October is that critical blooming month all rose lovers look forward to. This is when we learn whether all that work in the winter mud was worth while!
I'll finish off the comparison photo series I started last month. This was taken on 23 August 2003:
Here are the same three roses, shot exactly 3 weeks later:
And again, 3 more weeks later:
I could keep doing this forever, but the basis for comparison is already corrupt. I'd already picked about 8 blooms from the middle bush (Kardinal) by the time the 3rd shot was taken, and I've since picked 8 more. What a performer Kardinal turned out to be. I'm looking forward even more to seeing the blooms on Dame Elisabeth Murdoch (the bush on the right). Its buds are huge. Unfortunately the bush to the left (Elina) is fighting off a mildew attack.
Speaking of mildew, early October has been a climatic nightmare that has my bushes totally confused. We went from full summer weather in late September, hitting over 30 degrees Celsius, to wet, cold winter weather of 17 degrees or less. What this meant was that the bushes were prompted into a lot of new growth, only to have the cooler nights and wet conditions stop them in their tracks. Judging by all the powdery mildew on the new growth now, they probably think it's autumn. That is when mildew strikes the hardest in Sydney!
The fungal attack wasn't completely typical, though. The bushes worst hit for me were Voodoo, Elina and Duchesse de Brabant. Mme Alfred Carriere and Monsieur Tillier were affected, but they laughed it off nearly immediately. Normally the red roses suffer worst from mildew. Black Velvet suffered but surprisingly Kardinal, The Squire and La Passionata came off almost unscathed.
The most disease-resistant roses in my garden so far this year are Guy de Maupassant (a French shrub rose from Meilland's Romantica series) and two of David Austin's English roses, Heritage and St Swithun. Sexy Rexy (a floribunda) and Karen Blixen (a hybrid tea) are right up there too.
Yates has finally released the fungicide known as myclobutanil in a concentrate form known as 'Rose Shield'. This is a first for Australian gardeners. Myclobutanil is now in wide use in the UK, somewhat less in the US. Unfortunately Yates are only selling it as a mix with an insecticide (Mavrik) included. I'm trialling it on my worst affected plants, while others are already showing great results with my favourite mildew remedy (a milk spray, 1 litre of milk to 5 litres of water).
Like triforine, myclobutanil enters the leaf so it keeps on working in the wet weather. To read more, try this link (it may become out of date, but you can always search the Yates web site).
Here is La Passionata's first bloom of the year, enormous and wonderfully fragrant.
This rare French breed is my all-time favourite red. It should be more widely grown. Local rose forums are latching onto 'Delbard' roses as though they were something new. This one was bred in 1969, but it's still the cutting edge. Well worth hunting around for.
Finally, a gratuitous plug for my favourite rose haunt, the quaint nursery at Bowen Mountain, near North Richmond. I visit the place once or twice a year, and I never leave empty handed. Their range of heritage roses is unequalled in Australia, and I suspect most of the world. Run by Keith and Dr Judyth McLeod, this nursery has no online presence and it relies mainly on word of mouth.
The printed catalogue is the best written work I know on old roses. No photos, but the 50-plus pages of descriptions are almost poetry. It's worth much more than the $3 they charge for it. They also sell only the best of the last century's releases, all of the Austins and rare Australian Alister Clark roses too.
Here's a photo of the rear of the nursery, where some of the stock is kept above a terraced garden:
It's a beautiful place, even if the order of things is a bit random! If you can make it up there, I really recommend that you visit in the last weekend of October or the first weekend in November. They have many old bushes on site, and they'll be showing them off in their 'Heritage Rose festival' on those two weekends. For more information or to order a catalogue, phone 02 4572 1345 in business hours.
Later this month I'll work on reviews for St Swithun, Mme Alfred Carriere and Guy de Maupassant. Happy gardening.
Daniel.