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Friday 31st May, 2013

Almost  the Rose  Potting Completed

Hi

PENSIONER TEAM !!!

Wow what a fortnight! Over ten thousand roses now safely in bags and down in alphabetical order and today we started on the standards. Now Im probably in danger of sticking my neck out but the X or Y generation, call it what you will, just don't seem to have the X factor when it comes to working like our era. Now I know that's a gross generalisation, as I have had a couple of youngies this week that have done really well churning out a consistent 600 odd bags each a day which is pretty damn good.

It was bantered around in the tea room that we looked more like a group of pensioners than your normal team. I have to say the mainstay of our group, well I had better be careful what I say here, except perhaps they may be a decade or even two older than me and they are just  legends on the preparation team ie scanning in, root trimming, labelling and Brian has done wonders on the potting bench. I just better add here that Ang and Cherie have made sure that the garden centre has continued to run as usual while we have been hidden down the back.

While yakking over smoko it seemed appropriate to find what their fav three roses would be:

          

Now Bev's (nursery rose buff, likes to show roses type) top  three are (1) Elina being first to flower,  alway in flower right through the season and last in flower too not to mention being really healthy. She loves the climber, Crepuscule, flowers for a long time, not really thorny and healthy too. Her last choice was Glorious, lots of blooms just like its namesake, glorious and pretty free flowering too.
Brian (mail order dispatch man, perfected plant packaging, likes the garden type bloke) named Dublin Bay as profuse and strong flowerer, Friesia has  a lovely perfume and good bloomer and he has been impressed with Hayley Westenra from last season. I checked in with Rose in the office (accounts and orders, keen gardener and digs her own holes kinda gal) and her picks were Avalanche  - Easy care - old fashioned bloom, Paree White - nice little white flowers
 Seafoam -  spreading habit to fill large gaps in garden - only bought this year and  Moonlight Clg  will be added to that ugly wall so I have flowers from spring to autumn.

The first rose session is this weekend
OMG  the  first rose session is almost upon and is the coming weekend and I felt compelled to write and say  that even if you haven't  let me know that you may be coming,  still feel free to come along. Hopefully the old boy will make enough muffins to go around. Come along and ask any of those questions that you need to know the answers too. Everyone gets too hung up on technicalities and its really not that hard.  what the best performing roses, how to prune, when and what to feed  so that you get the most out of your roses, so those dates and times again are,  Saturday 1st June 11am to 2pm,   Sunday 2nd June 1pm to 3pm,    Saturday 15th june 11am to 2pm,    Sunday 1pm to 3pm.

Rose planting in winter
If you are planting a new season rose then don't use compost in the planting hole. It holds too much moisture and those new roots coming through just rot off. Now some I know will have compost that is so well rotted that its almost like soil then this will probably be ok but I always err on the side of caution. its ok to plant straight into a good loam and if you must compost the add to the top of the soil . Use the potting mix that its planted in I buy i specially for growing roses and it is full of nutrients that the rose will use to start making that root growth. This may sound basic but plant your rose so that the base of the bud union is just at or ever so slightly above the soil level.

Happy Go Lucky Roses......  tiddly pom pom pom!
 
The word Polyantha means "many flowered" which accurately describes these cheerful little roses. In the words of Rosarian Peter Beale they have a "happy go lucky nature" which always makes me want to call them Pollyannas. In researching Polyantha roses I discovered that in their hey day, the 1920's, they were also known as Polypoms, another great word to describe them. The Polyantha roses are direct ancestors of the modern Floribunda and were developed as a response to the desire for massed colour.  If you picture Victorian gardens with their mass bedding this is where the Polyantha Rose came into its own. The earliest crosses were under-taken by Jean Sisley from Lyon, France and were between Rosa multiflora and Rosa chinensis hybrids. Tea roses were introduced as a third partner at a later date. Most rose lovers will be familiar with ‘The Fairy' and this wonderful, free flowering, easy to grow Rose is a typical Polyantha. Another fine example is ‘Little White Pet' - the name says it all really, tiddly  pom pom pom!

          
 
Characteristics of Polyantha Roses
 
Low Growing
Compact and bushy
Slightly cupped small flowers which appear in clusters
Flowers are often double but carry very little scent
Mass flowers for long periods

Garlic Traditionally planted on the shortest day but either side will do the trick, just remember to get yours and in the ground sometime soonish. Easily grown and choose from normal stuff and if you are lazy like me then plant the elephant size cloves. We have been eating the elephant cloves roasted with our roast veges.

New release plants in the garden centre this week

Cordyline Electric Pink, Ornamental Cabbage tree with awesome striking pink foliage
Cordyline Electric Star
Phormium Black Magic,  A truly small growing dark flax with tidy healthy foliage
Pittosporum Silver Ball, Like the classic golf ball pitto, small and round and silver foilage
Pittosporum Golden Ball, another new smalll round pitto with form and gold coloured foliage.

 Alison Holsts Dutch Apple Cake

Dad made this for us the other night so I conned him into making it again so that I could photo it and add it in here. We provided the roast pork dinner and he brought this for dessert plus a lemon sauce topping which was delicious, Serves six

      

Have a great weekend

Cheers
Lloyd, Harry and the Wairere Team

Make it a Wairere weekend where gardening's not a drag

Wairere Nursery
826 Gordonton Road, RD 1, Hamilton
07 824 34 30
www.wairere.co.nz

 

 

 

 

 

 

Archived by year 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 |

2013 Newsletters...

New Year and Crepe Myrtles (8th February, 2013)

clivias and Roses (15th February, 2013)

Roses in the beginning (22nd February, 2013)

The Albas (1st March, 2013)

St Patricks day (9th March, 2013)

Cabbage Roses (15th March, 2013)

Hirsute Roses (22nd March, 2013)

Portland Roses (28th March, 2013)

Bourbon Roses (4th April, 2013)

Big boots to fill ... (11th April, 2013)

True Love and Large Hips (11th April, 2013)

Happy Birthday (10th May, 2013)

Tea Roses (17th May, 2013)

Hybrid Perpetuals (24th May, 2013)

Planting and caring for your new roses (29th May, 2013)

..... Polyanthas

Hybrid Teas (8th June, 2013)

Floribundas (14th June, 2013)

Austin Roses =?utf-8?Q?e298bc?= (23rd June, 2013)

Different Coppers (29th June, 2013)

Pendula or weeping (5th July, 2013)

All in a days work (19th July, 2013)

Daphne (26th July, 2013)

Hydrangea Secrets (2nd August, 2013)

Maples high worked (9th August, 2013)

Magnificent Mags (16th August, 2013)

Mags Part two (23rd August, 2013)

Hedges (30th August, 2013)

The fluffy stuff (12th September, 2013)

Fluff and Stuff (12th September, 2013)

PC Irises (20th September, 2013)

Beardless Irises (27th September, 2013)

Lavender (4th October, 2013)

The Ilams (12th October, 2013)

Maples (17th October, 2013)

Maples (18th October, 2013)

Maples Part two (24th October, 2013)

Maples Part three (1st November, 2013)

It's Rained (8th November, 2013)

Busy week (15th November, 2013)

Hydrangeas (29th November, 2013)

Its rained some more (6th December, 2013)

Who's pinching my Peaches (13th December, 2013)

Merry Xmas (24th December, 2013)

HL Nurseries Limited t/a Wairere Nursery
826 Gordonton Road, R D 1, Hamilton 3281 Ph: (07) 824 3430 Email: