Question:

I purchased a Mary Rose Hybrid Tea last summer and due to sickness was not able to plant it until last month.  It is doing very well, even blooming like crazy, but I am concerned about its stem size.  Its stems are very small, making it almost want to be like a climber with very flexible stems and small flowers, although they are beautiful.  I am planning on doing a pruning in July for most of my roses to let them go through their second bloom cycle here but am wondering if there is something that I am doing wrong with this rose.  Its blooms are only about 2 maybe 3 inches across and that 3 is really pushing it.  The stems are having a hard time supporting the weight of the roses. Thank you, Chrystal zone 9, USDA, Sunset zone 10 — Chrystal http://www.pe.net/~chrystal/

Response:

says… I purchased a Mary Rose Hybrid Tea last summer and due to sickness was not able to plant it until last month.  It is doing very well, even blooming like crazy, but I am concerned about its stem size.  Its stems are very small, making it almost want to be like a climber with very flexible stems and small flowers, although they are beautiful.  I am planning on doing a pruning in July for most of my roses to let them go through their second bloom cycle here but am wondering if there is something that I am doing wrong with this rose.  Its blooms are only about 2 maybe 3 inches across and that 3 is really pushing it.  The stems are having a hard time supporting the weight of the roses.

Mary Rose is  not a HT but a shrub (Austin) so just treat it like a climber. Bill in Alhambra Calif. 7:56:16 pm  6/2/1999

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – says… I purchased a Mary Rose Hybrid Tea last summer and due to sickness was not able to plant it until last month.  It is doing very well, even blooming like crazy, but I am concerned about its stem size.  Its stems are very small, making it almost want to be like a climber with very flexible stems and small flowers, although they are beautiful.  I am planning on doing a pruning in July for most of my roses to let them go through their second bloom cycle here but am wondering if there is something that I am doing wrong with this rose.  Its blooms are only about 2 maybe 3 inches across and that 3 is really pushing it.  The stems are having a hard time supporting the weight of the roses. Mary Rose is  not a HT but a shrub (Austin) so just treat it like a climber.

I am going to disagree will bill here (and perhaps a whole host of others) on what to do here.  I have found that I can get more cane strentgh in the English roses by cutting back about one third when they are young after their first cycle. The English roses in my garden also get first dibs on the ashes from my fireplace .I work in about three cups per bush and their is a noticable improvement in stem strength after time. Generally it has taken me about 3-4 years before getting all of the strength I would like to see. Oddly enought I have found that in some cases, stem strentgh seems to be easier to obtain on own root plants here, but I also wonder if the rootstack of grafted English roses might be the culpirt Mary Rose is very floriferous and has many good points. It also must be noted though that one of its first reactions to stress, especially too little water is to  become highly susceptible to powdery mildew. I have kept her clean for the last 5 years now, having not seen either blackspot or mildew on her. She has been in my garden since 1986. Henry Rankin USDA Zone 5

Response:

I’m afraid I don’t agree with severe pruning for the Austins in Southern California. My Mary Rose is three years old, and pegged out, and is covered with blooms. After the first flush of blooms, I peg out the long canes, so that the laterals will pop out.  It seems to greatly slow down in our periods of great heat, but I water like crazy and lightly feed.  I get another show of blooms in Sept./ Oct.  I never prune as much as 1/3, and usually only shape and clean out crossing or dead canes. Chyrstal–it’s not going to stand upright, proudly supporting it’s flowers like a hybrid tea., don’t worry about the floppiness.  Check dejanews for pegging out roses info. Kate Coe – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – says… I purchased a Mary Rose Hybrid Tea last summer and due to sickness was not able to plant it until last month.  It is doing very well, even blooming like crazy, but I am concerned about its stem size.  Its stems are very small, making it almost want to be like a climber with very flexible stems and small flowers, although they are beautiful.  I am planning on doing a pruning in July for most of my roses to let them go through their second bloom cycle here but am wondering if there is something that I am doing wrong with this rose.  Its blooms are only about 2 maybe 3 inches across and that 3 is really pushing it.  The stems are having a hard time supporting the weight of the roses. Mary Rose is  not a HT but a shrub (Austin) so just treat it like a climber. I am going to disagree will bill here (and perhaps a whole host of others) on what to do here.  I have found that I can get more cane strentgh in the English roses by cutting back about one third when they are young after their first cycle. The English roses in my garden also get first dibs on the ashes from my fireplace .I work in about three cups per bush and their is a noticable improvement in stem strength after time. Generally it has taken me about 3-4 years before getting all of the strength I would like to see. Oddly enought I have found that in some cases, stem strentgh seems to be easier to obtain on own root plants here, but I also wonder if the rootstack of grafted English roses might be the culpirt Mary Rose is very floriferous and has many good points. It also must be noted though that one of its first reactions to stress, especially too little water is to  become highly susceptible to powdery mildew. I have kept her clean for the last 5 years now, having not seen either blackspot or mildew on her. She has been in my garden since 1986. Henry Rankin USDA Zone 5

