Training and Pruning Ramblers

Last week, when the weather was warmer, I decided to tackle training and pruning a rambling rose, Ceske Praci Cest. This rose was hybridized by Ludvik Vecera in 1970, in the former country of Czechoslovakia. The name translates as “Honour to Czech Labor,” a common greeting in that country during Communist rule. It is similar to ramblers of the Turner’s Crimson Rambler type that was introduced in 1890. Rambling roses like that have not been introduced to the trade since the early 1920s.

Ceske Praci Cest blooms once a year in June and has clusters of small, very full, deep pink flowers. Some sources say it grows to eight feet. My plant has grown to at least twice that within two years of planting a 6-8” own root plant. It has large prickles which you will see in the photos below. I try to wear gloves when working with my roses, but often find they are too cumbersome. People commented on my hands for a week after pruning this rose. Those who don’t know me asked, “Had you gotten scratched by a cat?” Close friends knew that I was back outside working in my nursery and display gardens.

The first step in pruning and training a rambler is to cut off last years flowering laterals.  They are the side shoots that bore flowers last year. They will not produce more flowers or vegetative growth. (See next three images) You will notice I am using a pair of bonsai concave pruners. They allow me to get a nice close cut and were handy when I was heading outside. See one of the previous postings on tools that I've found helpful if you want more information about this.

Ramblers also produce flowers on the ends of their canes. These need to be removed as well. (See next three images)

There will be pressure treated 4x4 posts set along the edge of the terrace soon. This rose and others will be trained up those posts. I set a piece of 5/8” rebar close to the crown of the rose to support the rose and keep it out of the way until the posts are set. 

Here is a close up of a cane before the flowering laterals are shortened.

And now, after shortening.

Starting at ground level, canes are carefully untangled and wound around the rebar and canes that were previously positioned. It doesn’t matter if they are wound clockwise or counter clockwise or if some are done in one direction and others in the opposite direction. I determine which way to wind them based on which feels easiest and goes with the direction the rose is growing.

Canes are wound rather than just tied vertically to increase future production of flowering laterals. Ramblers, as compared with large flowered climbers, have thinner more flexible canes. That make this part of the job easier.

 As they are wound in place, they are tied loosely. I typically use baling twine. This time, I used baling twine that was left over from bales of straw I spread on our vegetable garden last summer. Nothing goes to waste around here.

This is a slow process, one cane at a time, untangling, pruning, winding and tying in place. 

Now that all the canes are tied in place, you will notice a couple of canes that are much longer than the rebar. They will be trained on 2x6 cross pieces connecting the 4x4 posts. Each year, more canes will join them.

Throughout the process, I was supervised by one of our cats, Romeo. He was a feral cat who took up residence in our hoop house  several winters ago. My wife, Renate, the katzenmutter, fed him and tamed him. He is the most affectionate of our three cats.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. It’s going to be a glorious June. I can’t wait. Can you?

Open House - This weekend!

Another Look At Cold Hardiness In Climbers and Ramblers - Spring 2012

It was almost a year ago that I wrote a piece on cold hardiness of climbers and ramblers. The focus of that piece was to look at dieback at the end of the winter of 2010-2011. This winter, 2011-2012 was one of the mildest winters in the Central NY area. There was very little if any die back. But this spring was bizarre. In March and April, temperatures ranged from the low 20s to almost 90- up and down, within days. Roses leafed out at least a month earlier than they typically do and then were hammered repeatedly with hard frosts. Although the cold wiped out all the buds on my wisterias, it gave me an opportunity to look at how different varieties of roses respond to freezing after leafing out.

I always prune my roses as the forsythia starts to bloom. This year I pruned at least a month earlier than I typically do. There was no difference in how the roses responded to this earlier pruning and later pruning.

Keep in mind, all roses grown here have been selected for cold hardiness and disease resistance. This is what I observed.

