This summer and autumn have been challenging in Sydney's climate. Until March, drought parched Sydney and we had water restrictions to contend with. Then the rains came, and in buckets. It was hard to gauge my roses' water needs. Unfortunately my clay soil held more than the dry surface suggested, and I lost the following to poor drainage:
The sudden deaths were tragic to see. Radio Times had a 'near death' experience but it recovered, a testament to its strength. On a brighter note, I replaced the dead bushes with:
Granada has already begun producing beautiful big blooms, full
of fragrance:
Gruss An Aachen has also started flowering very freely, in
very pale pink:
You can find my early assessment of these two roses in the reviews section.
The rain has been regular for almost a whole month from late March. The days are still warm, but the nights are cool. All these factors are perfect for fungal diseases, and some bushes I thought immune have succumbed to mildew, black spot or both.
Black spot has struck:
Mildew has hit:
Big cheers for the following breeds, which have stayed disease free in some of the worst fungal conditions I have ever experienced:
Beginners and non-sprayers take note!
Spraying for fungus has been frustrating because of the regular rain. Before Christmas I had wonderful results using a milk spray on mildew (one part milk, 6 parts water). When it fines up a little I will try again. The proof of any fungus remedy is in a Sydney autumn, so I'll keep you posted. Meanwhile I've tweaked some of my review ratings for various roses to reflect new disease and vigour findings.
That's all for now. If you're reading these diary pages and enjoying them, I'd really appreciate some feedback to motivate me to do more. You can send this via the link to the left. Thanks!
Daniel