Other Flowers you like

[estación seca]

Too many plants is not a problem. Not enough money is a problem.

By the way, I just got some tropical plants from Almost Eden in Louisiana. Wow, they were FAR bigger than I expected. 3 Brunfelsia species; 2 Hibiscus; Pereskia bleo, a tropical tree cactus with leaves; Epiphyllum hookeri and a couple other nice oddities. Highly recommended. The Brunfelsia americana arrived flowering in a 4" pot. I kept it in my bedroom last night; it has a powerful sweet fragrance. I think they have a few orchids on their list, to keep this on topic.

[JScott]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Too many plants is not a problem. Not enough money is a problem.

By the way, I just got some tropical plants from Almost Eden in Louisiana. Wow, they were FAR bigger than I expected. 3 Brunfelsia species; 2 Hibiscus; Pereskia bleo, a tropical tree cactus with leaves; Epiphyllum hookeri and a couple other nice oddities. Highly recommended. The Brunfelsia americana arrived flowering in a 4" pot. I kept it in my bedroom last night; it has a powerful sweet fragrance. I think they have a few orchids on their list, to keep this on topic.

The thread is "Other Flowers You Like", so I think just about any discussion of any plants is on topic haha. There's a few crappy boxwood shrubs in one of the flower beds, and I think this spring or fall, I'll take those out and replace them with roses.

I know there are a lot of nice roses that people really enjoy, but for me, hybrid tea roses are the only roses that matter. So I think I"ll take the shrubs out and replace them with hybrid tea roses. I think there's six of those shrubs, so I'll need six more roses. Jackson and Perkins and Wayside Gardens usually have a great selection of hybrid teas, and they are always great quality (good, solid graft junctions with lots of strong canes and good roots), so I'll check closer to fall and see what they have. A lot of their selections are sold out right now, as right now isn't really rose planting time, but as we get closer to fall, I'm sure they will replenish their stocks, and I'll have more to choose from.

Regan Roses has an excellent selection of stuff that you can't find anywhere else, but I have not been satisfied with the roses I have got from them. (Upon planting them, both of them started to experience severe cane die back, until nothing was left but the graft union, and one of them died completely) They're poorly grafted, they're too small (they look like they could have used one more year in the field before the dug them up to sell them) and their survival rate has not been great. If they ever had something that I just had to have and couldn't find anywhere else, I might order from them again, but it would be a last resort. I would check everywhere else first. The reason I ordered from them is because I was looking specifically for Desert Peace. It is a childhood favorite of mine. We had one at my house when I was in middle and high school, and I really wanted another one, and they were the only one who had it. Fortunately, the one that died was not Desert Peace, and it recovered well and is doing fine now, so at least I got the one I really wanted. I contacted them about the problem with the roses they sent me. I contacted them three times and didn't get a response. Finally when I left critical reviews on Yelp and on their facebook page, I got a response. They refunded me for both of the roses, even the one that lived, which wasn't really necessary. I just wanted a refund for the one that died, but I just accepted my refund and didn't argue, but I should not have had to contact them three times with no response. If I hadn't left those negative reviews where people can see them, I probably never would have heard anything from them at all, and I don't consider that good customer service.

So there you go, there's another plant obsession I haven't mentioned yet. Hybrid tea roses. Midas Touch and Mister Lincoln are a couple of my favorites. Always and Forever is another excellent red. My grandmother loves Tropicana, so I planted one of those for her so I can cut the flowers and bring them to her. I planted Black Night, but I didn't get it from a nursery I'm familiar with, and it wasn't great. The graft junction looks healthy, but all the canes were cut back to about two inches, so it is growing a little and I think it will be fine eventually, but I don't think it will do much until next year once it has had time to establish. I need a white one. I don't have a white tea rose yet, and every rose gardener should probably have a white tea rose, so I'll be on the lookout for a good white one this fall or spring.

[Leafmite]

---------- Post added at 02:55 AM ---------- -

[If you put in tea roses, it is best to always use the granular form of Bayer 3-in-1 rose systemic. Also, for Japanese beetles, you will want to have Sevin on hand. Roses are attacked by everything. If your stems become hollow, it is likely due to the clearwing borer moth which the systemic should also kill. My father's hobby for over fifty years was fragrant tea and floribunda roses (he wasn't very pleased when Jackson and Perkins began selling roses that were not fragrant). Good luck!

