Wednesday, February 29, 2012

February Roses

As expected February was the month with the least roses flowering in my garden. There are two reasons for this: One is that all roses planted in the ground are recently pruned, so they have not been able to produce new flowers yet and secondly time-wise I was not able to continue to fertilize the roses growing in containers, which made them stop producing blooms. Still there were some rose flowers in my yard, which I would like to share with you.



I think the most beautiful rose this month has been 'Alexander Hill Gray'. The flowers are so elegant in terms of their form. That they come in the palest yellow color imaginable only underlines their understated beautiful appearance. 



On the photo above you can see the same bloom earlier, when it was more in the bud stage. Still already a beauty in my eyes. Unfortunately the rose continues to mildew and is even suffering from black spot.



'Pope John Paul II' after a rain shower. At times the rain drops look like diamonds on the fresh dark red leaves of this rose. This was the only spray that the rose was having, because it grew at the end of a new basal cane, which begun to form in the autumn. I cut the spray for the house because it looked simply too awkward to have just one on the whole bush. 



'Old Fashioned Girl' is blooming happily away in its small terracotta container. The rose is growing on our terrace and gets a lot of warmth from the radiating heat from the concrete. I assume that coaxes her into bloom. I don't like the red specks on the flower petals so much, but as the weather is warming up...



... the flowers look like this. Pure perfection! There is just one flaw: The rose is said to be fragrant, but I can't detect the slightest hint of perfume. There is still a small chance that it might show up when it gets warmer and/or when the rose is getting more mature.




The last rose that I can present to you is 'Marie Pavie'. This one had produced a complete flush of blooms in the winter so I decided to not prune it but rather enjoy the blooms. I pulled all the old leaves, though, so in the moment the bush looks rather wired, but it is producing leave buds, where the old leaves have been sitting so I hope it will be pretty again soon.

That were the roses that bloomed in February in my garden. I know it is not much, but I am happy about each flower that I am getting at this time of the year and I hope you enjoyed looking at their photos, too. I hope next month I have more rose photos to publish.

See you in the garden!

Christina



17 comments:

  1. Elegant and sooo perfect ! You are a garden-magician, Christina. Beautiful blooms !

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  2. Great to see some roses blooming this early, and lovely photography too especially the Alexander Hill Gray.

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  3. Good morning Christina ~ Alexander Hill Gray is wonderful, but my heart goes to Marie Pavie.

    Enjoy the beginning of spring.

    FlowerLady

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  4. I also posted a rose picture today that I got yesterday. As usual, the roses look lovely. My favorite is the light pink (or almost white) rose in the middle. It really looks so elegant. A question - how often do you feed the roses? Every week during growing season? And, what sort of fertilizer? Thank You.

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  5. Dani, you make me blush, thanks for your very nice comment!

    Mark and Gaz, thanks for your comment and you compliment on my photography!

    FlowerLady, I can see why you fell dranw to 'Marie Pavie'. It is a very lovely rose! Somehow I really have trouble to photograph her properly to show off her beauty, but believe me she is prettier in person than on my pics. There is something very light and feelting to her that really grabs your heart. Despite her delicate appearance she is a very tough cookie, growing well in fierce palm root competition, blooming profusely and seducing you with her wafting fragrance.

    KL, maybe you should give 'Old Fashioned Girl' a try if you like it so much :-)! Oh my gosh no, it would kill me if I would have to feed my roses weekly. I fertilize them with an organic fertilizer (the name is biostart and I get it from the local rose society) and alfalfa meal (this is for basal break) when the roses are starting to leave out and then a second time after the spring flush. Ideally I would feed them again after the summer, but I often don't get around to do it. In spring I also try to mulch my roses with compost, but often don't have the time to give this treatment to all of them. I did a post about fertilizing roses last year, which is more detailed. Maybe you want to search my blog!
    Christina

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  6. It must be wonderful for roses to be expected in February, and not unexpected like my one bloom was! Marie Pavie is on my list - I just have to finish last year's project before I start another bed! :O Alexander Hill Gray looks like satin!

