John Waterer

[AlecN]

Does anyone else grow this rose, I recently bought one from a local rose nursery as an end of range H T item at half price (April) near to me here in Norfolk, and it is not in their next catalogue perhaps it was not a good seller, however I have been impressed by the size and quality of the deep red blooms and they seem to last a long while indoors without opening and dropping petals although there does not seem a lot of scent.

Cheers
AlecN

[Stefanie]

Welcome to the forum Alec

Sorry I dont grow her but she looks nice. She is a rather 'old' rose - bred in 1970 by McGredy.

Enjoy her and keep us updated how she does in your garden. Do you have any other roses in your garden or is this the first one?

[AlecN]

Thanks for answering, hopefully J W will improve even more in its second year, yes I have several other roses having been collecting for a few years in a small way, mostly they do well although the only one which has dissapointed us this year is Var De Bologna, although this is its first year it has only thrown up a few weak shoots which are covered in mildew. I have shortened them and am hoping for the best.

On the other hand I gave my Son two roses which he kept in containers in his small garden but after a while they really struggled being pot bound, I planted them in my garden and the difference was amazing, they are Royal William and Rhapsody In Blue, If I can figure out how to post photos I will !
Best Wishes
AlecN

[Stefanie]

Hi Alec,

‘Rahpsody in Blue’ is a monster of a rose. Although she is listed as a shrub rose in my garden she fulfils her job of (nearly) covering our wood shed….. Big roses have bigger root systems and unless you have her in an XXL size pot she would not have been happy.

I have never heard of ‘Var de Blologna’ and the website help me find roses ( http://www.helpmefind.com ) does not know her either. I’m sitting downstairs with a nice cup of tea and a cat on my lap (makes typing a wee bit challenging) so I cant quickly access my CRL for roses but I’ll look her up there later.

Powdery Mildew (PM) can be a sign of stress but sometimes it just sticks to a variety! I had a few HT’s that if you even thought the PM word in close proximity of the rose she would get it! In the end I shovel pruned those roses. They where just more trouble that they where worth

Generally speaking HT’s don’t really like being in pots. Having said that – one my really good friends grows nearly all her roses in pots. Most of them are Miniatures but there are a good few HT’s too. However she bought the biggest size plastic pots that are available on the South African marked. One needs to keep in mind that the root system of the rose approximately will be the same size as the ‘body’ (stem’s and foliage above ground). Most people buy pots that are to small so the roses don’t perform. Another problem with pots is that they dry out quicker than the garden soil. Most people don’t take into consideration that roses are waterholics and in a root bound pot roses really dry up quickly.

Re photo uploads: I struggled with that too in the beginning but it really is rather easy (once you know how too) Have a look under “New User Introducitions” > “South African Rose Grower” . On page 2 you will find how Serena and Pol taught me online on how to upload photos. I meanwhile have switched to ‘photobucked’ but the procedure is the same. Just don’t forget to resize your pictures before you upload them to either imageshack or photobucked or it takes foreeeeeeever to load them onto their sites.

We are looking forward to see more of you on this forum. Oh yes, Paul must be on holiday, he is rather scarce at the moment but once he comes back he will most likely ask you to please state your location on your ‘name beam’. It makes all our lives easier as we than know where each of us lives. Sometimes new members ask for advice but it is difficult to give as we don’t quite know where in the world they are….

Lots of rosie regards from South Africa

[AlecN]

Thanks Rosie
I have followed your advice and added my location, I think the full name of the rose is Variegata De Bologna. I believe it is white with red petal edges although we are still waiting for a bloom, we thought it would be nice to contrast with the Baron Girod De Lain which is my wifes favorite and which is a sort of dark red with white petal edges and a lovely scent and is planted next to it.
Best Wishes
AlecN