I was wondering if anyone here has any success with the David Austin roses.
Years ago, I had about fifty bushes (not including minis) . Lately, I've had about twenty bushes and a few minis, and have ditched them all but two. I can't take the pesticides anymore.
If any of you are having luck in hot and humid weather with roses without chemicals, would you please be so kind as to share what rose you are growing.
Thanks. I'm going for a cottage garden look - sort of - and a rose would be a nice addition to my Texan cottage garden!
Jo
Being a rose lover who has ditched her roses
Jo--
Look on the Happy Valentines thread from Josephine--we get a little off topic and on our organic soapboxes but there is info there on roses that do well here.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/813643/
Debbie
=)
Mary Rose is a carefree DA and this link should be helpful for other selections http://earthkindroses.tamu.edu/ and here is a list of roses being considered for "earthkind" label http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/earthkind/EKroses/EKbrigaderoses.html.
I don't have DA's, but agree about the Earthkind Label. You should look at Antique Rose Emporium's website for ideas of different roses that do well here. I have Belinda's Dream that gets to about 6-7 feet every year. Gets some blackspot, but doesn't seem to care, so I don't do anything about it. I don't use any other chemicals or preventative measures, so it is pretty care free.
Jo, I'm no rose expert, but is it the chemicals themselves, or having to spray that you mind? If it's constant chemicals, have you tried neem oil? My dad grows hybrid teas, which I care for since he's no longer able. He's not organic, but I am, so he's stuck with what I'll use {heh heh}. The only thing we've had to spray in the last couple of years is neem, for black spot, once every 25-30 days. Takes care of aphids and thrips too. And it's non-toxic to you.
Thanks, but after growing roses for so many years, I just got so sick of the chemicals that I dug them all up. I never did have quite as many after I moved to this house years ago, so it wasn't too awful. I had cancer last year, and it kind of makes you a bit more careful about what you ingest, ya know?
I know it wasn't related, but it just got me thinkin'...
Besides, I've grown to love all the butterflies that we are now attracting.
Jo
Oh, neem isn't a chemical--it's a naturally-occurring substance. Comes from the neem tree, and in some parts of the world it's used in toothpaste. It will take out black spot, though.
One of the reasons I don't grow many roses is that I don't like all the work they require. I'd rather putter around. :)
I am not a rose person at all. However, I have one that I picked up at the A&M spring sale my first year here. It is called Madame Antoine Marie. In three years it has went from a 1 gallon pot size to a 3' X 3' monstrosity with absolutely no care from me. The only thing to attack it has been grasshoppers, but it pops right back. So if you want a carefree rose, I recommend this one. Antique rose emporium carries it, that is where A&M got it.
I've only had one DA rose. It was Rise N' Shine and it didn't like my yard, but I do have quite a few antiques, mostly from the ARE. This year I'm go to try using the Brug recipe. There's a thread in the Brug forum about it. It's a very interesting thread. It's very easy to mix from things most people have in their house anyway and you don't have to let it sit in a bucket or anything til it's ready. Just mix it and use it to spray or as a soil drench. I used it for the first time a few days ago in the gh and I think I have buds on my Brug already. They are very tiny so it's hard to tell yet, but last year I didn't get blooms all year. Everything in the gh has perked up too. So I'm excited.:)
What I like about organic gardening, aside from the obvious fact that it's healthier, is that I can have this awsome yard and ignore all that marketing aimed at convincing gardeners to buy this pesticide for this bug and that one for that bug. I just spend my money feeding my soil and that leaves me more money to buy plants
Jo_in_Tx,
Try this site and click on the earthkind roses. You won't be disappointed in the roses that qualify for this site. They are hardy and need the least care of all roses and will do very well in Sugarland.
My favorite is Belinda's Dream.
http://earthkind.tamu.edu/
Charlene
I agree about Belinda's Dream. The individual blossoms don't last long as vase occupants, but the bloom is so abundant and the plant grows so enthusiastically I wouldn't mind having a hedge of them if I had a bit more room.
Thanks! That site is very interesting. I knew about earthkind roses, but kind of forgot about them. Belinda's Dream is definitely in one of my landscape books.
Jo
I have over a 100 roses and I have never sprayed them with anything and they seem fine...I get some Black spot but I ignore it..the ones that got it bad, are gone..I have mainly the Old Garden Roses, not many of the modern HT's...
I'm not a professional at all this is my first year having roses that didn't' die over winter ( could never keep them going in Illinois)
but I did run into a problem with black spot and I used baking soda sprinkled on them, around the bottom and some corn meal around the bottom and they are all coming back with no problems.
I don't want to use chemicals if I can get away without them.
Started out with 6 that were here when we moved in and now have 14 more plus some mini's I got at walmart for in the wishing well and all are starting to sent out new leaves.
I was drawn to some Davis Austin roses when first rose gardening. I finally knew enough to ask if these were roses that would grow with minimal intervention on my part. The sales clerk said no and fatefully directed me to old garden, species,and found roses. I can stick these in the ground and off they go. I very rarely water and heavily mulch 2-3 times per year. There are some beautiful choices out there and I hope you find a rose or two that will be just right for you.
I will try to attach a photo of one of our old roses tomorrow
I am a "former" Master Gardener and member of the Houston Rose Society. I have grown approximately 30 different David Austin cultivars, beginning trials of these roses in 1995. I live in Bellaire on soil probably similar to yours. I am an organic gardener who uses only horticultural oil rarely and never on roses.
My experience with the Austin roses begin quite well (Wife of Bath and Graham Stuart Thomas). I grew these two grafted roses successfully for several years, but all of the others have been "own-root" - my strong preference. While I had success with select cultivars, I must tell you that over time I've found that nearly all of the Austin roses appear to subject to some sort of rose decline (for want of a better descriptor) here. I've not found anyone else has reported this, but I've also noticed it on a few of my old Garden Roses. I don't attend HRS meetings as most are primarily into hybrids in which I have no interest.
