Long Hard Winter

It has been an unusually hard winter across a lot of the USA, and here in South Jersey is no exception.  I spent the cold months wondering what would be left of my largely fledgling rose garden when spring rolled around, and today got some answers.

Two days ago, four of my seven new rosebushes arrived.  Unfortunately, it was awful timing; my entire family and I were in the process of dealing with a really ugly virus.  There was not much energy for getting my new babies set up!  And I only had one new pot home, and barely any potting soil to fill it.

Time to put some temporary solutions in place!  I filled a bucket with water and let the newbies soak overnight.  That bought me 24 hours - you don't want to soak longer than that - which I sorely needed.  I have to say that I am thrilled with the quality of the plants that arrived!  The specimens I received are much larger and much heartier than what I usually get!  Points for ordering last year!  More importantly, huge props to S&W Greenhouse for the gorgeous plants.  Find them here:  http://www.sw-greenhouse.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc.  Give them your money, folks, they're fab.

My daughter helped me plant New Baby #1, a Rock n' Roll!  I'm psyched to have another red-and-white stripey!  Yes, I know this makes three varieties, but I looooooove them.  Rock n' Roll has been dubbed Herschel, after the character on The Walking Dead.  Originally, that was the name of the flowerpot Herschel now lives in - the pot spent about a week in the trunk of my car, thumping and bumping around.  My husband made a comment that I must be keeping a severed head in the trunk, and being a Walking Dead fan, my daughter christened it Herschel.  Poor hubby didn't get it, but my daughter and I find it hilarious, so now the whole thing is Herschel.

Rock N' Roll (not sure whose photo, if it's yours let me know!)

Problem #1 solved!  But that leaves me three new roses, no pots, no dirt, and I'm too sick to drive.

What I do have is a big plastic bin.  And a slightly healthier husband, who did not want the money I spent on new roses going to waste.  My mighty man took to the roads and lugged me home 35 pounds of potting soil (for which he will be spoiled shamelessly later - hey, some girls want diamonds, I just wanted dirt!)  Into the plastic bin went the three amigos, and I covered them up with soil.  It's the first time I've had to heel in, so hopefully it works out well!  This weekend I will get out to HomeGoods, get myself my new pots, and put them up properly.  I've got two Dark Nights and a Purple Tiger going in!  I've traditionally had trouble with purple roses, but that was in-ground; hopefully this will go better.

Dark Night Rose - again, not my photo

Purple Tiger (will credit if it's your photo!)

This done, I surveyed my little rose queendom and grabbed my pruning shears.

I got about 80% done.  The little guys were a breeze, of course.  I think my Harry Wheatcroft may have bitten the bullet (not my biggest worry, really) but he might yet surprise me.  My Hypnotize looks like she had a rough time, too, but I'm pretty sure she'll pull through.  Everyone else came through just fine!  There was more dead wood than I was really expecting, but not so much I worried about it.

My Knockout rose got a hard pruning, and I'm not done yet.  After a growth riot last year, she'd taken over half the little plot she's in and killed off a lavender plant doing it.  Grump!  She was also growing a little too far into my neighbor's yard.  I cut her back by about a third, and will do more next week.

JFK also got cut down to size; he's usually over 8 feet tall, so now he's about 5'6.  There was quite a bit of dead cane on this guy, and I think the younger canes will breathe easier now that they are gone.  Oranges & Lemons also got a good trimming, though she has more room to herself anyway.  The only rose I have on a trellis (for a few more weeks, anyway), I did a wee bit of training before I neatened her up.

Having put a lot more thought into what I want where than I usually do, I'm planning to reorganize where a few things are.  I have a Mexican Saxifrage which draws a lot of bumblebees in the backyard, which I plan to transplant out to my front yard.  This year, it's all perennials out front and bulbs, butterfly attractants, and roses in the backyard.

And that, rosy-cheeked readers, is the first entry of 2014.  Thanks for reading and happy gardening!