Contributions  from  a Master Gardener

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Roses

I have really enjoyed reading your articles, and I think an article on irrigation would be a good idea,
though probably very convoluted, judging from some of the bizarre and outlandish irrigation
systems I've seen in yards and gardens. 

One of the most inexplicable systems I've seen (and seen often) is the one where there are big black
tubes snaking all over the garden, oftentimes on top, ugly as anything, in plain view. 
If they are buried, they seem to be situated where it is easiest to punch weeding tools through them. 

Then, out of the big tube, there are multitudes of little skinny tubes sticking out into clumps of
foliage and flowers with various emitters on the ends.  Sometimes these are staked into the ground,
and sometimes just flopping around, but they are always placed where the maximum number can be
severed by unwary weeders, or even by alert weeders. 

Oftentimes, the big tubes are not buried, but the little ones are(!) which is most likely a fiendish
plot by the installer to make maintenance of the garden the most difficult and frustrating. 

Aha, I say to myself...there is the big tube...I'll make sure when I dig out that thistle to stay
away from tha...what the heck?  Where did that cluster of (now severed)capillaries come from? 
Oh, nestled around the root of the thistle, securely buried from view.  That does make sense.

And raking?  Forget it, if everything is staked and stapled down on top of the soil-and if it's not? 

I don't care how careful I am, or how many tubes and emitters I fling up onto surrounding bushes
to get them out of the way, I always manage to yank out a few capillaries or scrape off a few
emitters, thereby dooming myself to wasting a bunch of time searching for the little hole in the
tube or the little tube without the emitter. 

And the geysers?  The canals dug into the dahlia bed by an undiscovered leak?
The demonic timers? Don't get me started any further!! 

Anyway, there are many pitfalls in the world of watering, so I'll be looking  forward to reading
what you eventually write. 

About the question of very hardy roses for your area,  you must be doing something right, as it
sounds like you have some good roses already.  I was very lucky when I worked at the nursery to
have the rose order as one of my jobs, and it was always a lot of fun to research the different
offerings of various companies .

I found that it was possible to "read between the lines" in the wholesale catalogs and figure out
which roses were best for our area.  For example, a description might read, "a warm evening breeze
brings out the best in this beauty." 

We have a short season, so that means the weather isn't hot enough for long enough for that rose
to be very successful here. 

If the description said, "Cool coastal weather encourages this star to shine," it's a winner here. 
In your case, look for "An icy blast followed by the kiss of a blowtorch will help this paragon
to reach its potential," or something on that order.  

Of course, there are always exceptions, but if there was no mention of disease resistance, I took
it to mean the rose was a black-spot and powdery-mildew magnet. 

If there was mention of "slight" fragrance, I usually took that to mean no discernible fragrance. 

Here in our part of Washington, hardiness is not the issue as much as the short season and disease
problems can be.  However  we had customers who came from colder areas to shop and it was always
good to have roses that would do well in zones 3, 4, 5 as well as our zone 8. 

Naturally roses that are healthy and well fed/watered will be able to withstand a little more.

I always liked ordering own-root roses, if possible,  partly because I just like the idea, and partly
because it makes sense to me that the rose should be able to make it on its own. 

Budded roses often suffer more winter injury than own-root roses in harsh areas. 

Why buy a rose that might lose its non-hardy top and then sprout from a nice hardy rootstock and
bloom in shades of old scabs? 

I'm exaggerating -- sometimes the rootstock has a sort of attractive rose, but if you buy a peach
colored rose, you probably want a peach colored rose. 

Most of  the "modern"  hybrid teas, grandifloras, floribundas and minis are not as hardy as many
of the shrubs, old Europeans, rugosas, etc., though there are always exceptions.   

Own-root roses may start out somewhat looking somewhat smaller, but end up better quality, in my
opinion. 

I am partial to the old roses, rugosas, "found" roses, and hardy shrubs, and there are many good
ones that will go at least to zone 4. 

I used to think rugosas were boring before I really explored the great variety in the rugosa group. 

They should be good in your area. 

Some of my favorites are the 'Pavement" series -- a really crappy name for a group of good roses. 
I ordered 'Snow Pavement,' not really knowing what to expect, but wanting some lower growing rugosas. 

When it bloomed - the most beautiful pale, pale purple, I had to have one. 

When I put it in my car for the ride home, I was transported to rosy heaven by the great scent. 

All of the Pavements are great.  'Scabrosa,' another horrible name, is another fantastic rugosa. 
The stems are bigger and stronger than any other I've seen and  it blooms its head off in a
gorgeous red.  Other rugosas I really like - Hansa - deep pink/red; Agnes, yellow-cream;
Dart's Dash, deep red; Jessica Lauren, blush; Frau Dagmar Hastrup, silvery pink -- and many others.  

Most are really fragrant and hardy to zone 4.  There is even a beautiful "climbing" rugosa called
'Vanguard,' shades of peachy pink but only available in the UK right now.

