Sherando Roses News
December 2000
Vol. IV,
No. 2
We had such a wonderful fall that I was thinking we’d never
get any really cold weather this year.
I started writing this newsletter after checking the
temperature this morning.
It is 7F. It’s
cold enough for me, especially for late autumn.
Winter
Chores
Many people seem to want to trim back their roses in the fall
but I’d have to say that, for the most part, it is not such
a good idea. The
only pruning I suggest this time of year is cutting back any
cane that has grown way out of proportion to the bush.
These long canes can create problems during high winds.
By whipping against each other, the surface of the
canes can be damaged by thorns and this may allow fungi to
enter. Any
further pruning is not warranted unless you remove obviously
dead canes. Pruning
is much better accomplished in early spring before bud break.
Some people have called regarding protection of their roses
over the winter. There
is no need to do so with any plants purchased here unless you
have gotten varieties not suited to your zone.
I would have told you this when you were here.
The roses grown here are hardy and nothing need be done to
them to protect them from the cold.
Problems arise only after a long warm spell in early
spring followed by a severe freeze.
I am told by the distributor of BioVam that this
problem should not arise now that all our roses and clematis
are enhanced with this mycorrhiza. If indeed this is true, this alone would make up for the cost
of the product. I’ll
be watching this very closely to say the least.
If indeed you did get a tender rose, mounding up soil around
the base and burying the rest of the rose with oak leaves
inside of a chicken wire cylinder should be enough protection.
It may seem too late to do this but better late….
Remember to spray your roses sometime during the winter with
a dormant oil spray. This
should be done when the temperature is over 45F.
It will help to destroy fungi spores and insect eggs
carried over from last season.
Clematis
Care
Since the next newsletter will not be until March, I want to
share something I read recently about pruning clematis.
Those varieties which bloom only on new wood need to be
cut back very severely for the best bloom. In the past the recommendation has been to cut them back to
12 to 18 inches. The
newest directive from the experts is to cut them right back to
the ground. This can be done at anytime during their dormancy.
Most of these cultivars are viticellas though other
varieties are included.
If you don’t remember what I told you when you purchased
your clematis, get in touch with me to make sure of what type
of clematis you have. Of
course, after the first year in the ground even no-pruning or
little-pruning types of clematis should be cut back to about
12 inches to encourage branching.
New
Website Location
Those of you with computers may reach us at:
www.sherandoroses.com.
This is a new address.
Most of our 2001 list is posted there, though some
varieties will only be found on the printed list you have
received with this newsletter.
You will now be able to purchase BioVam through our
website and we hope you will do so since our little nursery
will be helped by this means. The
mechanism allowing this to happen is already on our site.
What more can I tell you of BioVam?
I am looking forward to next season just to see how
much better things grow since I added more to each plant this
fall.
BioVam, a mycorrhiza fungus, enables roses and other plants
much healthier, more robust, floriferous, drought resistant,
etc. It is by far
the best thing for roses I’ve ever used.
Rose
Prices
I’ve been looking over the many rose catalogs recently
received and find that roses are almost becoming as expensive
as orchids. It is
not only the price of the plants but the cost of the shipping.
The cheapest worthwhile roses I’ve found are at
("Supplier Name Deleted") in Canada but his roses are budded on to an understock and I
most certainly prefer own-root.
Nevertheless, in a pinch I prefer his plants when I do
not have enough of mine available.
This nursery tries very hard to weed out virused
plants. You can
expect to pay about $9 - $10 apiece with a minimum of three
and shipping about $11 for regular delivery.
That comes to about $12.70 a rose.
("Supplier Name
Deleted")
has some good prices and some ridiculous ones, but I have
found over the years that many of their plants seldom thrive
and of course most are budded.
I suspect that their plants, like many of the roses
found in the US, have mosaic virus.
Also, very often one receives mislabeled bushes.
Their prices are from $9.95 to $17.95 plus shipping.
("Supplier Name
Deleted") in South Carolina has good quality
potted one gallon own-root roses but having to pay for
shipping with soil in the pots raises their prices a great
deal. Also they recommend growing the plant in the container for
the season since all of their roses are grown in greenhouses
and are not hardened off.
The roses cost $12 plus $4 shipping to Virginia,
minimum 3. That’s
$16 per rose.
("Supplier Name
Deleted") in Oregon has always had a
great number of old roses but they have found that it is too
expensive to maintain so many varieties.
This year they have changed their name to
("Supplier Name Deleted") and have far fewer old varieties than in the past.
All of their roses are own-root in small pots and with
shipping and packing charges, their price is very high for
what you get. Roses
are $13.95 each for the most part with shipping of $2.95 per
plant and $4.95 for packing (any size order shipped at one
time). If you
order one rose it will cost $21.85.
("Supplier Name
Deleted") in Texas sends out two gallon
own-root plants which are usually quite fine but the shipping
charges bring up the price significantly.
The potted roses cost $14.95 with shipping the price
goes to $19.90.
Of course, some people buy roses at ("Some Large
National Chain Stores") and for the most part have few varieties from which to choose.
Many are possibly virused and usually cared for not at
all.
So where does that place our little nursery?
Well, 90% of the roses are propagated and grown here;
the rest purchased from virus-free stock and started
here in Zone 6. They
are mostly own-root roses in two gallon containers.
Our price is $15 plus tax.
If you buy 9 in 2001 you get one free.
We have about 250 varieties most of the time and if a variety
is on our list for a certain year, we most assuredly will try
to have it available sometime between April 1st and
October 31st.
An additional bonus is that all our roses are treated
with BioVam, are as organically grown as possible, and
should truly thrive for you.
So we feel our prices reflect what you pay for.
In order to keep the cost of this newsletter down, those of
you with an e-mail address, please send it to us at: dtrinis@rica.net
and we’ll try to get the next one out to you via e-mail.
Thanks.
HAVE
A WONDERFUL ROSY NEW YEAR!
Note:
We removed vendor names from this newsletter so as to not
introduce any chance of legal conflicts. -T&J
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