"will" wrote in message
...
Hello.

I recently planted a Don Juan climbing rose plant in my back yard.

I was wondering what is suggested in order to get the plant established
and on it's way to a healthy life.

I live in Texas, and the summers tend to get a bit hot if that makes any
difference......

Appreciate the help.......

=will=

Depending on which part of Texas you live in, Don Juan is subject to black
spot, a fungal disease. BS exists in humid areas, so if you are located in
West Texas, you may rarely experience the disease at all. If you are in East
Texas, you'll need to formulate a strategy to deal with preventing the
fungus from occuring, as you can't cure it once it's got a foot hold, but
you can prevent it from starting in the first place. There are several
alternatives to dealing with the disease, from using horticultural sulpher
or baking soda and horticultural oil combined, to using Funginex found at
your local Home Depot. Some work better than others depending on the
harshness of the disease pressure in the climate, but all require weekly
spraying to be effective. Educate yourself more about your choices by doing
research on an garden chemicals you may decide to use at Extonet.
www.extonet.com/

If you prepared the bed correctly with a lot of organic additions and are
providing plenty of water and have him planted in a site that receives at
least 6 hours of sun, he should grow moderately this year. Any first year
climber spends most of that year putting down the roots needed to support it
in later years. If the Don is from a reputable nursery and not one of the
pitiful bagged waxed hackroots, then he may already have enough roots to
support a moderate bloom this year, but nothing like he can produce in 3
years time. He will need to be tied to his support using something that
won't cut into the canes and cause damage. Old pantyhose is a pretty good
option, but don't use wire.

Two "tricks" to maximizing any rose's growth are to have a soil sample taken
and find out what your pH is and make the appropriate adjustments and to
apply alfalfa meal as a fertilizer. The first isn't overnight, but it's
absolutely necessary. Texas has a lot of alkaline soils and roses don't
really like alkaline soils. They like moderately acidic soils about 6.5 as
that is where they can take up the most nutrients. Adjust the pH so that
they don't have to work so hard to take up the necessary nutrients and they
have more energy left over with which to grow and bloom. As for the second
trick, alfalfa has a growth hormone in in, triancontrol, which stimulates
new cane production and new blooms. It can produce some amazing
results--but only if the pH isn't completely out of whack.

Sunflower
MS 7b