HLG's new rose / tree peony bed

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HoosierLawnGnome
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HLG's new rose / tree peony bed

Post by HoosierLawnGnome » April 13th, 2017, 4:46 pm

I started this bed last fall. It's a combination of roses and tree peonies.
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I edged it last fall and planted the green mountain boxwoods. I started a bunch of winter gem boxwood cuttings last fall to plant in between to eventually form a solid, formal, castle-shaped boxwood hedge. I plan on putting a hedge around the front as well, but I don't have any boxwood cuttings ready to transplant yet. I transplanted some boxwood in late February and lost some of them naturally as it was pretty early.

I planted the tree peony on the front left last fall, which has taken off well this spring. On the right is an old tree peony that was mature in the 1960s, which I transplanted from my wife's grandmother's estate last spring. I moved it twice before it ended up in this spot, and it survived to this spring. This peony gets less sun than the other. It got no care over the last 10-15 years. It is quite a plant! I'm really hoping it kicks in, but for now I'm just happy it's leafed out.

I have a pink/white tree peony, and a white tree peony (pretty sure that's the color.

This spring, I used the grass in the bed to use as plugs for the turf renovation while waiting for my shipment of David Austin roses from TX. I'm glad I called to inquire - they had already shipped and arrived 2 days later. As such, I only had a day to apply glyphosate to remaining vegetation in the bed, and it didn't kill everything prior to planting. I planted the bare root roses the day after they arrived. I dug out the holes very deep and wide, then mixed peat moss, composted manure, and my native silty clay soil together. Climbers went on the southern side and in locations to help shield the tree peonies from the punishing afternoon sun.I put the bud right at the soil line and thoroughly watered. We got a cold snap and frost one morning. A few days later, I top dressed with 4-6" of inexpensive mulch, watered, and hand packed it all down. I'm watering them daily.

I installed the arbor and put 2 don jun climbing roses at different distances from it's base. I put in the stepping stones. The idea is that I'll get more uniform blooms on the arbor when it matures. The research I did shows mixed reviews of don juan climbing roses getting tall in central Indiana. If I can get 7 feet I'll be in good shape, but that's optimistic I think. Central Indiana can be awful for roses - often called the "zomie zone" by the Indianapolis Rose Society I follow. We get late cold snaps This is a windy location as well - at least until the evergreens and boxwood hedge I planted break it up in the years to come. The location does, however, get good sunlight and the plants will get babied.

The David Austin roses I have:
Munstead Wood (small - crimson)
Claire Austin (climber - white)
Olivia Rose Austin (medium - pink)
Gertrude Jekyl (climber - pink)
Falstaff (small climber - red)
Susan Williams-Ellis (medium white)

Don Juan Climbing Rose (red)

Anyways, I'm very excited to see how this grows in. I still have work to do. Boxwood hedge to be planted, a few more roses to fill in the empty spaces, and some sort of support structure for the climbers in the back.

So far everything is showing growth! I've watered them daily, and applied a little bit of liquid fertilizer a few weeks after planting. Everything is responding well so far!

GreenGro
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Re: HLG's new rose / tree peony bed

Post by GreenGro » June 25th, 2019, 1:49 pm

any updates pics?

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HoosierLawnGnome
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Re: HLG's new rose / tree peony bed

Post by HoosierLawnGnome » June 26th, 2019, 11:24 am

Tagging this to post a more recent pic. Its undergone a lot of updates but is doing ok. I would categorize myself as a moderate rosarian at best. I lost several David Austin's and replanted the warranties rooted plants this spring. They are doing well so far.

The boxwoods are doing well. The tree peony produced its first blooms after being planted 2 years ago. The herbacios peonies did fine. I moved in a lot of plants from other beds I converted back to turf this spring.

My tree peony, second season, first blooms:
Image

Herbaceous peonies I transplanted this spring. I was happy to get any blooms at all!
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A pic of my turf with the bed in the foreground:
Image

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Re: HLG's new rose / tree peony bed

Post by HoosierLawnGnome » June 26th, 2019, 11:38 am

The herbaceous root stock on my tree peony sent up shoots so I cut them and the roots out with a shovel:

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And I got a free herbaceous peony plant out of it
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Here is this tree peonys first ever bloom. Beautiful and I can smell it from across the yard. Love it
Image

I also lost a Don Juan rose, so I split the other one I had and moved it to where the dead one was after replacing the soil.

The David Austin's that didnt survive their 2nd winter were the Falstaff, Claire Austin, and Olivia Rose? Austin.

