|
As some of you may know, I was working in Washington, DC for the last two years. I am back in NY, but only for a few days, as I enlisted in the army a few months ago and ship out this week. This recent editorial, "War's Psychic Toll," by Bob Herbert of The New York Times, expresses many of the thoughts I've been struggling with during the past year and some of the reasons why I chose to enlist. I haven't had much time to garden, although I did finally plant 7 rare Gallicas from Vintage Gardens that I potted up before leaving two years ago. I was very shocked to see the state of the garden when I returned -- many weeds and trees emerging everywhere, and of course, many many roses seemed to have been swallowed up by the chaos. Surprisingly, few of the roses actually died, although many seemed to have a curious case of Benjamin Button. This report lists the roses that grew exceptionally well despite the two years of neglect in the garden. During this time, they received no pruning, watering, fertilizing, or weeding. The roses listed here showed little or no cane dieback or other evidence of disease, although many would have certainly benefitted from a little rejuvenating pruning. Although it's too early in the season to detect blackspot, it's easy to tell if a rose suffered from blackspot in the previous year, because it will have diseased canes and severe dieback. Not all of these roses are disease-free, but they appear vigorous enough to grow well despite any incidence of disease. Auguste Renoir, for example, has had severe blackspot in certain years, but it is still going strong after 10 years! All of the roses, except those marked with an asterisk, have been in the ground at least 3 years. I must give special mention to the Kordes roses that I purchased from Palatine Roses and planted in the spring of 2007. They were completely neglected after planting, and two years later, most are thriving. Kudos to Kordes for breeding such healthy modern roses. I don't have time to write up a full report here, but I want to emphasize that this was a very informal, unintentional, and unscientific "experiment," and the results shouldn't be taken as a recommendation for any of the roses listed here. The only characteristics I was looking for were growth and healthy canes. No other factors were considered. There are also many confounding variables to consider, such as the fact that some plants were already established while others were in the ground for only a year or two before I left. Additionally, some plants in the garden are situated in areas with poor, dry soils and others in considerable shade. And it goes without saying that with reasonable care and maintenance, many of the roses in my garden that are not on this list might turn out to be very worthy garden plants. This list represents about half of the roses in the garden. Here are the roses that grew very well: Alba Bourbon Centifolia Climber Damask English Floribunda Gallica Hybrid Moyesii Hybrid Musk Hybrid Perpetual Hybrid Rugosa Hybrid Tea Polyantha Portland Rambler Shrub These roses showed less vigor and/or more dieback, but still grew well: Centifolia English Floribunda Gallica Moss Rambler Shrub
This page was last updated on 05.24.09 |