Saturday, April 13, 2013

March Roses

Sorry for coming in late with my monthly rose post. I was gone on a trip and after that very busy in my professional and private life, with no time left to blog. But finally here they are, photos of my roses that have bloomed in March.



'Sweetness' was the earliest flowering Hybrid Tea rose in my garden this year. Her lavender colored blooms are opening always beautifully and are accompanied by a great fragrance.



The size of the blooms of 'Sweetness' is huge. Above you see a fully open one, heavy with water drops from the sprinkler system.



This year I fertilized 'Sweetness' a little more since it is growing in tough competition with the roots of a nearby Queen Palm tree...



 ...and got rewarded with many, many blooms. Much more than last year. I often feel that because in my garden I almost always have palm tree roots interfering with the roots of the roses, I hardly can over-fertilize or over-water any of my roses. But keep in mind, that I am only using organic fertilizers, which are not as potent and long lasting as most of the chemical ones.



Above you can see 'Pope John Paul II', another one of my Hybrid Tea roses, which was ready to pop by the end of March.



Close-up of the buds of 'Pope John Paul II'.




Now this is exciting news to me! In my last post about the roses in my garden (February Roses) I was complaining that my Tea Rose 'Georgetown Tea' wasn't blooming at all, even though it is supposed to be able to flower throughout the winter.


 

I made a commitment to fertilize and water the rose religiously at least for a few month and see what happens. And guess what, after I started the new regimen the rose broke out into a flush of lovely blooms.




They have the typical Tea Rose habit to nod and often hide a little bit in the foliage. I feel that there is a special charm to the form of Tea Rose blooms,...


 

...but I am sure they are not everyone's favorite. My 'Georgetown Tea' has started to build a nicely formed bush after being the second year in the ground. I will show you photos of the whole plant in one of the next posts.



'Old Fashioned Girl', a miniature rose, is truly a bloom machine in my garden. Not long ago she finished her winter flush and in March she started her new spring flush already, again.



The first spring flush spray is showing a lot of proliferation (green core in the center of the bloom), but that will stop very soon, at least so I hope.




But there are also very well formed blooms.




Here you see the first spray from a different angle. It is amazing to me how many flowers there were on just one single spray. 




'Vi's Violet', another miniature rose, full of buds as well.



Close-up of a bloom of 'Vi's Violet'. I really do like the flower shape of the rose.



The blooms of 'Our Lady of Guadalupe' always open in a perfect way.




New, fresh, green foliage and plenty of buds is enough to get me excited. Here you see a promising looking 'Grandmother's Hat'.



'Lavender Crystal', a miniature rose, is the only rose that I have in my garden, which was bred by a Japanese rose breeder.



Hitoshi Asami, created this lovely rose before 1985.



'Lavender Crystal' has a very distinct flower form, which is more obvious when the blooms are fully open and the blooms show a very lovely shade of lavender. Unfortunately, this rose suffers from blackspot in my garden, which is unusual, since I don't have much blackspot pressure where I live in Southern California.

Hope you enjoyed seeing the first rose blooms of March, which announced the beginning spring flush 2013. This is such an exciting time in my rose garden right now, I can't wait to show you more pictures!

See you in the garden!

Christina



42 comments:

  1. 'Sweetness' is my favorite but I love the lavender roses in general.

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  2. Gorgeous Christina! I love Old Fashioned Girl! By the way the bud on the climber is an Iceberg, and the Cecile Brunner stump sprouted new shoots just as you predicted! I am not sure what to do as yet! 'Sally Holmes' is about to start blooming and my other Iceberg is blooming like crazy! I think it's your fertilizer! Jeannine

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  3. So beautiful. I wish we had roseflowers the whole year round. It takes about overhere more then 8 weeks before the first rose flowers are going to bloom.
    Have a wonderful sunday and take care!!

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  4. Dear Christina,
    I am a big fan of cabbage roses but I think that the shape of 'Our Lady of Guadeloupe' is wonderful.
    I love the look of the Georgetown Tea as well. Is it scented?
    Will you post some photos of Grandmother's Hat when it comes out? I fell in love with that rose when you posted a picture some time back!
    Photograph No. 5 seems to show that a part of your garden is on the edge of a cliff?
    Bye for now,
    Kirk

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  5. So many lavender roses, Christina, and sooo many buds ! You are growing those roses so well ! Bravo !

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  6. Dear Christina ~ I just 'love' lavender rose blooms. I recently bought a lavender rose but it did not have a name tag. The blooms are huge and smell wonderful.

    It is always a joy and thrill to see what roses are blooming in your wonderful gardens.

