"Shiva" wrote in message
s.com...
On Fri, 11 Jul 2003 11:36:21 +1000, "Kirra"
wrote:


Ouch! Maybe you need to put stakes and ropes around it to ensure that it
does not get mowed next time

Done. But the mowing (which also took out a mini of great sentimental
value, nameless as it was) is a good argument for Cass' habit (if I
recall correctly) of keeping these baby ownroots in pots until they
reach a reasonable or at least reasonably visible size. Or it may be
an argument for doing own's own mowing, but that's just silly. g


Do you think that the mini can grow back from the roots (presuming of course
that it is own root)? I also don't do my own mowing but I do the washing and
vacuuming in return.


We can get potted roses all year round.


Oooo. Imagine me looking at you with the slitty green eyes of envy.
Hiss! On the other hand, if I could get potted roses year round I'd be
even more broke than I stay now.

I just bought around 55 roses (spread between 3 people) all potted over the
last month. It is expensive but as my sister-in-law said, they have a head
start and we'll get blooms sooner. They were in larger pots than from a
hardware store anyway.


As I said winters are very mild here. It's early July (mid winter) and I
am
wearing jeans and a shirt with just a woolen coat for going outside in
the
mornings. I probably won't even wear the coat at lunch time when I go
outside. The coldest minimum temperature last year was 4C (39F) and
probably
the same this year so we do not even get below freezing. A 'cold'
winter's
day in Brisbane is around 15C (59F)- you might need a scarf as well as a
jacket. Our forcast for today is 12-23C (53-72F) and is typical of a
warmer
winter's day. I live close to the coast but further inland they do get
below
freezing with some frosts.

Sounds like rose growing heaven to me, at least from the standpoint of
winter kill. Tell me, do your roses go dormant at all? If not, when do
you prune? And have you heard that roses there have a shorter
lifespan? I have heard somewhere that in places where they do not go
dormant they do not last as long. Not sure it is true and very sure I
don't understand it.

Yep, no worry about frosts killing off any new growth - only forgeting to
water and having them wilt! As to dormancy, this is my first winter with
roses but the freesias (sunsprite) are currently in the middle of their
biggest flush since last spring. I think the only dormancy they get is in
the middle of summer when it is too hot! As to how long they will last - I
guess I'll just have to wait and see.


Snow here is a big holiday! We stay in and take off work and drink hot
chocolate. Up in New York and similar colder places, when it snows and
the snow accumulates they set their jaws and yank out the heavy
machinery and salt trucks and such, and proceed on their way. They are
very proud of this. I personally like staying home and drinking hot
choc!

We drink hot chocolate anyway! A colleague at work (from England) jokes that
Brisbane is one of the coldest places in the world because there are not
enough cold nights for any one to purchase heating. If it is 3C outside it
is 3C inside


We might be able to compare notes on heat-loving roses, then. Our
summers start at the end of may and go through September, stay
85-110F. Some of my roses just shut down, and if they bloom at all the
blooms are small and sad. I need fragrance, though. Seems like many of
the ones that like heat are not fragrant.

My iceburgs and freesias bloomed right through without too much of a break.
Sometimes it seems that summer is from October to May. We got 30C (86F) one
day in June this year! It is consistently hot from Novemeber through to
March with temperatures mainly 23-34C (73-93) with a few days up in the high
30s (93-103F) with lots of humidity. Sounds like your summers are hotter
than ours - is it very humid where you are as well?


Sounds like you like the modern roses, as I do--although not
exclusively. I like a few OGRs I have seen, but very few I have grown.
It's all a matter of personal preference.

Yes, I do like modern roses. A year ago I would have said I liked them
exclusively. I did not even like Austins. But then after a while, I started
seeing posts from people on this news group and both the OGR and austins
have grown on me. Of the 55 roses we purchased it is almost split evenly
between floribundas, hybrid teas, austins and OGR. Due to the humid
conditions here, I also wanted to check out if the noisettes and teas are as
disease resistant as claimed. Since they have only been in the ground for a
day, I'll just have to wait and see.


I think both pale and vibrant roses have a place in my garden I like
the
subtelty of the pale flowers but then again it is the vibrant ones that
catch your eye and make you go back for a second look. I like all the
photos
that I have seen of Crepuscule's canes covered in orangey/apricoty,
floppy
flowers.

Yeah, me too. It photographs great!

Hopefully some day soon, I'll be the one taking the photographs.

Sorry, this ended up much longer than I originally anticipated. Also I
tried
my best on the rough conversions from C to F but realise they will be a
little out.

Kirra, just the fact that you made the effort puts me--and most
Americans--to shame. We were supposed to start learning metric and
celsius 20 years ago, but not many but scientists even tried.

People sometimes still use imperial, especially the older generation
But seriously, it is often easier when refering to small dimension to say a
couple of inches rather than 5cms.


For the future--check out the International rose-growing sections of
Garden Web--I think there is one for Australians. You can ask
questions there of others who may face the same puzzles.

I had a look and it had some interesting threads. Good to see that they
mention some rose nurseries that I can actually order from!

Kirra