As John Keats said, “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.” Roses bring joy forever. They bring me joy. I spend my spare time growing roses as a hobby. With an abundance of roses always on hand except in mid winter, I love to share them.
Having lived in the same house for forty years, I know my neighbors. When we walk every morning we exchange greetings and bits of neighborhood news. This way I know what is currently going on — who is having a wedding, an anniversary, or birthday and who is going or coming home from the hospital, or who is having a dinner party. So far this year, I’ve made 55 arrangements for friends. The roses have spread joy to many people.
A rose has two lives, one fresh, one dried. Both give joy because of their beauty. The fresh rose lasts two or three days or a week or ten days according to the cultivar. The dried rose lasts indefinitely. However, strong sunlight will draw out the color but you can spray color back in.
Early morning brings me out to inspect the roses. This is the best care you can give–a daily visit. I wear old shoes because of the wet grass. I carry a bucket of warm water (100 degrees) and a sack for holding the blackspot leaves I pick off or the nutgrass I pull up.
Usually I cut only the full grown roses leaving the buds to open later unless I have so many roses I can cut all kinds. With gloved hand protected from thorns I cut the stem of a rose just a little above a five leaflet; then I plunge it into my bucket of warm water. If I see dieback, black ends of the canes, I cut them off. If a white rose e.g. “White Delight” or a pale pink one has been attacked, I know thrips are working. I spray a hard jet of water onto them to knock them off. If I see a rosebush whose lower leaves look dry, brown and yellow and dropping off, I know I have a spider mite infestation, and I make a note to return and spray with 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of AVID (0-15E C) to a gallon of water. If I notice small green insects on new growth, I know to spray for APHIDS. If a rosebush has yellow green leaves with dark green veins, I know it needs some iron,(sequistrene)– 1/2 Tablespoon to one gallon of water. Fungine sprayed weekly will help reduce blackspot. When there are three buds on a stem, you should pinch off the two side buds to make the middle bud large, but I never do. If you see a bud on “Double Delight” that is opening only on one side, peel down the petalloid so it opens up evenly.
It is a thrill for me to glance up at “Mr. Lincoln”, standing tall and dignified spreading its velvety petals in the sun or the delicate peachy “Touch of Class” dripping from the rain. Other roses giving me a thrill are Queen Elizabeth,” “First Prize”, “Double Delight” and “Love.”
With my bucket of roses overflowing, I go into the kitchen, put on my heavy bib-apron, go to the sink, and holding the stem of a rose against my bib, with a paring knife, shave off the end leaves and thorns, recut the end under water and put it back in the warm water. After at least an hour I transfer the roses to a smaller container, then into the refrigerator until I need them which might be a day or a week.
April 14, 1992. All my bushes have great quantities of blooms. One climber, Don Juan, has just had fifty blooms. Now the bush turns its blossomless branches toward the sun in a restful mood, waiting to gather more energy from sun, water and nutrients. It grows upward, not outward, so I have perpendicular stakes for it to lean on.
All the other bushes support voluptuous amounts of roses waiting for me to pick. I love to gather them and fill baskets and take to friends.
April 20, 1992. At the doctor’s for an annual check-up, we talk roses. “I have a space in my backyard where I’d like to plant roses,” the doctor tells me. That night I think of my doctor planting a rose garden and all the things he needs to know. The next morning I write him a letter:
“Roses have to have six hours of full sun or else there is no use to start a new rose bed. Don’t put rose bed near trees or shrubs will give shade and take up the nutrients from the soil. Put bed right out in the open part of your yard. Roses favorite food is water, but water must not stand on their roots. To have good drainage build up your bed at least six inches above ground level. A six inch wide board encloses each of my two rose beds.
If you have gumbo soil, dig it all out, but use half of it to mix with the
following for a 100 square foot bed:
2 lbs. sulphur 10 lbs. superphosphate 5 lbs. all-purpose fertilizer 25 lbs. gypsum 4 sacks Rose Planting Mix 2 sacks composted manure 5 lbs. copperas To be more accurate test soil for PH.
The usual time to plant roses is February 14 (in Houston, Texas) but since it’s now April 20, buy roses in pots, instead of bare-rooted. Plant the bushes with as much space as you can spare between them so they’ll have plenty of air, light and sun. Do not fertilize new bushes until after they bloom.
May 1, 1992. A friend phones and asks, “With all the roses you grow, surely you have help.” “Yes, I do”, I reply. “I’ll give him your number, and he will call you.”
