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Saturday 14th October, 2023
Hi
What is the perfect rose shape bloom for you ?
It takes quite a bit of work manipulating the hanky-panky of certain roses in the search of creating that perfect bloom, but wait there is more as in today's world there is an expectation that it's going to be a healthy bush to boot. I think though, that over the centuries of breeding the modern roses of today, that the gene pool has become quite complex and that many roses actually share many traits and characteristics.
HYBRID TEAS or HTs
Let's take the Hybrid teas for example and I generally describe this shape bloom to most as being the rose that most looks like the bud that you would purchase from a florist. Now just for the record, cut flower roses are different from garden roses and probably have been bred for that perfect bud on a tall stem as well as for performance under glass.
Hybrid teas (HT) for the garden generally have those perfect, high centred buds too, on tall stems which makes them great for picking and floral work and often is a form that appeals as a preference to some. Some qualities of HTs are that they generally are one bud per stem but this can vary with cultivars as they sometime can also be cluster flowered. Still generalizing, but HTs often have a higher petal count which makes them suitable for cut flowers as the many petals can hold the bud together for a longer periods than say blooms with lesser petals.
Take a gander at some of these examples of Hybrid teas, Amberlight is a beautiful bud in a coppery blend of apricot, amber and pink. Hamilton Gardens is a reasonably recent rose, again with a delightful bud form in creamy, peachy apricot shades which are just gorgeous. Heaven scent is a beautiful lilac or blue pink and packs a great fragrance. Waimarie was bred by Matthews and is a tad different from the classic HTs, opening more rosette in form. It's wonderfully fragrant, repeats well, profuse, and generous with bloom and in striking rich mauve shades.
FLORIBUNDAS OR Fl
Floribundas are also modern roses that could also be known as cluster flower roses and these still have attractive high centred buds and usually have many flowers per stem. So many stems displaying many flowers gives huge impact in the garden and not just once but for several showings. I have to mention Iceberg here as well as this just has to be the classic example of a floribunda that everyone will know. White romance is a reasonably new floribunda bred and introduced by Rob Somerfield.. I think perhaps more icey white than Iceberg and certainly the foliage is a different shade of green being much darker and definitely a Fl style rose. Margaret Merril is another goodie and quite popular for the fact that this white floribunda is deliciously fragrant.
Don't think for a minute that all floribundas are white as they will come in all shades and colours. Just go and check out our web site and look at all the floribundas . Christchurch Remembers is another Somerfield rose. Winner of New Zealand’s top rose award the Gold Star of the South Pacific in the New Zealand Rose Society international trials. A bright red rose that honours those who died in the terrible Christchurch earthquake.
Some floribundas can have quite simple flowers, being semi double or almost single. The new release Ink spots is a floribunda which has quite the striking flower but is single in form
OLD FASHIONED
Old fashioned roses can come in many flower styles from the absolute singles to those that are shaggy to those really, really, full blooms that look like swirls of tissue paper all layered in a rosette and often with a knot in the centre. These have been harder to obtain of late but we have a couple of examples of the Bourbons. Zephrine Drouhin is a climbing Bourbon and has bright cerise pink, semi double flowers that are sweetly fragrant. Souvenir de Monsieur Brueil is a tall bush Bourbon with deep cerise or magenta- pink fragrant double blooms. Albertine is a vigorous climber, or should I say rambler, with shaggy salmon pink flowers.. a stunner in full flower. Mme Alfred Carriere is a noisette rose with beautiful double, creamy white come blush pink blooms throughout the season.
Austin or English roses are probably technically shrub roses, but these have been bred by crossing a free flowering modern rose with those old world roses to give you what must be described as an old fashioned looking flower. Like the HTs and Fls they have a perceived look and I guess that it's more informal, usually fully double and perhaps with that central eye... and more often than not this group are fragrant. Check out Charlotte with soft yellow cupped blooms with a delicious fragrance. Mary rose is another classic in a good solid pink along with Kathryn Morley whose cupped flowers are the softest pink. Another great pink is Wisley 2008 and these flowers are shallow cupped rosettes.
