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Q: Cramming Roses

I got a plot in a community garden of 9' x 20' but I can only use 1/4 of the area for flowers. Creatively speaking, how many roses can I plant in 9' x 5'? Suggestion for roses is also welcome!!! 

A:
Allowing for 2 feet on center in zone 5 you can cram 15 roses in that 45 square feet of space, more if you plant minis. Remember when figuring you can plant one foot away from the outside edges, then two feet on center.

Adding to my previous comment, at this stage of my life, I'd opt for a couple (Two-2) of nice hardy, disease resistant shrub roses and let them grow as nature intended. Fewer roses but less work and care. Nothing more beautiful than a large, natural growing with long arching canes, shrub rose in full bloom.

Q:  Weak and Floppy Canes

Can anyone suggest a cause and remedy for this? We had severe dieback on all roses this past winter in Ontario. Everything seemed to recover (I have shrub roses and climbers) but all the new growth seems very weak and floppy, completely unlike the past eight years. This is also the first year I used slow-release rose fertilizer.  Has anyone had a similar occurrence, and can anyone suggest a remedy? 

A:
I prune down below the weak and floppy canes hoping that the new growth will be as thick as that from which it's growing. It usually works. Might as well prune off the weak and floppy as it will always be that way. 

Q: Golden Wings in a Container? 

Hi. I am kicking around the idea of planting my golden wings in a container for a few years. Right now it is still in the 6 inch pot that they ship in. I was wondering how well it would do. Has anyone grown this rose in a container? I've never grown roses in anything but the ground, so I'm still a little hesitant. 

A:
Golden wings can make a very large bush. I planted mine with the bud union buried and now G.W. suckers all over the place. It was one of the first that came back good after my move and one of the first to bloom this spring. Putting it in a container may keep it in line. 

Q:  Westerlands

Westerland help!  I planted 3 Westerlands in a row having been told by Chamblees that they were Westmoreland and 5-6 ft. shrubs. Later I found out they were Westerlands. Not wanting to move them, I decided to build a fence around them and let them spill over.  Now they only bloom at the ends. The fence holds them straight up. Some I have poked through the fence, but they still mainly bloom on the ends.  So if I attach them to an arbor they won't be pretty. How do I get them to bloom all the way through? Do I cut them and keep them smaller? What do you do? 

A:
Allow them to arch over or peg them. This forces lateral growth on the canes and this growth will produce flowers.

Q:  Mailing Rosebush

A friend of mine wants me to mail her a rosebush, and I was wondering if I cut it way back, if it would come back next year? 

A:
Summer is the bad time of the year to be sending a rosebush. It's likely to arrive well done from the heat. Wait until cooler fall temps or next spring. And yes you should cut back unless sending a potted plant but it's still a bad time to ship live plant material. 

Q:  Transplanting Roses

Got Cressida bareroot from Hortico last fall. It grew very well. Needed its spot for Climbing Eden - DH transplanted it last Saturday.  It's now mostly wilted. Had lots of young canes that are 2/3 wilted. What should I do? Leave it alone? Cut it back-if so, to where?  I've been watering it nearly every day. 

A:
You should have cut it back before you transplanted it. I usually cut back to 6 or 12 inches depending on the size of the root system. When the bush was removed from the soil, chances are much or all of the soil fell off taking the feeder roots with it. This left the bush unable to take up moisture which is why it's important to cut back. ( Not as much top growth for the roots to support. ) It's also important to water deeply and often to help make up for the moisture loss. Spraying with Wilt-Pruf also helps retain moisture. 

Q: Cottonseed Meal

While standing in line at a feed store several customers were discussing how pleased they were with using cottonseed meal as a mulch around their roses. No one mentioned any negative points concerning the product. My soil and water ph tends to be high and it was mentioned that cottonseed meal would help. The product is very cheap (price) so I am considering giving it a try. Has anyone here experienced any problems with using cottonseed meal? 

A:
Cottonseed meal is pretty neutral. I helps put organics in the soil. The only negative is that it's hard on the cottonseed as they get ground up into those tiny pieces. 

Q:  TruGreen Chem Lawn

What's the dirt on TruGreen Chem Lawn? Happy Summer to All! 
Does anyone have TruGreen Chem Lawn service their Yard? 

I'm considering them, but I'm curious how it will affect my Roses...pets...barefeet. So let me have it! What's the dirt?? Thanks in advance and have Great Summer!! 

A:
I used them one year about 18 years ago and after figuring out how much I was paying for some very diluted fertilizer and seeing little difference in the weeds, I discontinued them and decided to do it myself. The following year, I spent for the whole year what one application had cost me the previous year. My lawn looked better and I had no weeds. Meanwhile I had started cutting the lawn longer and oftener with a battery powered mulching mower. I had also taken a Master Gardener course and learned when to fertilize (fall), and when to apply crab grass prevention (early spring before it germinates) and weed killers (late summer, fall when the roots are growing deep for the winter). I also Learned to water deeply. I cut my lawn twice a week and took off no more than 1/3 of the blade surface. I never dethatch.  My lawn was thick and the roots went down 6 inches or more. 

I figured that as long as I was out in the yard so much with the roses, I could do it myself and spend the money saved on more roses. It all comes down to your priorities and mine happened to be my yard and roses. 

Q: Getting Shoots to Grow on Bottom 

This is a question on how to get the bottom of a rose ( hybrid tea ) to get new shoots out of the bottom of the canes? my roses look pretty good . I have a very tall peace and Mr. Lincoln . some of my roses had a lot of winter-kill, and the tops or middle up have leaves. how do I get leaves or shoots to start breaking out of the bottom of the canes. do I cut back on a cane to get it to promote growth . please let me know some advice.

A:
To get new canes to grow from the lower part of the bush you'll need to cut way down to a dormant bud eye which will force it to send out a new cane. Keep in mind that hybrid teas are notorious for having naked feet which is why so many gardeners are going with shrub roses. About the time you succeed getting the look you want it'll be fall and time to put them to sleep. Easier to plant miniatures or annuals at the base of those leafless bushes to hide their immodesty. 

Q: Fertilizing Mulched Roses

We now have 13 roses in our rose garden and I have been debating mulching them for all the reasons given to mulch roses. The question I have been pondering is how to properly fertilize them if they are mulched. Do rose gardeners use a liquid fertilizer program, and if so, what brand names are commercially available that provide all the necessary nutrients?? Or, do rose gardeners use a dry pellet fertilizer and remove the mulch from around the rosebush prior to fertilizing or just spread the fertilizer around the rosebushes on top of the mulch and water it in??

I would appreciate your advice on fertilizing rosebushes that are mulched. 

A:
The best thing to do is to pull the mulch back, apply the fertilizer and scratch it in, Then replace the mulch. Soluble fertilizers that can be sprayed or laid on the mulch leach out really fast. They are meant as a snack not a meal for the roses. 
Best to apply manure, an organic mix (Mills Magic Rose Mix), or slow release such as Osmocote and scratch it in at the dripline of each bush. 

Any soluble such as Miracle Grow or one of the Generics from Wal*Mart or K-Mart will work for a snack. Fish Emulsion or Alfalfa Tea is a great snack that also helps the soil. Laying the fertilizer on the mulch will just lock up a lot of the nutrients until the mulch breaks down. Get it into the soil. 

Q:   Mislabled Roses

I have several questions: 

I heard that Gemini is supposed to be white with a little bit of pink at the edges. However, mine is not like that at all. I bought it at WalMart three weeks ago, pot grown and now it is planted in the ground. It is already blooming but all white blooms. No sign of pink at all.

A:
WalMart is notorious for mislabeled roses and it sounds like you may have a mislabeled rose.

Q: Fertilize or Not 

Can I fertilize my roses with organic fertilizer of sea kelp, molasses, fish emulsion and Magic Mills Mix every week?  I'd skip the molasses as it may draw bugs. They won't eat your plant but they can be pesty.  My friends told me that they have mature roses in their backyard. And they bragged with me how they never fertilize or water those plants anymore at all. They claim it thrives and gives beautiful flowers.  And it is not only one person that makes that claim, but several of them say the same thing. So this makes me curious: how can they bloom without fertilizer and without enough water. I heard roses like us to fuss over them? What is the difference between a mature rose that has been fertilized and water and the one that doesn't if they both give beautiful flowers? 

A:
This year with all the rain most plants have not needed to be watered much. 
I'd look at those roses they are bragging about. Many like to stretch the truth. A mature well rooted bush in naturally rich loose soil will perform quite well without a lot of care. If you're in a new home where the top soil was removed and replaced with subsoil, It'll take a long time to get naturally rich soil again. You need to get the whole story from your friends. Roses don't usually just happen. It's true they usually require more care, especially hybrid teas. Your friends may have easy care shrub roses that don't require coddling. 

Q: Top Soil

Do you mean to say that an area of older development of housing has richer soil? Does that mean we do not have to do much to make the soil rich if our house is 10 years old?  What do you think of Home Depot. Do they mislabel their roses too?

I have a standard Electric blanket from Jackson and Perkins. It is in a big pot facing south but does not seem to be doing well. It is barely surviving. I checked the ph it is close to 8 but then again all the soil around my house is in that range and they are doing well. I already put alfalfa tea and it does not seem to do much. Other roses seems to love the tea and enjoying the sun.

A:
No, I said newer homes usually have the topsoil removed when the land is cleared and replaced with subsoil when landscaped. Older homes would have had years of lawn clippings and other organics worked back into the soil, even accidentally. Nature does this by worm action. So planted plants at new homes would not perform as well as those planted at older homes. Maybe not all that much difference but perhaps enough to make a difference in the PH and how well they perform. It's not a lot of big things that make the difference, it's small amounts of little things. Ph 8 is really high but if those in the same soil in the yard are fine you can't argue with that. Potted plants use up nutrients faster. They also dry up faster. They tend to retain salts that retard growth. They should be watered often and until the water runs out the bottom. This helps to keep the salt buildup down. If the plant has been in the pot a year, it may be root bound and need a larger pot or the soil changed. If changing the soil, do it in early spring or late fall. Prune back the top growth and thin the roots a little.

All the big box stores purchase their roses from contract growers who sell cheap and don't take as much care with their roses as they should. It's common to get mislabeled roses from all these sources. You'll even get mislabeled roses from the big reputable nurseries. Dig up two bushes and lay them side by side. Unless they are marked or have flowers you would have trouble telling which is which. Now do this in a field with 100,000 rosebushes of various kinds. Easy to do especially after they have been sorted many times and the lower grades are sold to companies who package them for the big stores.

Have Questions?  Write to:  rosenut@rosenut.com