Such a thing as a low maintenance Rose?

Hello @Sheal

I lost my patience a while back with everything that is going on in my life and I mislaid my sanity some time back, probably down the back of the sofa

Thanks for the kind words, I know it will take a while to get things how I want them but I am trying to focus on the destination and not the journey.

Kevin

 

There are still bits of my garden that look like a building site. I don't like it like that but I don't currently have the financial or physical capability to do anything about it. This year I have been focussing on the areas of the garden that are visible from the house. All the plants I have I bought cheap last Autumn, divided them where possible, and potted them up to overwinter. As money is particularly tight at the moment, I have determined not to spend any money on the garden for the foreeeable future. Thankfully there are still plenty of jobs to keep me gowing. Later in the year I might look into a skip for all the building rubbish.



Over winter I made a list of the jobs that wanted doing and when they should be done. I'm getting through them nicely. I have already started a similar list for next year.



G.

 

You are making a good job of it on a low budget! Been there, done that; it's not easy but definately worth the effort......I became a compulsive cutting taker. Years ago we needed a hedge and couldn't afford the plants.... so I dug up (with permission) hawthorn and blackthorn from nearby country hedges. Then I took hardwood rambling rose cuttings and just poked them in the hedgerow. 90% took and became part of the hedge which to this day looks great! Gardening on a budget is really rewarding!

 

I agree......mostly....but they are so prickley!

 

As a low maintenance rose...High sheriff patio rose. Got it for 5.99 from local garden centre last year (or year before). I've only ever pruned one out of place stalk on it and cut back dead heads when it needed and it is beautiful! Love it.

 

I think you have been given lots of good advice, @Kevin Cowans...

I would be tempted to spend a few summer evenings (or rainy Sundays!) looking at the bare-root catalogues/websites. The advantage of buying bare-rooted plants is you get a much bigger selection, as well as more for your money. If you are not ready to plant them when they arrive, you can pop them each in a large pot, with compost, where they will happily wait for a few months, whilst you prepare their permenant home.

Not wishing to upset anybody, but I think that there are two general types of gardener.
- those that are keenly on the look-out for any pest, disease, or problem in their garden, ready to leap to their plants' defence with pesticides, fungicides etc.
- then there are those who assume that if a plant is happy, and healthy, it can cope with greenfly, whitefly, black-spot, or whatever it is that ails it.
If you are in the first camp, then yes, roses can be high-maintenance - they do get greenfly, etc.
If you are in the second camp, you will have chosen roses that are not prone to black-spot, and you will wait for your blue-tits to make a feast for their chicks from the greenfly, enjoying their acrobatic antics as they "harvest" them.

We grow lots of different roses. Ancient patio roses, rugosas (yes, @wiseowl, they have been spared for another summer!), modern "fancy" roses, David Austin's English roses, some old species roses.... they all get pruned once a year in spring, dead-headed, and mulched -um - when I remember! The blackspot comes and goes, but the roses survive, and thrive!