LysmachiaMoon's blog: Winter weather is back

Posted on Feb 10, 2016 9:26 AM

We had wet snow yesterday and overnight, not much accumulation...I think there's probably only about 3 inches actually on the ground, but we had a lot of snow coming down. The ground must be saturated now. The temperatures have dropped and it looks like we are in for some of the coldest weather of the season, with a low of only 8F forecast for Saturday night. Good time to stay in and make soup and bake bread, both of which I intend to do.

Sometimes I feel a bit guilty writing entries when there's not really anything of note to record about the garden, but I told myself when I started that I'd try for a daily note. If I don't, I'll get out of the habit and then weeks/months could go by without anything being written.

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I've been reading/studying my new book on Antique Roses and dreaming of starting a collection. I am reasonably confident that I can now safely grow roses again. Many years ago (20+), in a misguided attempt to control wild roses (Rosa multiflora), which farmers were claiming were damaging grazing, our county deliberately released mites that carry Rose Rosette virus. The goal was that the virus would eliminate the R. multiflora but we were assured it would be "safe" for domestic roses. I had my doubts, and they were proved right. Every rose on my property died of Rose Rosette virus within 2-3 years. I had a magnificent Pauls Himalayan musk rambler growing to 30 feet up a poplar tree and it died. I was heartbroken. For about 10 years, I would not plant any roses becuase within 2-3 years they would die. Then, it seemed as if the plague moved on. The surviving R. multiflora (it decreased the numbers but by no means destroyed them) seemed to be coming back and roses I planted seemed to be surviving. As a precaution, I drive zinc galvanized roofing nails into the base of the rose bushes; I observed that any rose branch that lay against a galvanized fence wire seemed unaffected by the virus. Once I started inserting zinc into the roses, it seemed in some instances to actually "cure" the virus. I passed this info on to the PA State Horticultural Extension but I don't think anything ever came of it, outside a polite letter saying it was an interesting theory. (*sigh*)

Anyways, now that we seem to be past the Rose Rosette debacle, I'd love to have a collection of old roses. I'm toying with the idea of getting a few to start and planting them in the Long Border, which I am going to widen considerably this summer. I've been trawling along several websites that specialize in antique and old roses and taking some notes. There are so many it's hard to know where to start!

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Rose Rosette by Seedfork Feb 10, 2016 2:54 PM 1

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