As Gardening Season Winds Down

Fall is officially here, and winter will soon bring freezing temps and an end to outdoor gardening.  What's a rose gardener to do?  Bring the garden indoors, of course.  

In my last post (which was WAY too long ago) I showed you how I brought a bit of light and cheer into my greenhouse.  Next thing on my list was to finish preparing the area where the baby roses will spend the winter.

Instead of heating the whole building to keep the little pots from freezing, using a TON of propane in the process, I'm going to use a propagation heat mat underneath the pots.  I put two layers of insulation on the bench (one piece of solid foam and a layer foil bubble insulation, topped with the heat mat.

The mat is connected to a thermostat with a probe, to monitor and control the temperature of the pots.  So far, it's working really well.

The read-out on the thermostat shows the temperature of the pot that contains the probe.

The sun warms the greenhouse during the day, and the mat should only be needed during really cold nights.

In the house, things are going gang-busters in the propagation area in my basement workshop.  

I planted these cuttings at various times in October, and some of them are already showing awesome roots!  (I attribute this to some good luck, careful attention, and a little bit of help from bottom heat provided by the fluorescent light on the shelf below the cuttings.)   Roots usually show in four to eight weeks.  It looks like these little baby cuttings are VERY anxious to grow up and become real plants.  

Allow me introduce you to ...

"Haywood Hall"  A Noisette rose that was found at Haywood Hall in Raleigh, North Carolina.  It is one of the best Noisettes in my garden and very few people know about it.  Because of this, I want to share it around to make sure that it doesn't disappear.

Spray of "Haywood Hall" in my garden last month.

Tag, showing the date that I planted the cuttings.

Growing roots like this after only three weeks!

'Pink Poodle' (a miniature rose from 1991) is very rare and, again, needs to be propagated and spread around to insure its survival.

'Pink Poodle' showing some deeper-than-normal color in cooler autumn weather.

Cuttings didn't even drop one leaf.

Visible roots in three weeks!

"Talcott White Noisette" grows in Hollywood Cemetery.  It is a very old, very large plant, in an out-of-the-way location.  As far as I know, no one has ever propagated it.  

Visible roots in four weeks!

While I was in Harrisonburg, Virginia, last month, I visited Woodbine Cemetery.  I always have my tools with me, and I took a few cuttings of the roses that I saw there.  One of them was an incredibly fragrant Noisette-type rose.

The flowers on the cuttings perfumed my whole car.

The plant at the cemetery is 7-8 feet tall.

Visible roots in three weeks!

While the outdoor garden is slowing down, you can see that things are just getting started indoors.  Soon, the basement rose babies will be potted up, and they will join their buddies to spend the winter in the greenhouse ... gonna have to tidy up some more to make space on the bench for them.

*************************

To learn the method that I use to root roses, click HERE.

Thirty Days of Mr. Rogers ... Day Eighteen

Mr. Rogers said, "Learning and loving go hand in hand.  My grandfather was one of those people who loved to live and loved to teach.  Every time I was with him, he'd show me something about the world or something about myself that I hadn't even thought of yet.  He'd help me find something wonderful in the smallest of things, and ever so carefully, he helped me understand the enormous worth of every human being.  My grandfather was not a professional teacher, but the way he treated me (the way he 'loved' me) and the things he did with me, served me as well as any teacher I've ever known."

Remember the cuttings I took at Tufton Farm last month?  (I showed them to you in THIS post.)

They have spent the last month in my basement workshop, safely tucked on shelves with fluorescent lights.

About half of the containers are starting to show roots!

Click the link below to go to my tutorial, if you want to learn how to root roses like this.

How to Root Rose from Cuttings

Me:  Today's Mr. Rogers quote reminds me so much of how I think of myself.  When I was in school, I wanted to be a teacher.  After high school, I spent two years in college working toward that goal.  It was then that I realized that I didn't really want to be a traditional teacher in a classroom (dealing with difficult students, administration, and parents).  I really wanted to be a stay at home mom, raising my children.

Along the way, I did get to be a teacher ... it's what moms truly ARE, you know.  We teach our children every day, from the moment they are born.  We help them learn lessons about life, love, people, play, relationships, and so on.  I got to teach other people's children, too, as a Girl Scout Leader and a volunteer reading tutor.  More recently, I give programs to groups and lead tours of my garden, teaching everyone who will listen about the history and culture of roses.  From time to time, I act as a guide for Christmas or Garden Week tours, telling stories and teaching visitors about a particular house/garden.  This blog is another example ... it's filled with all sorts of lessons!

I have no regrets about not continuing with college to become a traditional teacher.  I did it my way and I ended up as my own kind of teacher.

************
During the month of November, I plan to share wisdom from Mr. Rogers with you each day (from the book "The World According to Mr. Rogers") ... Mr. Rogers's words accompanied by everyday images from life here at Hartwood Manor ... this place that I am blessed to call HOME.

A Week's Worth of Posts, All At Once

How can it be Saturday already?  Where did the week go?

I spent part of each day in my basement workshop.  Some of the rose cuttings in the north window are starting to show roots!  This is the roadside rose that I rustled last month ... I showed it to you in THIS post.

 

 

Most of my workshop time was spent painting the cabinet doors and drawer fronts from my brother's kitchen.  There are a lot of them, and the finish I want requires that each of them be painted multiple coats of two colors, both front and back, so it's going to take a while.  The top color is a custom mix of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, that I showed you in THIS post.  This kitchen is going to be so retro and happy!

 

 

 

Mrs. Wren is now sitting on five eggs in her nest in the pot in my greenhouse.   See her tucked WAY down inside there?  It's hard to get a decent photo because the white perlite bag is in the way in every angle but this one.

