Judy Ghirardelli wrote:

Hi all!!

Remember me?

Yes, Judy, Welcome back!



Well, after carefully planning my roses and garden,
getting my wonderful husband to give me 12 Almighty Rose Holes in clay
soil (2 more to go...), I'm ready to start my first rose garden!

Man, you have your own rose hole digger! Fabulous.


I now
am the happy owner of 3 roses (11 to go!) (Jeanne Lajoie, Carefree
Beauty, and Princess Marianna - wow she's got scary prickles!!).

Very nice choices. Bet lots of folks here would be happy to help you with
your other 11 choices. Perhaps you will let us know what you are looking
for for those spots?


Some questions:

* How far down to I plant the bud union on a grafted rose in MD? I've
read that the wisdom on this varies by location. Any experienced
Marylander's with advice??

As you know, I am not living in MD--but I did grow up there and garden
there with my mother. You will find all sorts of arguments for and against
burying the bud union--this is just my opinion--but where you are, knowing
how your winters and springs can be, I would plant the bud union of your
grafted roses just under the soil, with maybe an inch of soil over it, and
keep the roses mulched year round. I think you will lose less roses that
way during cold snaps, and then there is the possibility that the rose
will "go own root," which many consider a good thing. If you plant your
roses with the bud union exposed, you should probably plan on protecting
them during the winter. (Hey JANE, where are you?) Jane, our resident long-
term Maryland roser, will have some things to say.




What about an Own root bareroot rose (of
which I plan to order 3 which I can't find potted locally. They are
William Baffin, Belinda's Dream, and Hawkeye Belle)? Does the location
of the bud union planting differ if they are bareroot roses?

Ownroots should be planted following the instructions that come with them--
generally speaking with the root crown (not a bud union as they don't
have them) should be a few inches below the soil level, and mulch, mulch,
mulch. It helps your clay soil turn into marvellous black loam. I grow
lots of ownroots and I love them. It is true that they can die back to the
ground in the winter and still come back--once they are established. When
young they are tender, so take care of them in cold snaps. As for bare
roots and non, there is no real difference in planting position. Bare
roots are just a whole lot easier to plant, but must be watched daily for
the first two weeks, and kept moist at all times until they sprout new
growth that tells you their root systems are becoming established.



* I saw another poster post about the continued threat of cold
weather. I take it I can plant the babies, and then cover them for
protection should we get temps 28 degrees, which we could still get.

Yes, you can. Some mound with soil, some with mulch, I mound with both
until threat of freeze goes away. Just watch them, you want to uncover
when you see the new growth so it will get sun. BUT at this time of year,
you might have to cover them back up again if the forcast calls for a
freeze.



* I plan to alternate fertilizing with something like Osmocote (or
whatever, I'm sure I've got that name wrong), and also alfalfa meal. I
thought I'd do the alfalfa meal first. Do I do this when I plant them?
When they leaf out?

While some may say you can fertilize with certain types of fertilizer, I
never risk it because it can burn the young roots and kill the plant. (One
exception everyone agrees on is BOne Meal or Superphosfate, which will
help stong roots become established. Put a handful in the planting hole.)
Wait until you have 4-5 inches of new growth, then fertilize. Osmocote is
great--on Cass' recommendation I am using it this year. Alfalfa is good
too. I used to supplement with a water soluable like Miracle Grow for
Roses or the generic. I put down 3-month food when I see five inches of
new growth (put it under the mulch) and at the same time put three cups of
Mill's Magic Mix down, right on top of the first, and replace the mulch. I
will reapply Mills in June and in August.



* Despite massively amending the holes, raising the beds a little, and
preparing the beds in the fall, and heavily mulching, I am still
concerned about the drainage. [..] One hole was
empty (mucky at the bottom, but empty) in less than 1.5 hours.

You should be fine, but there is one thing I recommend--it can help you on
two levels, though it will add to your planting expenses. Get some
Permatil at your local garden center. It is scratchy little grey rocks.
Put an inch or two in the bottom of your planting hole, then a few inches
of soil, then a good handful of Bone Meal or Superphosphate. Put your rose
in and fit it over the mound of soil, then put a little more Permatil
around the sides. It will help drainage AND keep voles from eating the
roots. Moles hate it too. It hurts their little feet. I do this for every
rose--it works!



Thanks as always for any help you can provide!!

Judy G. in MD

Keep us posted!