Because all my other roses were Old Garden Roses, I maintained similar culture on the David Austin roses. They do prefer more frequent fertilization, but that really doesn't happen here. I did a great deal of research trying to determine which roses' bloodlines were most likely to perform in our geographical area. Obviously, a rose with a bloodline that requires cold weather would not.
I maintain a database on my roses and in looking at it I can tell you that the following David Austin roses did not perform for me: Alchymist, Ambridge Rose (other rosarians report differently on this rose), Belle Story,Cottage Rose,Eglantyne, English Garden, Golden Celebration, Graham Stuart Thomas, Hero, Kathryn Morley (really bad here),L. D. Braithwaite, Mary Rose (others report differently), Molineaux, Perdita, Queen Nerfertiti, Sharifa Asma, Sir Edward Elgar, Sir Walter Raleigh, Tamora, Wenlock, Wife of Bath (grafted one did well until the decline took over), Fisherman's Friend, and Wise Portia.
The following David Austin roses, though not particularly attractive bushes, have performed: Abraham Darby (2), Heritage (removed this spring due to "decline"), Lillian Austin (unusual growth habit, lovely blooms, appears healthy so far), Symphony. Symphony is probably the best DA for the Houston area . . . . it loves the heat and blooms reliably in the summer, disease-resistant, yellow blooms are undamaged by insects or disease - but, it's not a pretty shrub. Plant at least 2 or 3 plants to a hole. I lost my last Symphony several weeks ago when some type of animal knocked over a ceramic birdbath completely crushing the plant. Given I was down to one in the hole, I felt it was hopeless to continue. This rose used to be available mail order (Austin stopped propagating it some years ago) from Roses Unlimited in Laurens, SC.
The last DA I can recommend if you can stand the way the bush looks is The Dark Lady. I maintain two of them for their absolutely gorgeous blooms (not as frequent as one would like) which smell divine. Everyone who visits my garden looks askance at them. They take up valuable real estate and this year I told them to buck up or they were "out of here."
Thank you so much, Leslie! I can definitely relate to "I told them to buck up or they were 'out of here.' "
I'm of the strong opinion that my plants have to please me, and not that I have to please my plants. :) I take good care of them, but if they aren't performing, I warn them that they are on a "death watch," and that's it!
Jo
The found rose 'Nacogdoches'
Alychemist is a Kordes rose, not an Austin...mine has done well for me
Beautiful roses. I didn't know Nacogdoches was yellow. Does it have a scent?
I don't have a particular recommendation for you as far as specific roses, but I did read an absolute treasure of a book about growing roses organically. The name of the book was . . . are you ready? . . . Growing Roses Organically, by Barbara Wilde. It's a Rodale Organic Gardening book and it not only has fantastic information, but it is an absolutely beautiful book with many gorgeous full color photos and a section on selecting roses that do well in an organic garden with pictures of each one. I HIGHLY recommend this book!
Silverfluter,
No, not much of a scent. But boy, the color and form more than compensate. It looks like a yellow Belinda's Dream.
And PeeperKeeper,
I'll put that book on my list.
I have a good friend that needs that rose. Yellow gives her energy. Do they have it at the ARE?
I'm so glad you ask, as I discovered just now that the 'Nacogdoches' rose as been named 'Grandma's Yellow'.
The link below explains the name change and talks about the rose.
http://www.plantanswers.com/grandmas_yellow_rose07.htm
Amazingly I did not see it listed at the Antique Rose Emporium, but it's worth calling them. 800-441-0002
I've posted the link for the rose at Chamblee's Roses in Tyler, who list the rose as coming soon. I believe that's where I bought mine or it could have been at a SFA plant sale right here in Nacogdoches.
http://www.chambleeroses.com/xcart/search.php?mode=search&page=1
Jo,
The following David Austin Roses are considered good for the Gulf South:
L.D. Braithwaite
Graham Thomas
Wenlock
Tess of the d'Urbervilles
My Garden House
Jo in TX
I have grown Tess 'Dubervilles for three years now. I have to say that it is a keeper. It got off to a slow start growth-wise, but bloomed steadily. It is now a huge shrub (I just prunned it back to maintain a 4-5' size). Most of the time it leafs out beautifully. Last year it got a bad case of black stop but I did not spray at all. It lost almost all of its leaves but still continued to bloom. Within two weeks of almost total leaf loss it began flushing out with new, healthy leaves. I fertilize once a month with a light feeding of Mills Magic.
I can also recommend Sharifa Asma with resevations. It does tend to black spot, but I don't spray and it always comes back. I have used the trick recomened by DA of planting three in a 24" triangular space. They filled in beautifully and do look like one nice, full shrub. I actually forgot to water this one for about a month last summer (it's first year). It lost a few leaves, but kept right on going. It is starting to leaf out again even as we write. I do think this year I will decide what to spray and spray this one with something for black spot. It was my favorite rose that I grew up north and just have to have it for sentimental reasons.
I would also recommend a Buck Rose, Distant Drums. I has three growing over by the septic field (we live out in the country). I fertilize it less that the Austins but it is almost constantly in bloom. I also very rarely water this one. It just seems to be fine on its own. It does need the occasional trimming back, but I understand that this is to be expected down here. (I am a transplant from a zone 5a garden). No real disease problems to report.
I've only been growing roses here in Texas for three years now, but placed a couple of orders for more roses for this year. So far, I will be getting Pat Austin, The Alnwick rose, Sophie's Rose, Grace and then some Kordes roses. We'll se how these work out.
I hope this helps.