Lily of the Valley

Hi

What gorgeous days we've been having, well they all keep on about it being the warmest May on record but whose complaining. Certainly not me!  It's been ideal gardening weather and definitely the easiest rose pot that we have had for a few years!!!! I hear that some farmers are even still milking though it must be time to give those girls a rest.

BUT WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GROW A GOOD ROSE!!!!!

I went on about the knack it takes to pot a rose but producing a rose is no mean feat. It's a while now since I have worked in such a place and I'm sure that in principle, its all still the same, though I wonder if they still blind those rose stocks all by hand.

It's at least a couple of years in the making and the first step is to grow the root stock Most growers grow their own version of Rosa multiflora. Rosa multiflora is like a wild rose that doesn't have many thorns.  It's grown in an area where it can grow rampant with many long canes. These canes are harvested and then tied into bundles and band sawn into set lengths I guess around 20 to 30cm for bush roses and standards must be approximately 84cm long.

Now here's the boring part, all the buds all the way up these canes have to be removed (called Blinding) and it's all by hand. Some one takes a knife and removes the buds or eyes. Now you always see the large central one but there are two more that sometimes our eyes don't see so it's a case of taking enough to make sure that you get them all out. The top bud on the stock canes is left to grow. When I was working in trade these canes were then set in sand and put on bottom heat so that they callus at the end. This callus is undifferentiated cell tissue that can become roots. The canes are then planted into the fields usually through plastic mulch. In spring after the winter the bud that was left grows and off course hopefully the roots do too.

                  

Around Christmas time the roses are T budded with a bud of the roses that we buy and patch tied.  T budding requires someone with a sharp knife who cuts a T through bark of the stock. They have a special knife with a flange at the back that spreads the outer layer and a bud sheath is inserted underneath. A special rubber patch is put over the bud which holds it in place and the bud can grow through it.

Once the bud has taken and started to grow, the Rosa multiflora bud that was left is removed and the following spring the new rose bursts forth. The band new rose has to be headed back to force the new rose to multi branch. This is done by machine and may be done a couple of times.  The final step is to lift all the rose bushes in the winter time, label and dispatch to garden centres.

FRESH IN THIS WEEK

Aspleniums These are cool ferns that are related to the hen and chicken fern, great for a shady spot in the garden

Pittosporum Mountain Green. These are large grade plants huge and bushy at around 120 high and 80cm wide

Griselinia Ardmore Emerald. Also huge and bushy at 130 and 90cm wide

Lemon Meyer and Yen ben  also Limes. Big plants (around 1.3 to 1.5m)  for those that dont want to wait for them to grow

Garlic has arrived in

Pots: there is a whole lot of new ones in from red, black and blue glazes not to mention the other finishes.

Its meant to be wet but dont believe them until it happens, quite often its not too bad. Its a long weekend too so enjoy that extra day

 

Cheers, Lloyd and Harry