David Austin vs Poundstretcher

Well I'm shocked...bought a lovely climbing rose (iceberg) from David Austin and planted it as they advised. It was doing really well but no flowers....then the poor thing got hit with mildew. Ended up choppinrg loads back as it was uncontrollable. Its been a right sorry state so boosting it now with liquid seaweed etc......finally got one flower! Yay



(Its in a meter deep pot and had mycorrhizal fungi, david austin rose pellets, manure and rose compost!)

However, the £1.79 iceberg climber from poundstretcher seems much better!!

No flower buds though-but I thought they might come next year as it was a tiny twig when I planted it!

Really hoping the DA rose will recover ok. The powdery mildew hit it bad despite treating it with rose clear and removing bad bits etc.

Also quite happy with my 6.99 patio rose high sherrif-smells lovely and is really healthy!

 

I agree woo, it's just annoying. And I planted how DA told me to when I spoke to them on the phone.

I dont understand the insufficient air circulation though? My whole garden has been hit with the mildew-all around the side of the house with my heuchera and even the sunny border-very annoying. Started on the lupins! I heard it was dur to the type of weather weve had-a long stretch of drought early on this summer causes it apparently?!

Wondering whether to transfer the rose into the ground now...really wanted one growing up the back of the house

 

Roses are not my favourite thing.....dont grow any now. Air too clean for them so blackspot is rife, soil too sandy, the subject too thorny, etc. Whisper it or I will be shot but roses are the most overrated, over planted, most vicious "things"

However, I too bought a DA rose....."Disease resistant and highly scented" Olivia Austin rose for sentimental reasons. Flowered well enough but no scent. It will settle down to producing scent they said but it never did. Dug it up.

I have planted a rose garden for a friend though.....she has heavier soil and is a rose enthusiast. I incorporated generous amount of garden compost and dried manure at planting time, they are given fish blood and bone every spring and then mulched. She has very good roses.....as a matter of fact she also has my Olivia Austin cast off and it is fine (still no scent tho )

Snorky, one obvious reason for the difference in your roses. Roses much prefer clay soil to growing in a pot esp the one you are using. I suspect too you have used ordinary mpc whereas a john innes soil based compost would have been so much better. I suggest you replant it in the garden; you will prob feel very differently about your DA rose next year.....let us know but I am confident.
Re the mildew....lupins are often a casualty as are scabious and honeysuckles and many others. Dry soil and warm temperatures will cause this. And it can be caused couple of weeks before you actually see it...i.e. It may be wet when you see the mildew but it had developed during the dry spell

 

In my haste to comment I missed Woo's reply. We agree about that container anyway. Looks nice but I would use it for a smaller cascading plant. A bigger container there if you want a climber to do well I think

 

Half serious half winding you up WO.
But.....
Had a pair of Zephirine Drouhin over an archway a few years ago. Wonderful scent and delightful to look at. For a couple of years they were stunning but then developed rust and blackspot...leaves dropped in mid summer to create something not nice Now a pair of honeysuckles have replaced the roses .......scent all summer incl now and looking much better.
I made an effort with some " disease resistant" varieties incl Compassion but they too succumbed.
Grown well.....decent soil, well feed, well pruned, sprayed for pests and diseases, deadheaded and grown well away from pathways (to avoid the thorns).....they are lovely
Sorry WO.....I am making a fast retreat

 

Have to agree mostly with @Verdun but also with @wiseowl re horses for courses.
I live in the countryside with clear air which equals Blackspot on some of my Roses big time. There were over 200 hybrid teas here when we moved in. ALL were in a par less state and all were consequently removed. However I grow various species roses and most cope here pretty well.
Perhaps it would a very good idea if growers/retailers were more honest and advise purchasers that despite being England's national flower many Roses are not suitable to grow nationally. When living near London (impure air and clay soil) Roses flourished but so many other parts of Britain do not have these conditions.
It is a pet hate of mine to see so many totally unsuitable plants offered for sale locally by both garden centres and the supermarkets. It's very easy for new gardeners to be put off our great pastime when their 1st attempts are failures often caused by buying the wrong plants for where they live. Having lived near some very large garden centres and personally knowing the owner of what was probably the biggest garden centre in Scotland I know 1st hand that many of those involved in this business have zero knowledge or interest in horticulture and are only interested in making as much money as possible so buying unsuitable plants which fail is quite beneficial as it often results in getting repeat business!
Personally I am very much a foliage person and apart from the likes of Rosa Glauca which I grow quite a few of Rose foliage is pretty boring. In ideal conditions and with plenty of sunshine/not too much heavy rain to ruin the blooms, Roses can look stunning but I think it's a pity that so many other as/more garden worthy genus are less well known.

 

I agree with this, especially when they start selling bedding plants in March!.....bound to fail but it lets them sell more because they will sell more later.

 

Bit naughty when gc's etc sell plants knowing they will not last more than a few weeks....e.g. Pennisetum Rubrum, esp the eye catching Fireworks. Friend of mine bought 3 not knowing they are tender. More tender than dahlias and the like. Even knowing how to grow and care for them I still find it hit and miss if I can overwinter or not. My friend thought all grasses were the same and would be tough and truly perennial...???

 

Sorry @wiseowl I'm afraid I'll disagree with you too. My late father grew beautiful Roses in Hertfordshire but the Roses he grew in Fife were not nearly as good. Why? nothing whatsoever to do with the care and attention as he gave to them the same, if not more in Fife having retired with more spare time. The soil in many parts of Fife is silty and of course our weather is usually much colder than in the South of England.
Perhaps the breeders should stipulate which of their Roses will cope better in colder less ideal conditions. Being an avid grower of Rhododendrons and Azaleas for many years I know the good breeders/retailers do just this and indicate which weather zone each variety will cope with. Do the reputable Rose breeders do similar?
You have actually given me an .I know someone who works for The Royal National Rose Society near St Albans. I'll contact her and ask if there is a national scheme of zoning for Roses as if not there should be which ok would no doubt be ignored by many outlets but might be adopted by the breeders to assist purchasers

 

This thread has been interesting reading...

All the roses in the front garden have got blackspot. They have had so much care and attention though. They've been fed, pruned and dead headed, sprayed with roseclear etc. And cleaned the secateurs thoroughly.

The black spot is slightly less rampant than when we moved in last year but it really does look rubbish at times.

Weve got the heavy clay which they like but maybe the countryside clean air causes the blackspot etc as suggested?!

I've got to say/even the david austin rose that carol/GW planted doesn't look as good as it did when it was first bought-the blooms now don't seem as big as the blooms on it when it arrived!