In conclusion its easy to generalize but, as is typical in the plant world, there will always be exceptions and differences and so the only thing for it is to browse the rose sections and decide for yourself about the rose flower style for you. Or perhaps its them all LOL
Pick 5 pay for 4 roses... Now that's a deal
We need some room to keep spacing the roses as they grow to keep them in the best condition and so its timely to offer a bit of a deal as they start to come into flower. Choose any 5 roses and you will just pay for four as the rose of the lowest value becomes free. If you are planning to put in a new bed of roses, or perhaps even a hedge as we chatted about last week, then this
deal may be for you. The roses are just looking stunning and every day more flowers start to come out. Buy online or in store.
deal may be for you. The roses are just looking stunning and every day more flowers start to come out. Buy online or in store.
Tree highlight this week, Crab apples
I do so like the crab apples as you get several different shows from blossoms to the tiny, coloured apples on the tree as you go into the Autumn. Then there is also the fact that you could get cracking in the kitchen and make crab apple jelly and or paste.
There are many different forms or shapes of tree within the crab apples and so you need to choose the right one for your space. Sometimes you just have a spot for a weeper. Alternatively you may need an upright tree and then there are the ones that grow up and out and are more arching and make for a great shade specimen.
Malus Red Jade is quite a cool weeping form that cascades quite close to itself and definitely grows downwards. I spied these in the garden centre the other day on my wander around and they were pretty in flower with single white blossoms that will be followed by bright red fruits in the Autumn.
Malus Coronet peak has horizontal branches again white flowers but this one with stunning bright yellow crabs.
Malus Ioensis plena has quite a different sort of branching structure with quite distinctive grey shade to its bark. Its claim to fame are the very pretty double pink and white blossoms that make it look like a flowering cherry when in bloom. A great upright tree for a smaller section as it doesn't get very big in the scheme of trees.
Just arrived this week
Abutilons or Chinese lanterns need a bit of space to grow and are nearly always in flower with their lantern like flowers. Pretty easy to grow and a good trim regularly will keep these ones shrubby and in shape . Just arrived are these four colours, Ashford Red, Bowl of Snow, Defiance and Yellow.
Heucheras and Heucherellas have really pretty foliage:
Plum Power,A lovely perennial with striking, dark leaf markings. Its foliage color changes throughout the year. From burgundy red to classy purple-pink with a touch of silver. Quickly forms a neat clump. Looks its best when planted in groups.
Kassandra, An easy care herbaceous perennial that will grow well in any type of soil. It can withstand both hot and cold conditions, preferring part shade to full sun. With an interesting range of colours in the foliage from apricot, lime and yellow the white flower spikes tower above.
Dark Secret, Beautiful deep purple-bronze ruffled foliage with a soft silver sheen quickly forms an attractive clump. Dainty stems of cream flowers in spring rise above the foliage
Just for fun
Great specimen tree or ideal as a shade tree that will add interest to any garden. Its very cold hard as its deciduous, however late frost can damage new shoots. Better to be grown in a warm sheltered position, full sun. The swollen stalks can be eaten fresh or added to dishes where you use dried fruit. They can be stored for 2 months where the flavour improves. The swollen stalks taste like crunchy raisins. Stalks can be hand picked from the tree or left to naturally drop.
Asparagus, half price. These need to get into the ground and get growing. A dedicated space for them is the way to go and just let them grow this year to get established.
Next weekend is Labour day weekend, and this is usually the signal that its now warm enough to get all those more sensitive summer vege, herbs and tomatoes into the garden, though of late it hasn't felt that warm. Interestingly enough it still hasn't been that sunny but the ground is starting to dry out quite quickly without that constant rain and that sure makes it more pleasant to get into the garden and get planting.
Tomorrow is the final day to get your vote done and in if you haven't already. Hopefully that will bring an end to all the campaigning and bill boards that are all around the countryside and we can all get back on track with everyday stuff again.
Whatever is on your agenda, have a great weekend!
Cheers from Lloyd Tony and the Wairere team
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Last 25 Newsletters...
Viburnums (27th April, 2024)
Rake up those leaves (20th April, 2024)
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Wairere Nursery
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