The old roses are my favorites and some of the best for hardiness.  The only  "down side" is that
some of the best of them bloom just once per season. However, you can get around that by looking
for the repeat bloomers and planting plenty of rugosas and hardy shrubs in between.

 Years ago, I bought bare root roses from the Antique Rose Emporium in Texas and they have all
survived the 5 moves it took to get me from the Willamette valley to here.  I had heard that the
'Alba' roses, descended from dog roses and damask roses are among the hardiest, so I ordered
'Konigin von Danemark', very double deep pink; 'Celeste,' clear pink double,  and 'Minette,' 
an unusual lavender/pink/white double,  and have been very happy with them.

I am fine with once-blooming roses, and these are also disease free for me, which is a bonus. 

There are other great Alba roses too.  Moss roses also tend to be very hardy, and they are so
beautiful.  I have a crested moss rose, which I just love, and another called 'General Kleber,'
which isn't as mossy as I would like.  Both of those should be ok in zone 5 or "sheltered" zone 4. 

All the "Morden" roses and the Explorer and Parkland Research roses from Manitoba should be fine
in your area, though the Mordens are really black-spotty here.   Adelaide Hoodless, Cuthbert Grant,
Hope for Humanity, Wm. Booth, Capt. Samuel Holland, John Cabot, Quadra, Louis Jolliet, Polareis,
John Davis, Jens Munk, Henry Kelsey, and Wm. Baffin are all roses I ordered for the business
I worked for. 

Some of them threw out an amazing number of canes and are supposed to be hardy to zone 3 or 4, at
least.  Most of these are classed as climbers, which , in our area, means about 12' tall. 
My world's favorite hardy climber is Alchymist, which should be ok in yourarea.  It is yellow,
pink, peach, blush,  and looks amazing planted with anything purple. 

You may have noticed I dropped the quote marks -- getting too tiring.
 
 I should note, too, that the species roses are some of the best for hardiness.  I got some rose
seeds, and have grown some great species roses from seed.  Rosas pimpinellifolia, hugonis,
eglanteria, glauca, all are very tough and worth growing. 

One rose I really love is Rosa foetida, 'Austrian Copper,' which grew all over in the alleyways
etc. in the upper northwest -- it should be great in your area.  I bought one here for the
nostalgic smell, and the beautiful coppery flowers with yellow reverse.  Despite the "foetida,"
I think it smells great, and there is a pure yellow version, too.  I think the winter
is too wet here, because mine has really struggled.  

If you have patience, roses are a lot of fun from seed.

Here is a partial list of roses worth trying -- or at least looking into -- Carmenetta, 
All That Jazz, Arctic Flame, Cinnamon, Wm. Lobb, Roseraie de l'Hay, Fimbriata Dr. Merkley,
Golden Wings, Harison's Yellow, Mrs. Anthony Waterer, Thomas Lipton, all the Grootendorsts,
Kakwa, Celsiana, Calocarpa, Nigel Hawthorne, Orange Ruffles, Rose du Maitre d'Ecole,
Alain Blanchard, Stanwell Perpetual, Tuscany Superb, Apothecary's Rose, Rosa mundi,
Reine des violettes, Charles de Mills, Mme Hardy, Botzaris...and many more. 

There are many good rose companies which can provide more names and hardiness information. 
There is also a book out, called Growing Roses in Cold Climates, which I just saw on Amazon.com,
but haven't read yet.  Our library doesn't carry it, so I'm borrowing it from another system and
will let you know if it looks like it's any good.

The University of Minnesota has a free publication on-line called 'Selecting Hardy Roses for
Northern Climates,' which has a big list of hardy roses and sources.  I also like the websites
for Adamson's Heritage Nursery, Old Heirloom Roses, Old Garden Roses and Beyond, The
Uncommon Rose, Antique Rose Emporium, and Classic Roses. 

There are millions of other places for information.  J.L. Hudson and Greendealer have good prices
for rose seeds, in case you have the urge to try those.

On another note, my winter honeysuckle has been blooming for 2 months now, and the witch hazels
are just finishing up.  Just this week I have seen the first fully open daffodils and grape
hyacinths, and crocuses are still going strong. 

Some of the species tulips are coloring up and the forsythia is in bloom. 

Last week I saw three of the better looking 'Autumnalis' cherries I have seen in full bloom,
and the 'Thundercloud' plums are starting to show color.

A few days ago,  I cut a piece of blooming daphne in someone'syard and had it on the dashboard in
my truck. 

I happened to spill some coffee and the combination on smells -- daphne and coffee -- someone
should bottle it, it's so great.

Also -- I just found that there is a real business called Earth ******* here in our area,
so if you can change that in my last monologue, I would appreciate it -- I don't want to get sued. 
Let's just call the business - er - Nature's Mandala.  that sums up both business and potential
customer.