Roses

Hybrid Tea

Lady Bird: The is a Jackson and Perkins rose named after Lady Bird Johnson. It is on it's own rootstock so even though it dies down to the ground every winter it comes back just fine as the same rose.

6/3/10

6/5/10

This rose never disappoints.

6/6/10

Florabunda

Unknown Rose: I had the name of this one which I planted this year BUT I've misplaced it for the time being. Hopefully I will locate the name soon.

6/3/10

6/6/10

6/22/10

5/13/10

Rugosas

Rosa rugosa rubra. I grew this rose from seed myself. It suckers freely to make a nice thorny low growing hedge in moist and wet soil but if planted in dry or sandy soil it will not sucker, though still be perfectly healthy. It's a care free rose with a wonderful scent and the petals and hips are edible. The leaves have a nice hay like scent as well when rubbed and the native and not native pollinating insects love the flowers. It starts blooming in May for me and blooms until a hard frost. There is no need to dead head this rose as new blooms and rose hips continually form. It needs no fertilizer and no pesticides although to be honest the Japanese Beatles love to eat the flowers. Using chemicals on these roses will harm them, they are very sensitive to them and so they are perfect if you like to have an edible landscape that is organic.

The hips are very nutritious, chock full of vitamins you need. You will not suffer scurvy if you eat them. They are good in tea, in jelly, and as a snack even when fully ripe and i have heard that when the suckers are very small they can be steamed and eaten too though I've not tried it myself so I can not vouch for that use.

Rosa rugosa var. alba has wonderful fragrance that perfumes the air even before the buds open. Pollinators find this rugosa irresistible. It was also seed grown originally and makes nice suckers and hips.

I harvest well rooted suckers in the fall for sale or trade. The suckers will bloom during the first year of transplanting so you never have to wait long for flowers. My rugosas stay about 3 feet tall and get no taller then that though they get wider. They are VERY hardy and seem to do well in all kinds of conditions though I have not tried them in hot sunny dry places as I have not hot and dry places in my yard. However I have someone I shipped white ones to last fall in CA and they say they are blooming and growing gangbusters. I sell my well rooted suckers for $3 a piece plus shipping, bare root, after the plants go dormant in the fall but can also pot some up for summer sales too for $5. I DO wait until the suckers bloom for the first time so I can identify the right color as I have white too and they love to mingle. I am always happy to barter too. When I have some ready, I will list it on the side of my blog.

6/6/10

R.rugosa rubra hip

6/19/10

R. rugosa var. alba

6/6/10

hip

8/4/10

The roses are starting another big flush of bloom, they smell so sweet. The Japanese beetles have disappeared so the flowers are no longer being eaten.

HIPS

7/18/10

I harvested rose hips and processed to make juice for jelly. Froze the Juice for now.