Response:

I have to agree with Henry here, Mary Rose does very well for me only if cut back hard after each bloom cycle. My 4 year old bush is about 5 ft wide and I keep it pruned down to about 5 ft tall. It makes big flushes of lushly scented roses on good strong stems. Definately feed and water as heavily as you would an HT.

Response:

I’m afraid I don’t agree with severe pruning for the Austins in Southern California. My Mary Rose is three years old, and pegged out, and is covered with blooms.

Kate, Thanks for answering. I will look up pegging roses on Deja News.  My next question would be, does this rose like to be deadheaded or should I allow the buds to fall off on their own. Thanks, Chrystal — Chrystal Eshelman http://www.pe.net/~chrystal/

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’m afraid I don’t agree with severe pruning for the Austins in Southern California. My Mary Rose is three years old, and pegged out, and is covered with blooms. Kate, Thanks for answering. I will look up pegging roses on Deja News.  My next question would be, does this rose like to be deadheaded or should I allow the buds to fall off on their own. Thanks, Chrystal — Chrystal Eshelman http://www.pe.net/~chrystal/

In my humble experience Austins love deadheading Guido

Response:

It’s my understanding that MR’s seeds are usually fertile, but if you don’t want the plant to set hips, deadhead to get more flowers.  I’ve only played with seeds for a one year, so I’m next to illiterate on raising roses from seed. Kate Coe – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Guido

Response:

All my English roses have done better since we’ve been getting rainier winters in southern CA.  I’ve grown MaryRose twice.  At my first house, MR grew to be 7ft. the second year, so I pruned it hard the following winter.  I found it did not bloom as weel in its third year.  Afterthat I pruned it back after each bloom cycle, but basically allowed it to slowly get to 6 ft. or so by late fall.  It seemed to bloom, rest, then bloom two more cycles with no flowers in between.  However, in my new garden which has a richer soil and a good watering system, my new MR seems to be continually in bloom.  Same for Redoute, the light pink sport which is slightly bigger-scaled and more cabbagey & fragrant. Both these English roses are turning out to be fantastic performers here and seem to be keeping up with my Teas and Chinas.  I think El Nino and La Nina and our new lengthy winters/springs have made these English roses very happy. –candace

Response:

Well, all my rose growing friends….This year the winner in who can bloom longest in my garden is Mary Rose.  This morning I picked 2 blossoms to bring to work and their fragrance is wafting all about.  Mary Rose bloomed long into the fall for me last year but the winner was Heritage, who bloomed will into the first week of Dec.  Alas, the voles ate away the roots of my Heritage and though I replaced it, it is still too small to bloom  into the fall.   I’d be interested in other Zone 7 gardeners (or any gardeners, for that matter!) who still have blossoms.

My Heritage still has blooms…and I’m in Zone 5.  (but it’s been a mild fall so far.)  Interesting to know that it’s a late bloomer, so to speak, in other gardens as well…what others  (Austins or otherwise) have this characteristic?

Response:

Haile) writes: I’d be interested in other Zone 7 gardeners (or any gardeners, for that matter!) who still have blossoms.

