Hi all
I've been lurking in this group for several years now, and I just
wanted to thank all of you who contribute to this forum. I've gotten some
really excellent advice from your discussions! This is the second year for
my new rose garden, and I'm really amazed at the size and robust health of
my plants - now using organic fertilizer! I wouldn't have believed the
difference, having used Rose Guard or one of the other systemics in other
rose gardens for over 20 years. But, the proof is before my eyes - lots of
new canes and beautiful blooms, and strangely enough, many of my HTs put out
candelabras of bloom instead of a single bloom on a cane! What a display!! I
spray with Orthenex weekly; here
in SoCal, mildew and rust are a problem, and if I don't spray, the thrips
destroy my white roses.
I've also put down a heavy mulch of bark around all the plants, which keeps
the soil cooler and makes it easy to pull out weeds.

You can see a couple of shots of my garden at
http://community.webshots.com/user/flwrluver

I'm so happy! Thanks, everyone!

Sue in SoCal, Sunset Zone 24

Hi Sue -

You have a gorgeous garden! I especially liked
my birthday photo (April 23 g).

"Sue Solomon" wrote in message
news:M67Dc.19168$Lh.13757@okepread01...
Hi all
I've been lurking in this group for several years
now, and I just
wanted to thank all of you who contribute to this forum.
I've gotten some
really excellent advice from your discussions!

I'll agree wholeheartedly with that. I've learned
as much from the group here as from the many
books I've purchased.

This is the second year for
my new rose garden, and I'm really amazed at the size and
robust health of
my plants - now using organic fertilizer! I wouldn't have
believed the
difference, having used Rose Guard or one of the other
systemics in other
rose gardens for over 20 years. But, the proof is before
my eyes - lots of
new canes and beautiful blooms, and strangely enough, many
of my HTs put out
candelabras of bloom instead of a single bloom on a cane!
What a display!! I
spray with Orthenex weekly; here
in SoCal, mildew and rust are a problem, and if I don't
spray, the thrips
destroy my white roses.
I've also put down a heavy mulch of bark around all the
plants, which keeps
the soil cooler and makes it easy to pull out weeds.

I'm mostly organic and I seldom spray roses. I
have one that tends to mildew ("Remember Me")
but I often ignore it and it does ok. I live in an
area that gets a fairly steady breeze so I don't
usually have too many problems with the roses.
Mulch is a necessity to keep the soil from
drying out (when we have dry days...) around
here, and it does help with weeds.

You can see a couple of shots of my garden at
http://community.webshots.com/user/flwrluver

I'm so happy! Thanks, everyone!

Sue in SoCal, Sunset Zone 24

Gorgeous photos. Thanks for sharing.

Gail
near San Antonio TX Zone 8

Sue,

I don't want to be seen to be pushing a particular brand of spray, but
if you can find it, try "Rose Protector". It is a mixture of an insect
control
(Enviropel) and a fungus control (Citrall), and is "organic". I used to use
stuff like Orthenex, and another Ortho spray that had a similar name
(Orthene?). These were really bad, and I felt like I should use a
respirator
when spraying them.

I'm glad that you're enjoying your gardens, I've noticed the same sort
of improvements moving from the world of MiracleGrow to organic
fertilizers. Another thing that really helps rose bushes is worm castings.
Worm castings applied in early spring has really helped with black spot,
etc. for me.

-Roger

"Sue Solomon" wrote in message
news:M67Dc.19168$Lh.13757@okepread01...
Hi all
I've been lurking in this group for several years now, and I just
wanted to thank all of you who contribute to this forum. I've gotten some
really excellent advice from your discussions! This is the second year for
my new rose garden, and I'm really amazed at the size and robust health of
my plants - now using organic fertilizer! I wouldn't have believed the
difference, having used Rose Guard or one of the other systemics in other
rose gardens for over 20 years. But, the proof is before my eyes - lots of
new canes and beautiful blooms, and strangely enough, many of my HTs put
out
candelabras of bloom instead of a single bloom on a cane! What a display!!
I
spray with Orthenex weekly; here
in SoCal, mildew and rust are a problem, and if I don't spray, the thrips
destroy my white roses.
I've also put down a heavy mulch of bark around all the plants, which
keeps
the soil cooler and makes it easy to pull out weeds.

You can see a couple of shots of my garden at
http://community.webshots.com/user/flwrluver

I'm so happy! Thanks, everyone!

Sue in SoCal, Sunset Zone 24