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'Cardinal Song ™' rose Reviews & Comments
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Beautiful deep red, large blooms all summer long in my graden (zone 5 Canada). Not that prolific in terms of number of blooms..usually 4 or 5 at a time. Cut back hard every fall and grows to about 3 feet. Deep raspberry scent. Long stems ..great cut flower.
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Irish22...........
You will probably have much better performance for this rose if you did not do any fall pruning except for snow protection. Modern roses store their nutrients in their canes and when you prune them off in the fall, the plant doesn't have anything available for the spring push and has to start all over. All of the plant energy is put into putting on new growth and the plant sacrifices the blooms in order to grow again.
Lyn
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#2 of 7 posted
28 MAY 10 by
Irish22
Thanks Lyn..The first few winters I left the canes much longer but I found in our harsh winters they died back almost right to the ground anyway, even with winter protection. We regularly get temperatures lower than -20C (-5F) so only the very hardiest will tolerate our winters with long canes exposed .
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Each of us learns what works in our own gardens. When I moved away from rose heaven in southern California to the mountains of northern California, I felt like I had to learn how to grow roses all over again.
I still haven't gotten this climate completely figured out ! It is a climate of extremes, triple digit temps for weeks at a time in the summer and cold in the winter, but NOT as cold as your garden.
My comment was based upon the linage of the rose.
With Regards, Lyn
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Cutting back in the fall, even when the canes are bound to die, is not a good idea in cold climates, as you want the roses to go dormant to protect them when cold weather hits, and cutting back delays this. If you must cut them back, do so when they've already frozen, and only cut enough to keep them from being felled by a heavy wind. Then in the spring you can prune based on what canes are still healthy, keeping in mind that if you prune too soon and they begin growing, they will be more vulnerable to a late freeze.
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Dianne......
I agree with you 100%. However, in my climate, at my elevation, we get heavy, wet, gloppy snow that causes cane breakage ... not die back.
I only "snow-tip" those roses that may have a breakage problem to open up the canopy so that the snow falls through the plant and does not cause any breakage. It's a preventative prune. The cane is going to break anyway, so I might as well decide where it will break.
My snow-tip prune takes place the day before snow is predicted on only a few of the hundred roses I grow. I have never had additional die back or any further problems with the roses treated this way. I did have lots of problems helping roses look good after cane breakage.
I think I am gardening in a warmer climate than you are and really don't have to worry about die back. I may have to eat those words this winter. This week our night temps have been down to 5F with day temps just above freezing ... lol.
Smiles, Lyn
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Lyn, that makes perfect sense. Have you tried staking? Either way, roses are really tough. Mine have died almost to the ground and they come back as strong as ever (even the budded ones). One year we had a 70 degree day in late November and the next day it snowed and the day after that was below zero. Only the snow insulated the roses. They died within a few inches of the ground that year, for certain. Surprisingly, I lost only about two of my 1400 roses.
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Dianne ...
No, I have never bothered to stake the roses. Since I heat with wood, my primary fall chore is getting wood tossed up from the street level to the house pad level where the woodshed is located. Then stacked. It's both time consuming and hard labor ... o;
Snow-tipping is quick and easy, so that's the method I've continued to use over the years.
You are right. Roses are tough. They constantly surprise me.
Smiles, Lyn
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Initial post
17 JUN 13 by
Jan1
Love this rose. Lost two plants this year after having them 8 or 9 years. Does anyone know where I can find Cardinal Song - a red grandiflora.
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Hortico.com sells it, though they may be out of stock for this season. You can get on the waiting list, though I warn their roses aren't always true to variety and they reportedly don't make good on errors. I believe the patent will expire soon; if so, contact me and I'll be glad to arrange a cutting for you.
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#2 of 2 posted
21 DEC 13 by
Jan1
Thank you for responding the my inquiry re- cardinal song. I will check on it in the spring. Jeannette
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