Originally Posted by dave weil

On Thu, 11 Aug 2005 17:16:48 +0000, Phil
wrote:


dave weil Wrote:
On Wed, 10 Aug 2005 13:08:11 +0000, Phil
wrote:
-

Hi

I'm no gardener but decided this year I would like to try my hand with
some rose bushes.

My issue is that one bush has not produced any buds at all. It appears
to be quite healthy in terms of growth and follage, just no buds.

My question is, should I hang on to the bush and hope it produces buds
next year, or is this a dud (blind ?) and best disposed off.-

Definitely hang on to it for next year, especially if it seems
vigorous this year. Roses like to spend their first year getting
established. This rose might have also been an early bloomer with just
one flush and you might have missed that opportunity. Any idea what
kind of rose it is?

Hi Dave

Many thanks for the response. The rose bush is 'Lady surprise'. I can
confirm that it hasn't flowered as I have had it since March and have
watched the first shoots of the year. Interesting that they may take a
year to establish. I will keep it and see what happens next year then.
Any other tips for a newbie would be appreciated.

Phil

A couple of quick tips.

When getting a rosebush home and in the ground, if there are any
blooms on it, most people suggest pruning them off. Blooms take a lot
of energy for the plant to support and by trimming the blooms after
transplanting, you allow the bush to transfer more energy to building
a strong root system.

When you write this group for advice, give your climate zone. I'm not
sure of the zone system in the UK, but we can look it up. Also, any
details such as amount of shade, kind of soil, etc. is handy.

Never expect a lot of growth the first year. This is when the bush is
getting established. Second year will show you a lot of progress and
usually, the third year is the expolsive year for the plant. I've
found that you see the most impressive progress during that year.

Are you sure about your rose name? I couldn't find it at the best pure
reference site on the web:

http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/index.php (bookmark this link)

I then did a google search and came up blank as well. I found a Lady
Sunshine. Could that be it? There's not a lot of info on that either
at the Help Me FInd site OR on google.

Finally, make sure that you start to wind down your fertilizing in
Sept. Depending on your climate, I wouldn't fertilizer any later than
6 weeks before your first frost date. You WANT your rose to start
turning to its dormancy phase.