“I’ll be awfully glad because my husband wants to revive our rose garden. Since he has been in a wheelchair, he misses the roses. What do you feed them, and how often?”
I reply, “Once a month each bush gets 1/2 cup of fertilizer (either all-purpose or rose fertilizer) sprinkled 6 inches away from stems, 2 oz. of Epsom Salts and 2 cupsful of alfalfa pellets. Then water thoroughly.
Roses should have two inches of water a week. The last thing to do is spread two inches of loose mulch or compost over the rose bed, but don’t cover the bud union. This keeps them cool in summer and warm in winter.”
“That sounds good,” she says, “but I’ve never heard of alfalfa pellets.”
I explain, “Alfalfa pellets, an organic fertilizer, are the same thing as rabbit food, and furnish nitrogen.”
My friend asks, “What about spraying?”
I answer, “That’s the worst part of growing roses. But since you have grown roses before you know how easily rosebushes get biackspot. The combination of lots of rain, warm days, cool nights, Gulf Coast dampness and humidity make it imperative to spray with a fungicide. Most Houstonians use Gunginex 1 Tablespoon to a gallon of water every week. Rosarians should wear protective clothing and eye protection as the inert ingredients can cause damage to the eyes and skin.
May 23, 1992. I promised to make ten baskets of roses for a neighbor’s daughter’s wedding reception. For a week or ten days I had accumulated roses in the refrigerator, taking the wire shelves out and pushing the food aside to make room for the roses. Now the day had come. I lined up the ten baskets and in a wholesale manner with fern, other flowers to fill in and all the roses made the ten baskets. Then I dressed, put them in the trunk of the car and drove by to pick up a friend. I am 83 and she is 85. But we did it. We drove to the Junior League, found a waiter to help us put the baskets around on the individual tables. Then we stood back and admired the lovely roses there to give pleasure to the wedding guests.
After the reception I took the roses home and put them in the garage, not knowing what to do with them.
When my grandson saw all the roses he asked me, “Can I have some of these flowers?”
I said, “Take all you want.”
He gathered up an armful of baskets. The roses went from a joyful place to a sad place. His mother-in-law was very ill, but she was conscious enough to notice the spots of beauty all through the house and she was glad.
Potpourri
When roses in a vase begin to look wilted, but still have good color, I pull the petals off, spread them thinly on foil and put them in a warm place such as the water heater or the top of the refrigerator until they are crisp dry– which takes three or four days. Then I put the dry rose petals in my three old jars I’ve kept for a long time. First, I sprinkle a fixative over them such as orris root. Other fixatives are gum benzoin and frankincense. Secondly, I squeeze about fifteen drops of lavender oil in one jar, cinnamon oil in another and rose geranium oil in the third. These are my favorite
scents. Stir and shake these jars occasionally and if they lose their fragrance, add more oil.
January 15, 1992. All the rosebushes are resting in the cold weather. A friend asked me to make a table arrangement for a bridal shower with potpourri. She brought three beautiful potpourri jars. We filled each with a different potpourri, tied the neck of the jars with dried flowers and ribbon, placed them in the middle of the table and strewed dried roses, blue salvia, cockscomb and peonies. It was very pretty and although the roses were dead, they had taken on another life of beauty. The jars of colorful rose petals served as a table arrangement for the party and afterwards as wedding gifts to the three brides, and no doubt brought joy to the brides for a long time.
How to Dry a Rose
Put an inch of silica gel (a white powder resembling sugar) in a fruit-cake type can. Cut the stem of the rose to 1/2 inch long. Stick the rose Into silica gel, letting the head rest on top. Sift silica gel around and on top covering completely. Close can. Use duct tape around top of can to make airtight. Leave three or four days.
Pour out desiccant slowly helping rose out carefully. To remove silica gel, sift sand over it, or use a soft brush.
Wire a flower pick to the stem and stick it in a piece of styrofoam so rose stands erect. To keep the humidity from harming dry rose, spray it with glitter glue or other flower spray.
1. 2. 3.
SIDEBAR TO EXHIBIT ROSES IN A ROSE SHOW
Join the Houston Rose Society Why? It will make you a better grower. Your society needs exhibitors. It is fun to do.
The bottom line of the kind of roses to Exhibit: roses that have FORM: blooms unfurl from a high center that remain pointed. Other requisites: a straight 15 inch stem, and nice foliage free of disease and insect damage.
Uncle Joe (Toro) Pristine Touch of Class Swathmore Sweetie Pie
Roses that fall into the Rose Show Category: Lanvin
Lynette Granada Lagerfeld Madame Violet Chablis