·         No roses were killed or had severe dieback from the repeated warming and freezing. It appears that overall cold hardiness is a good indicator of the ability to withstand freezing after leafing out.

·         Roses that had no damage at all to their foliage and canes included all the once blooming ramblers (Rosa multiflora, setigera, beggeriana, spinosissima, arvensis and a some wichurana, rubiginosa and kordesii hybrids).

·         Most of the Canadian Explorers had no damage (Rosa kordesii hybrids). A few had some damage to their tips (Henry Kelsey and Quadra- the only red Explorers).  Unfortunately, the Exploreres do not get as tall as the other climbers and ramblers.

·         The R. kordeseii hybrids varied in their response. Some had no dieback, others had damage just to their new tips, while others had several inches of dieback.  The most resilient ones include: Gelber Engel, Jasmina, Laguna, Morgengruss,  and Manita. They were followed by Aschermittwoch,   Ilse Krohn Superior, Leverkusen, Red Corsair, Rosarium Uetersen, Summer Breeze, Summer Wine.

·         Older, more established roses held up better than roses recently planted.

·         Overall, the most vigorous growers were the most resilient. These roses tend to root the easiest, as well. 

·       

Happy New Year!

The New Year is a time to take stock, look back, celebrate successes and set new goals. Der Rosenmeister began like many businesses as a dream. We started selling roses from the driveway of our old home in downtown Ithaca in the spring of 2003. Since then we moved to a three acre parcel just outside of the city limits, built a 50’ hoop house, planted extensive display beds and increased our collection to well over 300 varieties of cold hardy roses, both old and new. Last summer, we purchased a misting bench, installed roll up sides on our hoophouse for better ventilation, and installed a hundred foot long tunnel of arches for climbing and rambling roses. We were lucky enough to add many varieties of very rare, old roses from Cliff Orent’s collection, EuroDesert Roses, as he dissolved his nursery. We are in the midst of redesigning the display beds and our website to better serve your needs and to reflect our mission of preserving cold hardy roses for the future.

The past year has been a good one, though challenging. The economy has impacted buying habits. Consumers don’t have as much money for the “extras” like roses. But in these times, many of you have realized how important it is to enjoy simple pleasures, like appreciating the beauty and fragrance of roses you grow yourself and have purchased some for your gardens.

This past year, many rose nurseries across the country have either folded, declared bankruptcy or are in the process of closing. We are running out of sources in the United States to expand our collection. Regulations are tightening for importing roses from Europe. Fortunately, we had focused our efforts in the past few years on the acquiring climbers and ramblers that had not been available in North America. This year, we will be ramping up their production to bring them to you.

We don’t sell the varieties found at the big box stores or at local nurseries. Our roses are selected with cold hardiness, vigor, and beauty in mind. Each one has unique qualities that make it worth growing. We look forward to seeing you here this spring and summer.

Wishing you a year of peace, health, happiness and roses. 

Something Old, Something New, Something Genetically Modified, Something Blue

Suntory Flowers Limited (Chiuoda-ku,Tokyo) recently announced the release in America of ‘Applause,’a rose they claim to be the world’s first blue rose. It was created by introducing a blue gene from pansies into roses. Truth be told, this rose is closer in color to mauve or lavender than blue… and is not the first rose of this color either. Here is a list of recent hybrid teas and floribundas with similar color that begin with the word blue in their name. There are at least as many with blue somewhere else in their name. And this list doesn’t even include miniatures, or climbers!