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  7. Christina first I want you to know how you have solved my problem about the photospace on blogger. I am so happy. Resized my photo's and the problem is gone now. I am a little bit jaleous (just a joke) reading your roses are still flowering. I can't wait till it's may and my roses (hopefully) brings me flowers again. Beautiful post and a lovely week

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  8. How nice to have so many roses in bloom in February. I have pruned all my roses now except for one that is still insisting on flowering. Looking forward to summer when the roses will all be in full bloom.

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  9. I pruned my roses last month as well, but I doubt any of them will be blooming very soon. With the warm weather, they may be blooming in April. I do miss them in these cold months.

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  10. The bloom of "old fashioned girl" is superb... Marie Pavie is a favorite in the deep south. Her blooms a beauty and lush foliage and provide interest in our gardens.

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  11. Holley, thanks for commenting! I am glad to hear that you will get 'Marie Pavie'. Do you know that there are at least two clones out there? One has much more petals than the other. I have the one with more petals and prefer it over the one with less, which I also have seen in person.

    Marijke, I would love to take the credit, but I wasn't the person, who helped you solve your problem regarding the photospace. There must be a mix-up! Having the possibility to grow roses year round is just one part of living the California Dream ;-)!

    Crystal, how interesting that one rose is still flowering for you, too. I am surprised by that. Your climate must be fairly mild, too. Can't wait for the first rose flush either!

    The Sagebutterfly, the main rose spring flush is taking place here in April, too. We have only scattered blooms over the winter, except for the Tea roses, which are said to flower year round, but they refuse to do that at least in my garden.

    Redneck Rosarian, you are right the bloom of 'Old Fashioned Girl' is without any flaws. To my knowledge this rose is not widely grown and considering how healthy and pretty it is that is a surprise to me. I wasn't aware that 'Marie Pavie' is common in the deep South. How interesting, that probably means that she can deal with heat and humidity as well as with dry heat. What a versatile rose. Mine is still young but it seems to be very promising.

    Christina

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  12. Liebe Chtistina
    Welcome to my blog and many thanks for so kind words!
    I am glad that Austria remind you, your country.
    Germany is wonderful and I have gone several times.
    What exactly is your city in Germany? Can I went there ...
    Your blog is very beautiful, full of flowers and perfumes!
    I wish you a wonderful weekend!

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  13. Hello and thank you Christina for your passage on my blog! I just watched yours and I find it very nice! You have a variety of roses is not known here in Europe that are really beautiful.
    For Delphinium, you can try to plant them in partial shade, mine are just a few hours of the morning sun.
    Sorry for my English is not good, I understand but I am having trouble writing it.
    See you soon. Friendships floral !

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  14. Christina, that Old Fashioned Girl is gorgeous! Nice photo. Jeannine

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  15. Magda, welcome to my blog as well :-)! I am glad that you like Germany. I have lived for over 20 years in Berlin so I consider this city my town. Thanks for your kind words about my blog. Wishing you a nice rest of the weekend as well!

    Laurence, thanks for visiting my blog and for your nice words about it! Thank you so much for your tips about how to grow delphiniums. I will certainly have that in mind when I try them. Don't worry about your English I can understand you perfectly well. See you at your blog!

    Jeannine, thanks! I am glad you like this rose. It is truly a little gem!

    Christina

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  16. I'm glad you showcase the beauty of such understated roses. :o) I love the red stems on the Marie Pave. Last fall I added an organic fertilizer to my garden made by a company called John and Bob's Grow Green. I had read on another blog that it worked wonders for the gardeners soil, especially her roses. I had it shipped to me but it's available locally in CA, where the company is located. www.johnandbobs.com
    It is even great for container plants.

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  17. Casa Mariposa, thanks for your comment. I will look up the company that you bought the organic fertilizer from and see if I can find the fertilizer locally. Thanks for the tip! I am always up to try an organic fertilizer that is supposed to be good for roses :-).

    Christina

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