Wednesday, June 17, 2015

May Roses

Powdery mildew and rose rust continued to be a serious problem for many of my roses in May. Rust was particularly strong in comparison to previous years, but despite that, most of the roses soldiered on and flowered beautifully.



'Rhodologue Jules Gravereaux', a Tea Rose, was my personal favorite last month. I just love the soft pink color and the elegant blooms with the edges of the petals reflexing backwards.



'Charles Darwin' stayed very healthy despite the high disease pressure.



A rose that makes a rare appearance on my blog is 'Stephen's Big Purple', a Hybrid Tea rose, with huge blooms. The plant is still growing in a two gallon pot and that might be one reason why it is not blooming that often. For my taste the color is a little bit too bright and rather a dark pink than a purple as the name promises. If I ever plant it out into the ground, I definitively need "to tone the color down" by companion plants. 



'Belinda's Dream' is supposed to do well in hot and dry climates and it does in my garden. It is planted very close to a big 'Queen Palm' and I assume for that reason is not as vigorous as expected.



Here is another shot of 'Belinda's Dream'. I like the particular pink color of this rose very much.



'Marie Pavie', as usual, is outdoing itself with flowering.



'Our Lady of Guadalupe' is also hard to beat in terms of flower power.



In my opinion the silvery pink color is very pretty.



'Reine des Violettes' at her best! This rose has a very lovely fragrance as well, fitting for an Old Garden Rose.



'Georgetown Tea', as the name indicates a Tea Rose, has a beautiful veining on the petals. Unfortunately, the rose blooms fry very easily when it is hot in San Diego and a whole flush can be ruined within hours on hot days.



'Auckland Metro' continues to be a good rose in my garden, but even though the bush normally has been very healthy, this year it also got affected by rose rust.



The rose was still blooming strongly despite the disease present on the leaves.



'Heritage' was one of the worst mildewers and rusters! If the blooms weren't so beautiful...



...I would have discarded the rose by now, already.



The blooms of 'The Prince' continue to fascinate me with their dark red captivating color and their strong "Old Garden Rose" fragrance.



The bush itself (here you can see it in my front yard in the middle of the photo) is less delightful, though. The plant is tall and has a narrow silhouette, not necessarily a pleasing bush form to the eye. The rose also suffers badly from powdery mildew in my garden and seemed to be weakened by the fungal infection.

By the way, do you see my violet gladiolus behind 'The Prince'? They have been outstanding this year and I really like how they back up 'The Prince' and fit in with the blue color scheme of the front yard.



The flowers of 'The Prince' are one of a kind, no matter what the flaws of the bush might be, they are stunningly beautiful.



I am finishing this post with a photo of 'Sweetness', a Grandiflora, photographed under gray skies. The light brought out the clear lavender color of this rose perfectly that day. 

Wishing you wonderful last days of spring!

See you in the garden!

Christina



15 comments:

  1. May I please simply scroll through this post over and over again? Really, I have serious Rose envy. Your Roses and your photos are so lovely. Sigh. I think I need to make a trip to the local botanical garden for dose of Rose therapy. Cheers!

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  2. Your roses make me so jealous! Absolutely beautiful. Yours are really treated me. I've been missing my roses blooming. Rust and powdery mildew are serious problem on my roses too. Lots of my collection have died cause of these problems. Thank you for sharing, Christina.

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  3. Christina,

    Que fotos divinas!!! Meu Deus! Quanta beleza!!

    Parabéns, todas rosas são um encanto!

    Seu jardim é tão lindooo!!

    beijinhos, Lígia e =^.^=

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  4. A little celebration of these roses that do well and against rust and mildew!

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  5. Están todas preciosas. Mis rosales también están enfermos, parece que se le esta pasando un poquito. Besos.

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  6. Le feuillage de toutes les roses présentées ce jour est très beau, je ne vois aucune tache de rouille. Les roses sont magnifiques, j'admire le coloris et la forme des roses de Notre dame de Guadeloupe. Cette variété est d'un charme fou et délicieusement romantique. J'admire aussi la roses "The Prince", encore une variété très séduisante.
    Belle journée

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  7. What a shame about 'Heritage', it is an absolutely gorgeous rose.

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  8. In spite of rust and mildew your gardens have blessed you with beautiful roses. It is always a joy to see what is growing there in your lovely gardens. Thank you for sharing.

    FlowerLady

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  9. Gorgeous photos as always, Christina. I admit to a continuing fondness for 'Our Lady of Guadalupe' but 'Auckland Metro' also grabbed me this month - the center of the flower positively glows.

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  10. My goodness Christina!! Your roses...ah!!! Like a dream I tell you! They are just so beautiful! And your vignette up there is just amazing!!! Wishing you a wonderful month in the garden this June friend! Nicole xoxo

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  11. So schön - liebe Christina!
    Ach da kann man schwelgen :-) So schöne Bilder!
    Zum Glück ist bei uns nun auch endlich
    die Rosenzeit angebrochen :-)
    Ganz viele liebe sommerliche Grüße
    sendet dir die Urte :-)

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  12. Wonderful, all of them!
    Foliage diseases is very tiring. Black spot is the worst here.

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  13. The problems you write about I have too! I have lost Heritage and the prince. But I also saw Some rain on the roses. That is hopeful! Groetjes, Hetty

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  14. très belles roses sous le ciel de californie
    Jean-pierre
    www.rugosa.canalblog.com

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  15. Amazing collection! i'm in love with all that roses

    xoxo, Juliana | PJ’ Happies :)

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