Wow - 24 days since my last entry. Nothing much to report on other than roses have never done better. There are a few small pockets of Blackspot but nothing I can't live with. Powdery Mildew season is upon us though, and I need to spray.
The Japanese Beetles are just about finished for the year. Killed only about 10-15 today whereas at peak 2-3 weeks ago in extreme heat and sun I was killing over 100 per day.
It's alfalfa tea time again and The South Garden has received theirs - roughly a half gallon per bush. Another batch is brewing for the North Garden and will be ready in 2-3 days. I added about 4 ounces each of Epsom Salts and Sequestrene (chelated iron) to fortify the tea before applying. In the meantime, as the tea was brewing, I fertilized the North Garden with Miracle-Gro 24-8-16 at roughly one TBS to one gallon of water per bush. I'll do the same to the South Garden before Labor Day and that will be it for the year as far as fertilization goes. I like to do the alfalfa tea in late August as it promotes lots of blooms on straight stems in September and October.
It's been quite the chore keeping up with all the spent blooms. For about the past 7-10 days, after dinner I have spent 60-90 minutes per night just trying to clean up the spent blooms. My wife has pitched in as well. Finally, I took tonight off as I am fully caught up.
I would love to see more full plant and close up leaf photos on here. More than once I have gotten a rose and it's been mislabeled or talked to friends who don't have labels on their plants and are looking for clues. Thankfully there had been some fairly easy tells to get me the best possible match for what some of the roses may really be. If we collectively posted more photos of growth habit as whole, and up close of leaves it would help to increase data points for identification as well as seeking roses that my also add specific visual texture to our gardens with their leaves when not in bloom. I will so my part by adding photos of all my roses leaves to each listing. :) If you are reading this have a great day and snap some plant and leaf pics.
