March Lamb here – for now

By mid-April, our March Lamb seemed to have successfully defeated the March Lion here in Southern New England. The day I finished my last blog (March 31st), I figured I had about a week/week and a half before the forsythia started blooming in my yard. My assessment came true. There were no blooms on my forsythia until April 7th, and by the 14th they were in full bloom. I did see where some rosarians were experiencing snowstorms in the opening days of April in other regions across the country. Thankfully, I wasn’t experiencing them as well. I also participated in a discussion among Rhode Island Rose Society members, and I was the lone person not to have forsythia in bloom on April 1st. They were intimating that the signs this year we were for an early spring. 

Our little state – Rhode Island

After seeing this discussion, it reminded me of when I first joined the Rhode Island Rose Society, and how it seemed as though most of the other members’ roses were way ahead of mine every spring (even though we are located within the small confines of Rhode Island – 1,214 square miles). For perspective on the size of the State of Rhode Island for those who live in other regions, Rhode Island is actually smaller than the largest ranch in Texas (King Ranch – 1,289 square miles). However, cold hardiness zones here in Rhode Island do range from 7a to 5b in our little state, with the warmth of the ocean setting the boundaries. But, I guess the roses already know this?

Opening up my garden

When it comes to opening our gardens and starting spring pruning, the time to do so varies from plate to place, and from microclimate to microclimate. I can remember an old-school rosarian many years ago tell us at one of our society meetings, that he pruned on March 17th every year and affectionately called it “Saint Pruning Day.” I repeated this to one of my paper salesmen after I gave him a couple of roses to grow. He followed this advice for many years with success. Though this advise is questionable, and I do not follow it. Apparently, he lives on Cape Cod where temperatures are more mild, and you can successfully uncover/prune roses sooner there than where I’m at in Northern Rhode Island. What I have since learned is that the best advice to tell people is “when the forsythia is in bloom,” as opposed to giving any specific dates.

Consult with your local CRs

I also recommend to people who don’t live in New England to contact their local CRs from more information about opening their garden for his/her specific region. These local CRs have lived through many “normal” winters as well as ones with warmer and colder than normal temperatures. They can compare these past winters to the current one being experienced. From there, they can advise as to the best time to open your garden.

Time to open the garden

By April 10th my forsythia had started to bloom. I looked at the weather report for the upcoming week, and decided that temperatures were going to remain above freezing. I decided it was okay to dig out my potted roses from their winter holding pen and start setting them up for the season. With the help of my son and my daughter’s fiancé, we got the roses out of their pen and started on their way to another season in the rose garden. It’s great to have young people help with these things that I used to take for granted. Thank you both for your help.

Our March Lamb disappears – a surprise snowstorm

Well, apparently, Mother Nature decided to throw farmers and gardeners in our region back at the March Lion for another battle. We woke up to a surprise snowstorm last Friday (April 16th). When I left for work in the a.m., I had some 4″ of newly-fallen snow on the roof of my car, with plenty more on its way. There was even a couple of inches on the forsythia weighing them down as well. There wasn’t much I could do about the roses by the time I left for work. They had to fend for themselves, and hopefully, the newly-fallen snow  insulates them (as well as give them a little drink at the same time).

Snow be gone – the March Lamb returns – time to get back to gardening

Within 24 hours the snow had completely melted. I was able to resume getting my containerized roses ready for the season. I’m pretty sure that no permanent damage was done during this latest storm. Part of my routine every year when going through the containerized roses is to replenish the soil in the containers that need it.

Having to replenish the soil is a normal part of growing roses in containers. The soil needs replenishing on a regular basis, but not necessarily every year. I like doing this when the roses are dormant/partially dormant. However, this can be done at any time during the season. It does not have to be done now. The reasons for replenishing the containers vary from depleted the organic matter in the soil; to the plant becoming root-bound and in need of a bigger container to stretch out its roots; to containers breaking and are no longer useable.

Container soil replenishing time

When I come across a rose in a container  that needs replenishing, the first question I ask is why am I replenishing this container? If the rose is root-bound or needs a larger container, I find the next size up container that will adequately contain the rose and its roots.

For those other ones that do not need different containers, but just need replenishing, I remove the rose and put it somewhere safe until I am ready to replant it. Then, I partially fill the container with my potting soil. Typically, I fill it 1/3 to 1/2 way depending on the size of the rose. I leave plenty of room for the rose. I put a small handful (tablespoon) of bone meal or triple phosphate and some water-retaining crystals and mix well. Then, I take the rose to be put in and “tease” the roots. If needed, I break up the old potting soil. I let the soil that is broken up fall back into the container as I do it. I take care not to completely break up all of this old soil. Essentially, I am left with a bare-root rose that now needs planting in the container.

Next, I fill in around the edges. Do this until the container has been completely filled up to the top. I then shake the container and pick it up an inch off the ground and set it back down a few times in an up-and-down motion. This settles the soil in the container. I refill to the top of the container as needed. The soil in the container will continue to settle through the season. It creates a space at the top of the container. I use this as a basin when I water the roses later in the season.

Mark those roses

While I am going through my containerized roses, I verify that each rose is properly identified and has a tag stating what the rose is. Those that need new markers and tags receive them before I move on to the next rose. I prune the roses as necessary, and continue until all of my roses have been inspected, pruned, and organized by size in their respective class types. They then are ready to go for the season.

Some of my roses will remain in containers indefinitely. However, others are just waiting for their turn to be planted in the ground. I plant in the ground as time and necessity dictates. I have successfully used containers for many years, and consider them valuable tools in my garden. You should consider using them too.

Epilogue

I composed this story with my old stand-by Osmiroid pen that I use daily. Yes, I do indeed have many other pens that I can use as well as this one. I would like to use a different one for each blog, to tell the side stories of my pen collection. But, when words are ready to come out, they need to be captured then and there. There isn’t always time to look for other pens that is ready to go.

My roses tentatively have had a great overwintering rate this past winter. It appears as though all of my containerized roses survived the winter. This was even though I hastily put some of them in my holding pen without adequate covering. This is a first for me as usually at least one plant does not make it. Hopefully, I will be able to continue this trend for many years to come.