HOW IS EVERYONE IN THIS SOON TO BE UPCOMING BEAUTIFUL SPRING? just bought 4 rose plants, for the first time will be trying to raise them, to put around the outside of my kitchen window.
any suggestions on what they need to be healthy? or how far into the ground i should plant them?
I know that roses need to have acidic soil. Call your County Agent and ask him where to send a soil sample. Send your soil sample to where he says, he might even send it off for you. They don't cost much. You should get a peice of paper from your county agent for you to fill out what type of test to run. He will help you with it. Definetly request ph and organic matter content. Probably also ask for both micro and macronutrients. Also should be an area on the form asking for what you want to plant. Tell them the type of roses. Your county agent may even know how deep to plant them. If not, you should find it on the internet. When you get your soil test back, it will tell you what your soil has and what to treat your soil for what you want to plant and how much. I do know that if your soil is not acidic enough you need to apply sulfur to lower the ph. If it is too acidic you need to apply lime. How much to apply I cannot tell you. But your soil test report will be able to tell you.
Sorry I can't help with your roses. I seem to have a black thumb, as in
anything I try to grow dies. I do love flowers in the yard and can hardly wait for everything to start blooming & turning green. Hope your garden
blooms beautifully for you.
Dear friends........
I don't know much about gardening either...
I have had a few vegetable gardens but nothing spectacular...
The following poem is about all I know about flowers........
I wrote this for a fire safety presentation a few years ago. It was at a seminar for problems of the Urban/Rural Interface.
My Retirement Home
Fire Marshal; Dell M. Mangum 05/96
I moved here from the city, to my house upon the hill,
Where I can look out over the Valley, and the River broad and still.
As I sit here on my veranda, I can appreciate the view.
The scenery hasn’t changed much, Not since the house was new.
The trees have grown quite handsome, since we planted them that fall.
So tall and straight, and full of leaves, They used to be so small.
Roses, Roses everywhere, My wife so loves the smell.
And don’t forget the Lilac Bush over by the well.
All the pretty annuals, growing by the gate,
They turn their heads to watch the sun, Morning, Noon, and Late!
There are shrubs along the driveway that are taller than the car.
Some of them were purchased, and some were potted in a jar.
A garden full of cornrows, protected by house and ridge.
A sparkling Brooke runs through it, with fishing from the bridge.
The car is parked out in the driveway, for the garage is full of dreams.
If we collect another, it will be bursting at the seams.
Oh, We have all the toys! You know the kind I mean,
The motorboat, and motor Home, and a broken snow-machine.
A rusty ole wreck, that once was the family Auto.
“Now that I have time, I’ll fix them up!” If I ever win the lotto!
Four wheelers running round the lawn, just staying off the grass.
“Hey Gramps! We need some help! We think it’s out of gas!”
It was really stupid, using a can with a leaky spout.
Once the fire started, I couldn’t put it out!
It burned down to the willows, and up to the grassy ridge.
It started through the garden, and burned up half the bridge.
Fire knows no boundaries; all it needs is fuel.
What and where it burns is often down right cruel.
The wind had changed direction and was blowing towards the house.
“Better call the Fire Department” I hollered at my spouse.
“We have a truck already rolling, but it will probably take awhile.”
From the Fire Station to our front door is nearly thirteen-mile.
We slowed the fire down a bit, and kept it off the lawn,
But sacrificed the driveway shrubs, just like a chessboard Pawn.
The Sun went down, behind the Ridge and left us in the dark.
While we were busy fighting fire, and chasing every spark.
When the Sun came up, the fire had disappeared.
No one was hurt and the smoke had all but cleared.
As I stood there on my veranda, and gazed out on the scene,
At Trees and Shrubs all blackened, that had once been bright and green.
I knew that we’d been lucky, We could have lost our home.
So I Thanked the LORD for what was left then sat and wrote this Poem.
Sheila, I wish I could help you. I have horrible luck with roses. Where I live we have hornets that make their nests out of leaves, and they love the roses for this. No matter what I do they eat them alive. It's nothing short of a miracle that there is the slightest bit of green on my roses at the end of summer, although the wild roses do fine. I wish I had a better reply. I love gardening, but I'm starting to realize I was not cut out for it. You need to devote almost all your time to the pursuit, and I just have too many things on my plate. One of the big things, after the captain's test, will be training Cloud Catcher in earnest. I can't stand the thought of ending up with a pasture potato (my coined phrase stolen from couch potato). I swore I'd never have a horse in my pasture with grass belly. So far I've done well to keep him in good shape, but maybe that's more to do with the inability to buy him all the food he would love to eat than it is with working him out! Right now I'm down to three bales of hay, and it would be an understatement to say I'm in near panic. I've got to find some hay IMMEDIATELY!!!!!