The replacements have bloomed well.

I battle black spot every spring, no matter my watering habits. Rose slugs too. I have not mastered prevention but I'm getting better. I am sure I need earlier fungicide applications and more consistent rose slugs removal (I like to pull them off with my fingers)

I did better this year, but not to my liking yet. I like to save time by applying fungicide at the same time I treat my lawn, but black spot timing doesnt correlate well enough, so I need different schedules.

I fertilize peonies at bloom and in the fall.

Roses it depends, but generally I fertilize early spring and after first bloom synthetically, and add compost and peat moss after the first shoots break through.

I have much to learn still!

Azaleas hate my soil. I plan to get rid of them.

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Re: HLG's new rose / tree peony bed

Post by bernstem » July 1st, 2019, 1:59 pm

I'm going to guess that roses in your area are going to need winter protection to prevent losses. Even in St. Louis, some of the more fragile roses won't make it over winter without a covering of mulch. I have gravitated to non-grafted roses on their own roots which tend to tolerate winter temps better as there is no graft union.

Fertilizer depends on your goals. Roses are pretty tough to over fertilize and will respond to at least monthly fertilizer. I like an organic fertilizer with Alfalfa 2-3 times per year and then a fish meal blended organic/synthetic fertilizer every 2-3 weeks on top of the Alfalfa.

As for spraying, this year has been terrible for disease with the near constant rain. Every 2-3 weeks, the roses get an azole fungicide (Ortho Rose Disease Control) with Daconil thrown in for rotation every third spray.

Munstead Wood is a great rose with strong scent and a very dark red color. It is a bit gangly in growth, but I like it a lot.


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Re: HLG's new rose / tree peony bed

Post by HoosierLawnGnome » July 1st, 2019, 2:42 pm

bernstem wrote:
July 1st, 2019, 1:59 pm
I'm going to guess that roses in your area are going to need winter protection to prevent losses. Even in St. Louis, some of the more fragile roses won't make it over winter without a covering of mulch. I have gravitated to non-grafted roses on their own roots which tend to tolerate winter temps better as there is no graft union.

Fertilizer depends on your goals. Roses are pretty tough to over fertilize and will respond to at least monthly fertilizer. I like an organic fertilizer with Alfalfa 2-3 times per year and then a fish meal blended organic/synthetic fertilizer every 2-3 weeks on top of the Alfalfa.

As for spraying, this year has been terrible for disease with the near constant rain. Every 2-3 weeks, the roses get an azole fungicide (Ortho Rose Disease Control) with Daconil thrown in for rotation every third spray.

Munstead Wood is a great rose with strong scent and a very dark red color. It is a bit gangly in growth, but I like it a lot.
Thanks, berny - I am still learning.

Do you prune yours back? I'm going for as many flowers as long as I can through the season. I probably need to mulch over them more over winter. Its cold and strong winds whip through there all winter. Almost a wind tunnel behind the house between the tree line.

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Re: HLG's new rose / tree peony bed

Post by bernstem » July 2nd, 2019, 12:26 pm

As a general rule: More aggressive pruning of spent blooms will give fewer, but larger flowers. Less aggressive pruning (i.e. not cutting as far back on the stem) will give more but smaller blooms. Not pruning at all will give fewer, smaller blooms.

This varies a bit by rose type. Hybrid Teas respond the best to pruning. Grandifloras and Floribundas are in the middle. Shrub roses don't seem to care much about pruning (I prune some shrub roses with a powered hedge trimmer).

Winter pruning is different. When they go dormant, you can prune more aggressively to prevent wind damage. Then in the spring before the rose starts to leaf out, you want to prune for shape and health. Remove any dead canes or canes that are rubbing for health. Prune what you want for shape and growth. For the most part, roses are pretty tolerant of aggressive spring pruning. New roses (1-2 year old) should be minimally pruned. They need all their leaves for nutrient production.

The worst conditions for roses over winter are cold, windy and no snow (snow insulates). You can protect them with a mound of mulch. When I lived in Michigan, I would pile the mulch about 12-14 inches high. In the spring, once you are confident it won't suddenly get cold again, you can gently remove the mulch. Some people use wire cages to keep the mulch in place.

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Re: HLG's new rose / tree peony bed

Post by HoosierLawnGnome » July 2nd, 2019, 2:30 pm

Cold, windy, and no snow describes that area pretty well. We dont get much snow cover, but we get the cold temperatures. I only covered an inch or so this past year.

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