Black Roses

Not the kind that you can get from Ecuador……those beautiful dark burgundy roses that look jet black…but the ones that everyone seems to be calling the nursery about this year – the “Black Roses of Fallon”. This winter was an extremely hard one on a lot of our shrubs and rose bushes. While it may appear that they are indeed dead…please do not dig them up... just yet. Take the time to get down at the base of the bush and really look at it. I think what you may find is while the top half of the bush has indeed died off from the sub-zero weather we had this last winter, the bottom is still very much alive, and starting to wake up. Look for small reddish growths coming from the base of the plant. These are new canes that are forming. They will be tremendously productive this coming year, and you need to take care not to accidentally break them off when you are clearing away your mulch and leaves.

Try to contain yourself from doing any heavy pruning just yet. We recommend that you do not begin that until Mid-April in our area. When you do get the pruners out, you will possibly be taking your roses back to 3-5 main canes. If you just need to be doing something to your roses bushes right now, get some good aphid controls going. I made the attempt to spray mine today with Dr. Earth Rose & Flower. It is a 100% organic spray made from cinnamon, clove, garlic and rosemary oil. Not only does it smell wonderful, but it will cover any overwintering eggs and suffocate them so they don’t hatch. Turns out you can't hook it up to a hose that has a bent connection on it though......so it's off to the store for a new hose later today. While you are at it, check under your mulch. Hopefully you will find 100’s of these little guys under there also, as I did.

Today I did what most nursery people do on their days off, spent it in my own garden. The sun shining, the birds singing......all is well in my world. Have a great week, Susan

Upcoming Rose Pruning Classes @ The Flower Tree:
Saturday, April 10th, 11am
Sunday, April 11th, 1pm
Thursday, April 16th, 1pm