I’m in San Antonio (zone 8b, or 9 if the winter is mild) and still have scads of blooms.  Sombreuil just finished (our last rain knocked the petals off), Bettye Prior is blooming and still has two unopened buds, Vincent Godsif and Ducher are blooming and loaded with buds, Coquette de Blanche has three, and Lafter one last one.  Red Cascade is loaded with blooms and my adopted red mini has one bloom.  Ole is losing the last petals of the last bloom – also Georgetown Tea. And Sweet Vivian opened her last bloom.  With any luck Marie van Houtte will open the bud she had on her when I found her at the nursery and planted her last week. All of my roses are young – can’t wait to see what they’ll do next year! When I grew up in New York, I never thought I’d have roses in December! Lynn

Response:

Here in the San Francisco bay area, hybrid T "secret" is still trying to be covered in blooms.  Unfortunately the buds don’t like the near freezing temps at night and so they look pretty awful.  Last year my sickly overly in-bred "orogold" had a bud for my christmas eve table…. (by no means take this as any kind of recommendation for this variety of rose bush though.) As for my Austins: Graham thomas was sparse in blooms all season and is now happily putting out new canes but no blooms, Abraham Darby was too young to leave his mother (up in Oregon at a well known place….) and gave it’s one and only bloom in August. My "the countryman" which arrived quite prematurely from the same place is still in the neonatal intensive care ward, and is ALMOST taller than the lobelia in the same pot. Needless to say, no blooms at all this year on that baby!   I’m looking forward to springtime already…..                             Juliette ps does anybody have a "the countryman" out there???? I’m dying to know what the Blooms will look like (if it survives the winter!)

Response:

| Haile) writes:

| | I’d be interested in other Zone 7 gardeners (or any gardeners, | for that matter!) who still have blossoms. | | | All of my roses are young – can’t wait to see what they’ll do next year! | When I grew up in New York, I never thought I’d have roses in December! | | Lynn Here in the Hudson Valley we have had a bizarrely mild autumn. The snow and sleet we had last Sunday finished off the last of the Autumn Damask blossoms.  They were just about done anyway.  I guess we don’t have roses in December. Living in Zone 5 with very recent memories of beautiful Damask fragrance, while fearing what a real blast of winter will do to these unhardened canes, Steven

Response:

 I’d be interested in other Zone 7 gardeners (or any gardeners,  for that matter!) who still have blossoms.

Currently blooming in my Zone 8 garden are "Mme Isaac Pereire", "Penelope", "Gruss an Aachen", "Comte de Chambord", "Maybelle Stearns", "Heritage", "Glamis Castle",  "Archiduc Joseph",   "Gold Badge", "Lagerfeld" and "Margaret Merrill".  "Gertrude Jekyll" and "Souvenir de la Malmaison" each have  a couple of buds, but they’re balling and rotting in Seattle’s constant December rain. S. Andrew Schulman Seattle, WA USDA Zone 8

Response:

: I’d be interested in other Zone 7 gardeners (or any gardeners, : for that matter!) who still have blossoms. —      Well, up at Berkeley Botanical, all the teas are still covered in blooms.  The Chinas are courageously putting forth more flowers.   There are still many fat buds on Salet.  Marquise Bocella is still with flowers and buds.  R. roxburghii is also flowering, but nothing compares to the show FJ Grootendorst is putting forth.  Graham Thomas is still going strong (6′X5′ shrub).  Most of the HT’s, Polyanthas, Hybrid Musks, Rugosas, and HP’s have gone to hip.  Reine de Violettes is still producing flowers.  Sombrieul still has some buds.  Heritage is long gone, but Wenlock has a flower or two.  There are also some late flowers intermittently scattered throughout.  Most of the very doubles are damaged and balling from the wet weather. MellowDrama (…still trying to pollinate with the few flowers that are still open….)      ssssss   ssssssss  sss    sss  ssss    s   ssss    ssss     ooo     ssss   oo oo   Darkness Fell And Covered The Brilliance….      ssss   ooo       ssss   s    ssss  sss    sss                                                          Q.   ssssssss    ssssss

Response:

In reply to Bess’s question about the latest-blooming rose, I am a Zone 8 gardener (I think…it is hard to tell here in the Cascade foothills) and my longest blooming roses were my two Secrets. I finally had to strip their leaves to discourage their profligate bloom. VooDoo, Paradise, and New Day all bloomed through November but their scent was diminished. My Austens stoppped blooming in early October, but they are one-year-old plants so I won’t worry yet about the sparseness of their blooms.     I was appalled by the death of your Heritage, Bess, due to voles eating its roots. I have plenty of voles around here in the woods, but I have never heard of them bothering roses. Perhaps only their Virginia cousins have such gourmet tastes? Cheers, Brooke                               == w ==         )                                        (((((((                                ^^ ^^     ^^ ^^ "If a man could be crossed with a cat, it would improve the man but deteriorate the cat."  Mark Twain