[JScott]

Originally Posted by Leafmite

---------- Post added at 02:55 AM ---------- -

[If you put in tea roses, it is best to always use the granular form of Bayer 3-in-1 rose systemic. Also, for Japanese beetles, you will want to have Sevin on hand. Roses are attacked by everything. If your stems become hollow, it is likely due to the clearwing borer moth which the systemic should also kill. My father's hobby for over fifty years was fragrant tea and floribunda roses (he wasn't very pleased when Jackson and Perkins began selling roses that were not fragrant). Good luck!

Thanks for the tips! I'm aware of many of the problems that plague tea roses, and there are many. They aren't exactly the toughest plants, and lots of things can get to them. I typically do use a systemic on them. Fortunately I did not a lot of trouble with pests and disease in Oklahoma. My main problem there was scale, but that's easy enough to treat. It may be different in Texas, but time will tell. As far as fragrance, sure I prefer a fragrant rose, but it isn't a deal break for me if a rose is not fragrant. Jackson and Perkins says in the description of each rose how fragrant it is, and I pay attention to that, and I consider it, but if it's a rose I think is beautiful enough, I'll buy it even if it isn't fragrant. I have plenty that are, so having a few that are not isn't a big deal to me.

---------- Post added at 04:07 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:49 AM ----------

I was hoping to hear from somebody who had used Regan Roses in the past and see if their experience was the same as mine. They have several things I know I'm going to want, but I can't decide if it's worth the risk, considering the quality of the two I bought last time. Have other people done better with Regan? Was my experience an anomaly, or is that what I should always expect from Regan.

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by JScott

...I know there are a lot of nice roses that people really enjoy, but for me, hybrid tea roses are the only roses that matter. So I think I"ll take the shrubs out and replace them with hybrid tea roses. I think there's six of those shrubs, so I'll need six more roses. Jackson and Perkins and Wayside Gardens usually have a great selection of hybrid teas, and they are always great quality (good, solid graft junctions with lots of strong canes and good roots), so I'll check closer to fall and see what they have. A lot of their selections are sold out right now, as right now isn't really rose planting time, but as we get closer to fall, I'm sure they will replenish their stocks, and I'll have more to choose from.

Regan Roses has an excellent selection of stuff that you can't find anywhere else, but I have not been satisfied with the roses I have got from them. (Upon planting them, both of them started to experience severe cane die back, until nothing was left but the graft union, and one of them died completely) They're poorly grafted, they're too small (they look like they could have used one more year in the field before the dug them up to sell them) and their survival rate has not been great. If they ever had something that I just had to have and couldn't find anywhere else, I might order from them again, but it would be a last resort. I would check everywhere else first. The reason I ordered from them is because I was looking specifically for Desert Peace. It is a childhood favorite of mine. We had one at my house when I was in middle and high school, and I really wanted another one, and they were the only one who had it. Fortunately, the one that died was not Desert Peace, and it recovered well and is doing fine now, so at least I got the one I really wanted. I contacted them about the problem with the roses they sent me. I contacted them three times and didn't get a response. Finally when I left critical reviews on Yelp and on their facebook page, I got a response. They refunded me for both of the roses, even the one that lived, which wasn't really necessary. I just wanted a refund for the one that died, but I just accepted my refund and didn't argue, but I should not have had to contact them three times with no response. If I hadn't left those negative reviews where people can see them, I probably never would have heard anything from them at all, and I don't consider that good customer service.

So there you go, there's another plant obsession I haven't mentioned yet. Hybrid tea roses. Midas Touch and Mister Lincoln are a couple of my favorites. Always and Forever is another excellent red. My grandmother loves Tropicana, so I planted one of those for her so I can cut the flowers and bring them to her. I planted Black Night, but I didn't get it from a nursery I'm familiar with, and it wasn't great. The graft junction looks healthy, but all the canes were cut back to about two inches, so it is growing a little and I think it will be fine eventually, but I don't think it will do much until next year once it has had time to establish. I need a white one. I don't have a white tea rose yet, and every rose gardener should probably have a white tea rose, so I'll be on the lookout for a good white one this fall or spring.

