia is blooming. Take out all dead or diseased canes. Leave 4-5 good canes. Cut back Hybrid Teas to 6-8 inches from the ground. Do not cut back the good canes of climbers. Cut out suckers.
Recipe for Insects and Black Spot: 1 medium onion chopped, 3-4 cloves of garlic crushed, ½ fresh jalapeno pepper, crushed. Steep in 1 quart of warm water for 1 hour. Strain. Add 1 ½ tsp. of baking soda. Use 1 part mixture to 4 parts water. Add 1-2 drops of dishwashing liquid (Palmolive was the example given) Mist on plants.
Recommended Award Winning Roses:
- Climbers: (Climbing roses will not harm brickwork!) Altissimo Red, Louise, Flammen Floribundas: Amber Queen, Sweet Dream, Glen Fiddich, Sea Pearl, Ipaint, Sexy Rexy, Ann Harkness
- Hybrid Teas: Alexander, Fruede, Love’s Magic, Ingrid Bergman, Elena, Lancome, Selfriges, Perfect Moment, Pristine, Ferdinand Picard
- Miniatures: (Very Hardy!) Rainbow’s End, Black Jade, Green Ice, Antique Gold, Pink Dwarf, Fairy
- Rugosas: Roseraie de L’hay, Quadra
(2009-06-03) |