Blue for You, James, 2006. Blue Pacific, Evers, 2002. Blue Chateau, Teranishi, 1999. Blue
Curiosa, De Ruiter, 1997. Blue Light, Ryojun Ito, 1995. Blue Bayou, Kordes, 1993. Blue Chip, Warriner, 1986. Blue Friendship, Verschuren, 1984. Blue Ribbon, Christensen, 1984. Blue River, Kordes 1984. Blue Skies, Buck, 1983. Blue Glow, Cattermole, 1982. Blue Nile, Delbard, 1981. Blue Velvet, Perry, 1981. Blue Perfume, Tantau 1978. Blue River, Kordes, 1973. Blue Sky,
Suzuki, 1973. Blue Heaven, Whisler, 1971. Blue Girl, Kordes, 1964. Blue Monday, Tantau, 1964. Blue Moon, Tantau, 1964.Blue Diamond, Lens, 1963.

The hype about blue roses goes back even farther in rose history. That’s where my interests are. The following three roses are among my favorites.

Pictured above is 'Veilchenblau,' truly the first "blue" rose. It was hybridized in 1909 by Johann Schmidt in Germany. Its name means violet blue. At that time, ramblers were the rage. 'Veilchenblau's flowers are violet, fading to lavender with white stripes. Like most ramblers it is once blooming, but what an amazing display of color. It's almost thornless and has a sweet fragrance too. Over the next 30 years, about a dozen "blue" ramblers were released.

'Erinnerung an Brod' is one of the parents of Veilchenblau. It was created by Rudolf Geschwind in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1886. It has been listed as a hybrid perpetual, a rambler and a setigera hybrid. No matter what you call it, 'Erinnerung an Brod' is beautiful. The fragrance is strong. The color starts out dark crimson purple and fades to mauve and lilac. The blossoms are very double. This was the rose I chose for my father's memorial service when we interred his ashes. Erinnerung means in memory.

Similar in color to Erinnerung an Brod is Bleu Magenta, pictured below. Although the flowers are smaller in size than Erinnerung an Brod’s, they are the largest and the darkest of the ramblers. I have it plant on one side of an arch with 'Veilchenblau' on the other side. This rose was found growing at the Roseraie de l’Hay. The original name and hybridizer are unknown.

Yes, ‘Applause’ is a lovely rose. But it’s obviously not the world’s first blue rose. Before you rush out to buy the latest and greatest, do take a look down the garden path at heritage roses. I am sure you will find many an heirloom worth preserving and cherishing.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

It’s been ages since I post an entry on Thorny Issues. For most people, summertime is a time for kicking back and relaxing. My summer has been filled with working in my gardens most days. The amount of energy and time spent weeding, watering, edging, and mulching felt equal to Hercules’ cleaning of the Augean stables. On many a day this summer, I was wetter than the roses when I was done watering and it wasn’t from the hose.

I recently read a book, Live Life Aggressively, by Mike Mahler, a kettlebell trainer par excellence. One chapter, in particular, hit me- “Doing What You Love is Hard Work.” He talks about the process going from amateur to professional. When I started growing roses, it was all so much fun. I often joke that Der Rosenmeister Nursery is the result of a hobby run amok. But in truth, it is more the result of lots of hard work, following my passion for roses by reading everything I can, growing more varieties, old and new every year, constantly experimenting and ultimately sharing what I’ve learned with others. The work is not always fun, but it is almost always gratifying and fulfilling.

• What give me satisfaction and joy now?
• Tracking down old varieties that I’ve only read about
• Seeing a rose bloom that I’ve never grown before
• Propagating old varieties not commonly found in the trade
• Watching someone get excited about her first rose
• Watching a seasoned veteran get equally excited when I can offer them something they’ve been seeking
• Looking at what I’ve accomplished at the end of a day
• Planning new beds and new ways of displaying roses
• Watching the faces and listening to the comments of visitors to the nursery during high rose tide
• Taking time to smell the roses

There are two weeks left to summer for me, as I return to teaching on the Tuesday after Labor Day. This is a great time to plant roses- they will establish good root systems this fall and be ready to bloom their heads off this coming spring. We still have some gems available for sale. Please, come visit me at Der Rosenmeister, 190 Seven Mile Drive, Ithaca, NY 14850. If that’s not possible, take time to smell the roses in your garden.