    Have a lovely day and a great week ~ FlowerLady

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  7. Beautiful lavender blue roses! I love roses and are always very curious to see new and different ones in other gardens in all parts of the world. Hope to be able to show my roses in June too, it takes so long before they start over here.

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  8. Hi Christina....all of your roses are just breathtaking. I can't even choose a favorite because they are all so wonderful. I so happy for you that Georgetown Tea bloomed. Since my climate won't allow me to grow beautiful roses, I will enjoy them on your post. Thanks.

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  9. I love all of the lavender roses!

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  10. Śliczne róże, a najbardziej kolorem podoba mi sie pierwsza. Pozdrawiam.
    Beautiful roses, and most color I like the first one. Yours.

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  11. Hi Christina, I can't wait to see more photos of your roses. 'Sweetness' is so beautiful...in fact they are all beautiful! My roses are just beginning to bloom. 'Don Juan' is the first, as always. Don't you just love spring?

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  12. Wonderful lavender roses Christina! It's always a delight to see what's in bloom in your garden :)

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  13. You have a very special collection of Roses there Christina. I just love Sweetness, that sure is a classy rose!

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  14. Gardener on Sherlock Street, lavender is also a favorite color of mine, but not so easy to combine in the garden.

    Jeannine, thanks, 'Old Fashioned Girl' is a healthy, easy to grow rose for me. Maybe you want to give it try in your own garden? I am glad that you like the fertilizer that I have recommended to you. I really do think it makes a big difference.

    Marijke, it is definitively nice to be able to grow roses year round, but you also can grow some plants that need some winter chill that I can't. There are always advantages and disadvantages to where you live :-)!

    Kirk, 'Georgetown Tea' is a Tea Rose and has a light typical, well, Tea Rose scent, which I can't describe any better. The fragrance is definitively not very strong. Yes, I will post photos of 'Grandmother's Hat' soon, I promise. We don't live on a cliff but on a steep hill, which has the benefit of having great views into the valley below us.

    Dani, thanks, I actually feel that this year I have more buds than usual. Seems to be a very nice spring flush this year!

    Lorraine, thanks, somehow lavender colored roses most of the time come with a great fragrance. That is one reason why I love them so much besides the color.

    Janneke, thanks, I also love to see what roses are growing in other people's gardens and in different climate zones. I love the gallicas, which sadly don't like the mild climate here, so I can't grow them, but I can grow Tea Roses, to make up for that ;-)!

    Christy, thank you very much for your nice words about my roses! I know Tennessee has a tough climate for growing roses, but I am happy when you come to my blog to enjoy mine.

    Erin, thanks for your comment!

    Giga, thanks, nice to know you are a fan of lavender colored roses as well!

    Dorothy, in my garden by now the spring flush has really started. Each day there is another rose that is opening her buds. This is such a great time in San Diego. Looking forward to seeing your roses on your blog as well!

    Mark and Gaz, thanks for your kind words! I am happy that you enjoy my roses, even though you guys are more into tropical plants.

    Angie, thanks, I am proud you think I have a special collection of roses! I am never thought of her that way, but now since you said it I agree there is something classy about 'Sweetness'.

    Christina





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  15. Liebe Christina,
    oh wie herrlich deine Rosen schon zu blühen anfangen.
    Die Sweetness ist ganz wundervoll. So eine aparte Färbung.
    Ist das die 2008 gezüchtete Rose von Zara? Ich habe mal bei
    helpmefind.com geschaut. Da gibt es mehrere Sweetness.
    Euer Klima ist ja ideal für Teerosen.
    Deine Bilder sind jedenfalls wieder zum Träumen schön :-)
    Ganz viele liebe Grüße über das große Meer sendet dir Urte

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  16. Hi Christina,
    your roses are gorgeous...I can only hope mine will be half as rich as yours. Here is still spring and we have a cold weather outside so mine only have a few leaves for now.
    Your purple rose is amazing, color wise and shape wise also...
    Have a wonderful time in your garden and enjoy your beautiful roses!

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  17. Looking at these pictures tell me why roses are called queen of flowers. They are absolutely gorgeous. And, you should send that second picture - with water droplets - to some photo contest. Absolutely mind-blowing perfect rose and photography.

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  18. Urte, thank you very much for your nice and kind words about my roses and photos. Yes, my 'Sweetness' is the one that Keith Zary bred in 2008. I just realized that it is classified as a Grandiflora and not as an Hybrid Tea rose, yikes! But since the class of Grandifloras is, for example not accepted in Great Britain (there all the roses in this category are listed as Hybrid Tea roses) I don't feel that bad, that I made a mistake ;-)!