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Well, all my rose growing friends….This year the winner in who can bloom longest in my garden is Mary Rose.  This morning I picked 2 blossoms to bring to work and their fragrance is wafting all about.  Mary Rose bloomed long into the fall for me last year but the winner was Heritage, who bloomed will into the first week of Dec.  Alas, the voles ate away the roots of my Heritage and though I replaced it, it is still too small to bloom  into the fall.   I’d be interested in other Zone 7 gardeners (or any gardeners, for that matter!) who still have blossoms. Sniffing and Picking in her Zone 7 garden in upper Tidewater Virginia, along the Rappahannock River, Bess

I am in zone 9, San Diego County.  My Mary Rose is still blooming quite well, as well as Penelope and Darlows Enigma.  Several of the HTs are still blooming as well.  The rugosas have all set hips and are getting some fall color.  We have had a couple of hard frosts with some more forecast for this week, but overall we have had our usual winter temps. Last year Darlow’s Enigma bloomed all through the winter and it looks like it will again this year.   Linda USDA zone 9, Sunset zone 21

Response:

Bess, an update from San Antonio.  Our weather has been obscenely warm, and Ole has just set two more buds!  Also, my paperwhites are blooming and my grape hyacinths are now 2" tall in just 7 days since I planted them. Lynn

Response:

: ps does anybody have a "the countryman" out there???? I’m dying to know : what the Blooms will look like (if it survives the winter!) Juliette — OUR ‘The Countryman’ was rescued last winter from a "bad home," having lived for several years (somehow) in a five-gal. container.  Planted in-ground, it DID bloom in the springtime — nicely-scented blooms that have a SIMILAR look to those of ‘Comte de Chambord,’ but not (IMHO) of as fine a quality.  The plant is VERY thorny, and definitely wants to grow as a low climber — canes pulled out horizon- tally or self-pegged — and we have pruned and tied it in that manner with high hopes for next year.  However, I must say that — at this point — if I could only have one of the two, I’d stick to ‘Compte de Chambord,’ who NEVER stopped blooming all year!   Jeri Collari, Coastal SoCalif. (where the Teas and Chinas and The Dark

Response:

To my dear fellow rosarians, Well, I thought for sure the roses would be done in my garden by now.  I’m on the line between zone 7 and 6 in upper tidewater VA. (as I’m fond of claiming, I think the garden is in zone 7 and the bedroom is in zone 6) Well, Mary Rose is still blooming but Dainty Bess opened up a dozen new blossoms this weekend.  So, it’s a tie, right now, though I do remember another Christmas when one Mary Rose blossom was still open Christmas week and darned if it didn’t freeze dry in a sudden cold snap. I brought it in and set it in a bowl of potpourri.   Bess Haile Trying to steal a little more yard for a new rose bed this spring in her zone 7 garden in Essex County, VA

Response:

Well, all my rose growing friends….This year the winner in who can bloom longest in my garden is Mary Rose.  This morning I picked 2 blossoms to bring to work and their fragrance is wafting all about.  Mary Rose bloomed long into the fall for me last year but the winner was Heritage, who bloomed will into the first week of Dec.  Alas, the voles ate away the roots of my Heritage and though I replaced it, it is still too small to bloom  into the fall.   I’d be interested in other Zone 7 gardeners (or any gardeners, for that matter!) who still have blossoms. Sniffing and Picking in her Zone 7 garden in upper Tidewater Virginia, along the Rappahannock River, Bess

Response:

I still have a few blooms on "Heritage," "Abraham Darby," "Othello" (a little surprisingly), and the tea "Lady Hillingdon." Two of my "Fair Bianca"s and my hybrid tea "Carmen" have one good-sized flower each. Most of them look fairly crepe-y and hangdog, but there you are–a rose is a rose. Boyd Zone 7

Response:

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