 

 

 

The new Romantic Homes magazine came out this week, and my friend Janet's shop is featured in a fantastic article, with photos taken by her son!  See that little greenhouse in the corner of her display window?  Yep, I built that.  No mention of this in the article, but that's okay ... I am thrilled that all of the hard work that Janet has put into her shop is being recognized on a national level.  Love you, Janet!

 

 

 

A strong line of storms passed through our area on Thursday.  Whenever things like this are predicted, I always worry about my trees.  Last time we had a big storm, we lost two of the large Oak trees in our front yard.  (See the damage in THIS post)  Fortunately, this storm passed just to our south.  We had rain, but little wind and no damage.

 

 

 

Thursday's sunset, after the storm was gone, was a beautiful one ... as seen from our deck, looking toward Hartwood Winery next door.

 

 

 

Friday dawned with a beautiful blue sky, puffy clouds, and cool, comfortable temperatures.  It was a great day to do something outside.

 

 

 

Normally, this means working in the garden.  This day, though, I decided that it was long past time to clean up my Mustang and get it ready for convertible season.  It was so dirty and dusty after sitting in the garage all winter.

 

 

 

With the car all washed and waxed and polished (and myself and The Husband cleaned up, too), we spent part of yesterday evening at the local Friday night classic car cruise in.  There was a fantastic selection of cars last night ... with the Mustangs making a respectable showing.  That's a 1970 427 Cobra Jet parked beside mine.

 

 

 

To end on a garden and rose related note ... yesterday morning, I saw my first Japanese Beetle of the year.  This seems to be a little bit later than usual ... beetles arrived on June 4 in 2011, and I didn't note the day of their appearance in 2012.  We have had very few beetles for the past three years ... I wonder what this year will be like?

 

 

 

There you have it, a whole week's worth of blog posts in one shot!  The weather today is almost a gorgeous as yesterday.  Am I going to work out in the garden like I should?  Nope ... I'm spending today with Deborah, and we are going to hang out and hunt junk all day.

 

Have a great weekend!

 

How to Root Roses from Cuttings

I have tried just about every method out there to propagate roses from cuttings.  This process, as taught to me by my friend Diana Klassy in 2006, is the easiest and most reliable one for me.  It's simple to understand, and it uses materials that you may already have on hand or can easily obtain.

(This isn't only for roses.  I have rooted new plants of lilac, azalea, hydrangea, and figs using this method.  Any plant that can root from cuttings is a candidate.) 

Are you ready? 

Gather your supplies:  You will need a half-gallon milk or juice jug, a clear 2-liter soda bottle, good-quality potting media, rooting hormone, pruners, and a sharp utility knife. 

You will be using the bottom of the milk jug as a pot, and the top of the soda bottle to form a greenhouse.

Cut large drainage holes in the bottom of the milk jug, and fill it with moist potting media.

The best cutting for most roses is a stem with a dead flower on it, with four to six sets of leaves.

If possible, get the heel wood where the stem emerges from the main cane.

If you cannot get a heel, cut below a leaf bud.

Cut off the dead flower and remove all but two sets of leaves from your cutting.

With the sharp utility knife, score the end of the cutting on two or three sides ... cutting only through the outer layer.

Dip the scored cutting into rooting hormone.  Dampen the cutting if you are using powdered rooting hormone.

Make a hole in the potting media.  Insert the cutting and water thoroughly.  You can place more than one cutting into each container ... I don't recommend putting in more than three.

Cover the cutting with the soda bottle top, maneuvering the bottle a little bit so that it fits inside the rim of the milk jug pot.  Be careful not to dislodge the cutting.

Now comes the most difficult part of this process ... place the container with your cutting in a safe shaded location and LEAVE IT ALONE.  (You only need to check on it once a week or so.)  In the fall, I put cuttings in my north-facing basement workshop window with a fluorescent shop light for supplemental lighting.  For cuttings in spring and summer, I place my containers underneath an azalea bush in my side yard shade garden. 

Make certain that your cuttings receive no direct sunlight at this stage or the inside of the bottle will overheat and your cuttings will die.  You don't need to water your cutting ... as long as there is condensation inside the soda bottle, you're fine.  More cuttings die from overwatering than anything else.

Cuttings can produce roots in as soon as four weeks, or as many as eight, ten, or more weeks.  Since roots are visible through the translucent milk jug, there is no need to pull cuttings to check their progress.  Remove any leaves that may fall ... don't worry, the cutting can still root without leaves.  As long as the stem is green, the cutting is alive.

When the cutting is showing strong roots, and it begins to sprout new leaves, start to harden off your new rose by removing the screw top of the soda bottle.  After a week or two without the lid, remove the soda bottle and begin to gradually acclimate your rose to a sunnier environment.

This is an extreme example of strong new growth shooting up and out the top of the soda bottle while I was busy with other things and didn't notice that it was time to remove the bottle.

At this point, if you have only one cutting in your milk jug pot, you can leave your new rose growing there without the bottle until it has a strong root system and the root ball can hold together for transplanting.  If you have more than one cutting, carefully tip the contents of the pot out and tease the plants apart ... trying your best not to damage any of the fragile new roots ... and put each new rose into its own pot.

That's all there is to it!  Rooting roses is not rocket science.  If you start with quality cuttings taken at the right time from a well-watered mother plant, your chances of success increase dramatically.  

Some roses root very readily from cuttings, and some are down-right impossible ... sometimes the only way to find out is to give it a try.

 If you have any questions, you can leave them in a comment, or you can contact me directly via EMAIL.