    Adriana, thanks for your nice note! 'Sweetness' has a great color and shape in my eyes as well, but I am not sure if hard core rose exhibitors would agree regarding the flower form.

    KL, you are very sweet! Thank you so much for your nice words about my roses. I am touched that you think so highly of the second photo in this post.

    Christina




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  19. Hvor har du dog mange smukke roser.
    Gode billeder.
    Tak for kigget.
    Ha´ en dejlig aften.

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  20. Landbohaven, I am happy that you think my roses are beautiful and that you like my photos!

    Christina

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  21. I really like the looks of 'Old Fashioned Girl'. What a pretty bloom, and I bet she quits that odd blooming after the temperatures even out a bit. Lavender Crystal is very impressive - actually a true lavender, especially in the middle. Sweetness is pretty, too. And I'm glad your Georgetown Tea finally decided to show off!

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  22. Such a treat for my eyes! Love the lavender hues, (your first photo is beyond stunning) as well as Our Lady of Guadalupe.

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  23. Holley, I have a special affinity for 'Old Fashioned Girl', too. The blooms have a good petal substance and don't mind being hit by water like many other light colored rose flowers do. Mine OfG is in a really hot and dry spot so I am curious to see how the rose will cope with these conditions this year.

    Rosemary, thanks for your kind words! I love the lavender colors as well. I am wondering if it is just coincidence that I my lavender colored roses are blooming early this year or if this has something to do with the color.

    Christina

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  24. So much growth! Those lavender roses are beautiful. Everything looks so full and healthy. :o) I just saw a bud on one of my roses today. Yay!

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  25. Tammy, I am also amazed how much growth the garden puts on each spring. Especially the roses are astonishing to me in there ability to grow back after pruning. Congrats on your first rose bud. They are always so special!
    Christina

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  26. Lovely roses, Christina, thank you for the pictures. I can feel your love for lavender roses :)

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  27. Masha, thanks for your kind words! Yes, lavender roses have a special place in my heart :-)!

    Christina

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  28. Your roses look so very healthy and pretty. I really enjoy roses however they always seem to suffer blackspot in my garden, there's so much rain in Ireland.

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  29. You have beautiful roses! I miss San Diego....the best weather on earth. So easy gardening there....Im jealous of you! I would like to return some day! Keep up the good work!

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  30. Kelli, I do have some healthy roses but others suffer from powdery mildew and even blackspot. I can imagine that roses in Ireland are very prone to blackspot. But maybe it is possible for you to find some varieties that are more resistant to it than others?

    lifeinjapan, yeah, we are blessed with really nice weather here in San Diego and it is a wonderful place to garden as long as you water enough ;-)! I hope that your wish to return comes true one day.

    Christina

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  31. Hi, I show up here via Jeannine at Garden envy..
    Your garden is lovely and these roses beautiful..so healthy!
    Ronelle

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  32. Ciao, bellissimo blog con bellissime immagini!

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  33. Ronelle, how nice to have you come over from Jeannine's blog! Thanks for your nice comment about my garden and the roses!

    pontos, thanks for your kind words about my blog and the photos!

    Christina

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  34. I hope everything is fine with you. It's already middle of May and we are stuck with March roses.

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  35. KL, thanks for your concern! I am fine, but just awfully busy with my professional and private live that I simply don't have the time to blog :-(.

    Christina

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  36. Very nice pictures of your roses, of course here only buds.

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  37. Barbara, thanks for your kind comment, hope your roses are opening for you soon :-)!

    Christina

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  38. I love your blog. Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful garden. Your green thumb and your roses are so inspiring! I own 2 roses, Mister Lincoln and Oranges n Lemons. I just bought Iceberg and hope to find a good spot for it in the yard. I am getting a bit more confident as I understand more about roses.

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  39. Those lavender-mauve shades are just sumptuous. Thanks for sharing these wonderful pics. So inspiring.

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  40. Sandra, thank you very much for your nice comment about my blog, it made my day! I so agree with you: The more you know about roses, the more you will enjoy growing them and have great results. It is such a fun and rewarding hobby.

    Mario, thanks for your kind note. Lavender colored roses have a special place in my heart and I never get tired of them. There is something extraordinary about this particular color to me.

    Christina

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  41. My goodness you have a lot of commenters! Your roses are beautiful. I love roses so much and will be planting some very soon as bare root stock over here as we are in winter now. Your post has inspired me to think outside my normal rose square and try a few different ones:) x

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  42. Kim, I think the only reason why comments have accumulated after this post is, that I didn't write a follow-up post for almost two month! I am glad that my post has inspired you to try some new varieties. Many of the recently bred roses are more disease resistant than the older varieties, which is quite a plus I think!
    Christina

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