My roses are over 10 years old. They surprised me and grew fast the
first year. Trimming in the fall is not recommended because that
encourages new growth before winter. I look for dead canes and cut
these off at any time. I use a fish emulsion concentrate purchased
from a garden center--not cheap at $25 a gallon, but it lasts 2 or 3
years.

I planted garlic in front of my roses. Garlic is supposedly the
"companion plant" of roses. It likes the same conditions as roses and
wards off aphids and has a good appearance. I planted the garlic toes
purchased from the grocery. They come up every year, then die to the
ground in heat-intense July.

On Wed, 4 May 2005 15:23:05 -0400, "nanner"
wrote:

Did your trellis get 70% covered over a few seasons or in 1 season?
I'm sure I am not offering these roses "ideal conditions" but I am doing the
best I can and learnign as I go. Do you cut it all off in the fall or leave
it on the trellis year after year?

What is the fish emulsion you feed them, I'll google it I guess - unless it
is your own concoction.

I don't mind putting in the work, I look forward to it really but right now
it seems like there is nothing to do but wait.

I would like to plant someother plants around the bottom but don't know if i
should wait untill the roses grow more and become established or just go
ahead and plant now.

Live and learn I suppose )

"Phisherman" wrote in message
news
There are so many factors to consider when determining rate of growth.
Your roses will grow fast in ideal conditions. My Don Juan roses have
16-foot canes and growing quickly. I want to trim them back but they
are now loaded with buds. I've been feeding them fish emulsion and
composted cow manure. I thin out the canes to keep good air
circulation to help prevent black spot fungus. To grow well, roses
need lots of maintenance. Nice trellis. My trellis is now 70%
covered.

On Wed, 4 May 2005 14:19:22 -0400, "nanner"
wrote:

I planted 2 New Dawn climbing rose plants, the cheap kind from Home Depot
(5.99 each, I think there is worse out there)

I built a nice trellis and put it up on the side of my shed and planted
the
roses in front. They are growing, it looks like about 2-3" have come out
in
a few spots.

It's been 2 weeks since I planted them, is this a normal rate of growth to
expect? about 1-1.5" a week or is it more random than that?

The info I read on New Dawn says they will get to be 8-10 feet so I am
wondering if I can expect that in a season...honestly I have no idea what
to
expect!! This is my first attempt at roses and I am new to gardening in
general!

Any info will be helpful - I just can't seem to find the answers I want
through google.

Wanna see the trellis I built? As you can see in the picture I have shade
there part of the day.
http://image.inkfrog.com/pix/nanner2000/Trellis.jpg

the picture was right after i built it but before i centered it and
attached
it. each plant is centered in front of the 2 ladder-type sections. It's 8'
x
6' I think I will put something decorative in the top middle section

thanks all!