Skip J&P and Armstrong. They only sell weakling grafted roses the rose societies like. Head to the great Texas business Antique Rose Emporium. They sell sturdy own-root roses that are much better than new show varieties.

Remember there is a big difference between tea roses and hybrid tea roses.

If you want a pure white hybrid tea rose, nothing beats 'John F. Kennedy' or 'Pope John Paul II.' If you want an older white true tea rose nothing beats 'Mme. Alfred Carriere.'

If you insist in buying weak grafted roses, in your climate the graft must be planted a good 3"-6"/7.5-15cm deep. This gives the top part a chance to develop its own roots. Then it will be unkillable. Rosarians care only about their spring show and ribbons. They rip plants out every few years to replace them with other things to show. If longevity of roses matters to you, do not do what rosarians tell you. Again in your climate, do your pruning in late summer, not January. Rosarians prune in January so they get big flowers for April shows. This is a near-lethal time to prune in warm climates.

[Dollythehun]

I suppose going from roses to native plants is a stretch, and of course in my case there are no flowers to speak of, but, here goes:

Whilst mowing the back 5, I discovered a few Carex platyphylla and a half dozen nice Carex flaccosperma. I dug them up and transplanted them in a tough area on my personal west Bank. I think they look quite handsome.

[JScott]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Skip J&P and Armstrong. They only sell weakling grafted roses the rose societies like. Head to the great Texas business Antique Rose Emporium. They sell sturdy own-root roses that are much better than new show varieties.

Remember there is a big difference between tea roses and hybrid tea roses.

If you want a pure white hybrid tea rose, nothing beats 'John F. Kennedy' or 'Pope John Paul II.' If you want an older white true tea rose nothing beats 'Mme. Alfred Carriere.'

If you insist in buying weak grafted roses, in your climate the graft must be planted a good 3"-6"/7.5-15cm deep. This gives the top part a chance to develop its own roots. Then it will be unkillable. Rosarians care only about their spring show and ribbons. They rip plants out every few years to replace them with other things to show. If longevity of roses matters to you, do not do what rosarians tell you. Again in your climate, do your pruning in late summer, not January. Rosarians prune in January so they get big flowers for April shows. This is a near-lethal time to prune in warm climates.

I've always done my pruning in late summer/early fall. I didn't know about the graft union tho. I plant mine with the graft union level with the ground. When I get my next round of roses, I'll plant them a little deeper and see how they do compared to the ones I've already planted.

I'm looking at Antique Rose Emporium's website right now, and they have some really nice things there that I think I might need. I feel pretty confident that I'll be ordering from them this fall. I'd love to check them out in person, but they're way south, almost to Houston. It would probably be a three hour drive. But honestly, I've driven that far for far more frivolous things, so why not roses? Maybe I will find a time to take a drive down there.

Thanks for the tips, I really appreciate you. I respect the depth of your knowledge. However, I do disagree with you about J&P. I've had some really nice, strong grafted plants I've bought from them that have just done fantastic for years. Until I moved to Texas, I had roses in my yard that had been there for ten years or more, and some of them were from Jackson & Perkins, and they were still going strong. But Antique Rose Emporium looks amazing, and just a quick glance through the website shows that they have things that I need, so if I don't make a trip down there in person, I'll definitely be ordering from this fall. And just for the record, I have no interest in rose shows. I've known a few rose show people, and they weird me out a little.

[WaterWitchin]

Not a fan of folks who show roses. (They weird me out as well.) One huge benefit of folks who show roses...they're REALLY into growing their roses, and will take larger piles of manure from me for their rose gardens.

[DirtyCoconuts]

Fart sniffers

[estación seca]

People here think roses are hard to grow because the papers and TV shows put rosarians on all the time saying staggeringly stupid schlock like "plant the bud graft high" and "you need to pull off all the leaves in October to force dormancy and prevent fungus" and "you need to prune heavily in January." All of these are harmful to roses in hot climates. We don't get rust nor black spot. It's not humid enough. Mildew occurs in spring when it's cool and dry. Spores are everywhere so removing leaves only harms the plant. Roses here grow and flower luxuriantly fall-winter-spring, so the last things you want to do are strip leaves in fall and prune heavily in January.