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Tag: roses

Hybrid Tea and the Family Tree

Hybrid Tea and the Family Tree

First introduced in the 19th century the lineage of Hybrid Tea roses goes back to crossing or hybridising a tea rose with a hybrid perpetual rose. The first example was supposedly ‘Madame Bravy’ x ‘Madame Victor Verdier’ but many more have followed to great acclaim. One such was a rose called ‘Peace’ which has sold, under several marketing names, over 100 million plants world wide.

Hybrid Tea roses like this example of Brasilia are a group of roses that are crosses between one rose and another. In this case Piccadilly x Perfecta produced this Brasilia flower with scarlet petals reversed in pale gold.  The grandparents were  McGredy’s Yellow × Karl Herbst and Golden Scepter x Karl Herbst respectively. With 2 grandparents the same it shows how complex cross breeding became during the heyday of new rose introductions.

Another flower with reverse colour on the petals was Caramba with cherry red petals reversed with silver. It also has very dark glossy leaves. The parentage of this specimen is unknown! The name has also been sub-sumed by a ground cover rose with far less appeal.

Enemies of Roses That Affect You

Enemies of Roses That Affect You

I do not want to start by worrying you but I am probably going too anyway! After an early summer of brilliant rose displays the down side is the number and volume of enemies our roses are having to contend with.

This is Nothing New

  • I am borrowing heavily from the National Rose Society publications including the title of this post ‘The Enemies of the Rose.’
  • The national rose society’s handbook on the insect, pests and fungus  of the rose was first published in 1908 – over a century ago.
  • My copy is the third edition from 1952. I can’t find a more recent edition nor current reprints. Old copies surface at secondhand booksellers and are crammed with over 150 pages of problems.
  • For example the contents include a virtual dozen references to a variety of different Sawfly but I get ahead of myself.
  • The evils of modern publishing have created a digitised Kindle 2012 edition (? scanned?) and it may be worth the 99p down load but it seems at variance to the older books.
  • The collective brains of an Entomologist, Zoologistand an expert in Cryptogams have been combined with 110 years of horticulture experience and specialist knowledge.

Picking Out Some Rose Enemies

  • I will not try to paraphrase or emulate the original record but will pick out bits worth further exploration.
  • Fungi and bacteria are classified as ‘Diseases’ and insects and sundry creatures as ‘Pests’.
  • Sadly developments over time plus health and safety worries have made many of the cures, potions, treatments, unctions, chemical controls and interventions illegal, outdated or unobtainable.
  • I am not sure whether Defra, European Union and sundry Ministries such as Agriculture  should be classed as ‘The Enemies of the Rose.’
  • Bad health in what ever form is potentially just a sign of a rose failing to achieve the growers ideals and aspirations.
  • Setting standards is essential but being able to cope with the consequences of weather, breeding, growing conditions and external influences can all be enemies of roses.
    • Pests include: thrips, aphids, leaf-hopper, caterpillar, rose maggots, chafer, leaf miner, sawfly, leaf cutter, gall wasps, ants, mites and other maggots and bugs.
    • Diseases include: black spot, rust, mildew, leaf scorch, anthracnose, cancker & die back, botrytis (grey mould), gall, silver leaf, chlorosis, sooty mould and variations on the virus and fungus themes.

Another digitised version  .  The Enemies of the Rose by George Massee Frederick Vincent 1868- Theobald National Rose Society (Creator) …

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How to Prune Rambling Roses.

How to Prune Rambling Roses.

Rambling Rose

Rambling roses tend to flower only once a year (not once a season as I once heard). Therefore it pays to optimise the flowering for next summer by judicious pruning and training.

Gardeners Tips for Pruning Rambling Roses

  • Prune from November to February, ramblers are pruned earlier than most other roses.
  • Choose a still day or the branches will lash into you and the thorns can hurt. This is a job where protective clothing including a face mask may be worthwhile.
  • Use sharp secateurs and a pruning saw for thick stems.
  • Remove dead, dying or diseased wood and any stems that cut across one another. This improves air flow and reduces the chance of disease.
  • With ramblers you are aiming to replace upto 3 older stems from the base and to encourage new growth that replaces them. Best blooms flower on this new growth.
  • The newer olive-green stems should be supple enough to bend and they should be tied in or coiled around upright supports. This bending restricts sap flow and encourages more flowers so it is worth spending some time on.
  • Ramblers are vigorous so reduce the laterals if you need too.
  • Clean up all the debris after pruning.