Monday, March 9, 2009

I love roses

Many years ago I was told roses did not grow in Florida, I'm glad I did not listen to that bit of false info. I bought my first rose at a local flea market probably 20-25 years ago. It was Louis Phillipe which is shown below. Since then I've made many plants from cuttings of this first plant. It is considered a Florida Cracker Rose.





Here it is growing up and over my shed along with a bougainvillea of almost the same color. This rose is very hardy, has a nice scent, and blooms almost all year long. It is resistant to black spot and mildew.






My rose collection has grown over the years. Although, I have not bought any in 2-3 years now, as they are expensive. I am taking cuttings from favorite roses of mine for new plants.

This picture below was taken late yesterday afternoon. I was surprised to see the roses, and they are on the front side of our hedgerow. They are nestled in one type of jasmine that smells just wonderful. The scent fills the air right now. These roses are Duchesse de Brabant. I've made several plants of this rose also from cuttings.





This next one is Old Blush climber, taken on a rare foggy morning earlier this year. It is also growing up and over my shed buy on the north/west side.






Old garden roses are the best, as they are more hardy that modern hybrids. Once you buy one, you'll be wanting more. There are many out there. These are just some of my collection. I'll post more of them later.

I will close with the following from, 'The Rose Book ~ How to Grow Roses Oranically & Use Them in over 50 Beautiful Crafts' by Maggie Oster.


"Roses ~ for all the love and admiration they receive ~ are misunderstood and misused in the garden. They have an undeserved reputation for being difficult to grow, which ~ couple with expectations placed on them ~ keep entirely too many people from discovering that having roses in their yard not only is highly rewarding, but also requires no more effort than growing, healthy, productive tomato plants. By rethinking roses to take advantage of their versatility throughout our yards and homes, we can give ourselves a most satisfying gift."

The roses below are Penelope.






There should be

beds of Roses,

banks of Roses,

bowers of Roses,

hedges of Roses,

edgings of roses,

pillars of Roses,

arches of Roses,

fountains of Roses,

baskets of Roses,

vistas and alleys of the Rose.

S. Reynolds Hole ~ A Book About Roses ~ 1895

12 comments:

Tom - 7th Street Cottage said...

You're killing me here. LOL. Beautiful. I love the Louis Phillipe. My tomato plants will be huge this summer. Maybe I should talk to the couple down the street with the huge yellow and pink roses in their front yard. I believe they are tea roses, but I could be wrong. I bet they would let me take a few cuttings if I asked. Thanks for the inspiration.

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

They are beautiful! I wish I could grow more. I have some, but my girls are in the flower beds a lot and I don't want them getting poked.
So for now I'll keep enjoying yours. I can't believe the one growing over your shed, it's huge!

Becca's Dirt said...

I love roses too. Yours are so pretty and looks like you work hard to keep them that way. I'm jealous. Love reading your posts.
Thanks for sharing your roses.

sweetbay said...

I love all of the roses you've shown. Climbing Old Blush is one of my all-time favorites.

I have heard that nematodes are a problem in Florida, but clearly you are not having problems with roses growing on their own roots. They're gorgeous!

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Tom ~ Gardeners, for the most part, are generous souls. I bet your neighbors will let you take cuttings.

Catherine ~ Roses definitely will 'poke' you, one of the hazards of growing them. I'll have to take pictures of the main trunks of some of my roses, as they are quiet large.

Becca ~ I don't work real hard, some water, Miracle gro, epsom salts, alfalfa tea, and I talk to them too. :-) I know what you mean about being jeaous, that's how I am when I look at a lot of the gardens on line. At the same time, I'm inspired to keep working on mine, making them better over time.

Sweetbay ~ If I have nematodes, I don't know it. I have lost some container grown roses, and fear it had to do with lack of water more than anything. I miss some that I had, and would love to add more that I see, but we can't have everything.

Thank you all for your comments. I enjoy and appreciate them.

FlowerLady

Rhonda said...

When we lived in Florida i always wanted a Louis Phillipe. Never did get one and I'm not sure how it would do in my zone now..though your post has reminded me about his lovely rose and I plan to head over to Antique Rose Emporium and check that out immediately. I love roses and was dismayed when i heard they didn't grow in Florida, and that is when I first found antique roses. I had a duchess that you simply couldn't kill if you tried and Old Blush is truly one of my favorite..the pictures of yours are making me long for spring...sigh! Thank your for sharing.

Connie said...

Thanks for visiting my blog.
Your roses are amazing! I hope to do some propagation by cuttings this year for a friend who greatly admires my English rose, Heritage. Any secrets?

Corner Gardener Sue said...

Hi Flowerlady,
This must be one of the posts I read from my iphone, and didn't get to reply on. I have trouble typing on it, and have accidentally put my finger on the wrong thing, and caused it to go somewhere else, and lose my message I've started.

Anyway, your green thumb has planted and cared for some awesome roses! The first one reminded me of a peony. I have one rose, and it's in a tub. I don't really know how to take care of them. I should find one that is easy to care for, and doesn't require chemicals.

I bet you're having some warm weather, and are outside a lot these days. It's been cold here the last week or so. I am so ready for the nice weather to be here to stay. Bring on the heat!

Sharon said...

Oh they are all so beautiful. My favorite you shared today was the Old Blush climber. . .but I am partial to climbing roses. I have one single rose bush, a yellow climber given to me last Mother's Day. These are gorgeous roses you shared :)
Love
Sharon

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Good morning everyone. Thank you for visiting and leaving your comments. I appreciate each and every one.

Rhonda ~ Hope you will be able to add Louis to your gardens. I have been very pleased with the antique roses and was glad to have found out about them too. They are my favorites.

Connie ~ Rooting cuttings is a hit or miss. Not all of mine take. I did six of Crepuscule recently and I think only two look like they are going to make it. I use a good potting soil, root-tone too, and keep the soil moist. It is always fun getting new roses from cuttings. I had Heritage in a pot and it eventually croaked on me. I loved it's color, form and scent.

Sue ~ Check out various rose forums on GW and someone should be able to tell you what roses will grow for you in your area. ~ Yes the weather has warmed up to the 80's, too bad it didn't stay like this, but it's only going to get hotter and more humid as time moves along.

Sharon ~ Maybe you can add another rose or two to grow with your yellow climber. If you have any friends that grow roses, ask for cuttings and try rooting them. Are there any growing in the wild up there that you can get cuttings from also?

Happy rose growing and have a great weekend.

FlowerLady

Marla said...

Very beautiful roses. I don't have enough sunny spots for roses. They always get the black spot stuff.

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Hi Marla ~ Thank you. I do believe there are some roses that would take shade. Do a google search for your area and roses that will grow in some shade and see what you come up with. You might be pleasantly surprised.

FlowerLady