This summer I was busy working to get my Master Gardeners cert along with working full time at a local nursery. With that excuse in mind, I will tell you I didn't get any really successful crosses again this year!  Excuse number three, The weather may not have helped either with the very warm spring that transformed into a mostly cool summer.   In fact, it felt like summer lasted for no more than a week this year.  Needless to say it didn't help ( excuse.... excuse) with hip production and I ended up losing the crosses I'd managed to make.   I only ended up with selfs this year so I will have to be mostly content with them.  I am crossing my fingers My mason bees were pollinating my roses along with the fruit trees, so theres a scant chance something was crossed!  I wont be too picky for now, but next year things will be different!  I did have a list of crosses I was going to make but I suppose it will have to roll over until next year!   Right now I am in the thick of collecting hips and dividing seed I thankfully a number of hips from my own yard decided to ripen up so there is at least a somewhat of a rose project going on an I'v collected a few from a local rose garden to up my chances in getting a range of crosses :)  I have also taken a number of cuttings of some mini's I haven't grown before, (these cuttings were given to me)  and a few super cute fuchsias.  I think Im will also try my hand at daylily seeds this winter. I purchased a few packet of seed from a hybridizer online..growing them out sounds fun though I hope I stay focused on them as it will take them quite a while before they produce a bloom.....oh well heres to gardening projects turning indoors.

I'm a very hip thief!

This little guy is a bit slow growing but it is always covered in buds,  This rose is a sister seedling to my single blue for you seedling.  again very healthy foliage nice high petal count. This is the same rose earlier in the year with a button eye,  it has a sweet fragrance, new grow on stems are red and it branches quite nicely.  I'm very happy with this one and if nothing else it is going to be planted in my garden next spring. 

(below) This is a Denis Seedling, he gave it too me, because it didn't respond to Powdery Mildew spray.  I think it just needed to get outside of the greenhouse and breath a bit.  I'm really looking forward to seeing what this little guy will do next year.

I will mention some of these seedlings are from a friend and some are some of my older seedlings I didn't get anything off mention this last growing season I lost a lot of seedlings possibly due to high salt content with the Coir media I used or possibly fungus Gnats.  They are normally a irritating hinderance but they may have been devastating to new seedlings.   The only ones I have kept from this seasons batch are two pinks with a low petal count that are survivors and a low petal count yellow that keeps wanting to bloom.  I'll give them a wait and see but I'm not too excited about them.

 this is a Blue For you seedling That I love it have very healthy foliage no blackspot at all and it flowers in mass and as the petals age they become more and more blue.

 Heres a few of my favorite seedlings at the moment :)

 This is my first seedling of the year!  Good morning Dear, and her sisters are following!  I have all of six seedlings so far coming up and all but one are op's of "Pretty Lady".  Quite exciting, if they are anything like their mother I will be thrilled!......now if more of those seeds would start germinating!

                                               The trays are still looking pretty desolate...spotting the green is like searching for Waldo.

spotted!

                   

The seedlings are planted and springing up! Spring is coming and the blooms will follow!!! 

This past Saturday I enjoyed participating in the Tacoma Rose Society show, after a failed attempt to do so the previous year when I had only one show-able bloom, as my roses were between in bud or  in all stages of open and practically shattering.  My one bloom looking good enough to present was refrigerated, manicured with cotton swabs with it's leaves polished sat in the refrigerator the night before.  I was quite excited to have something to enter in the novice class but sadly during the night the rose was crushed under some toppled condiments, possibly due to a hungry husband rummaging for a nighttime snack or more likely my over zealous opening and closing the door checking on the rose, whatever the reason the rose didn't make it to the show. 

This year had its own set of difficulties, record high temperatures scalded most of my roses, in my arguably meager collection, as well as shrinking and bleaching the rest of the blooms.  I managed to find a decent bloom from Dream Come true, the same rose I had attempted to show the previous year. I also found a decent spray of Strawberry Crush along with a few of Austin's Sister Elizabeth blooms that somehow escaped the sun.  I even put together an arrangement of sorts not really ARS standard but I figured why not it was just for fun.  Well things went much better then last time.  I received the novice Trophy with Dream Come True which was quite a surprise! 

Don't you just love the Rose's name? Dream Come True is truly inspirational as it was produced by an amateur hybridizer John D. Pottschmidt. Dream come True was introduced by weeks roses in 2008.

This isn't the actual rose in the competition this one actually just bloomed today. I just wanted to show this guy off a bit :)

Bouquet of roses made up of some Austins (Tea Clipper and Jude the obscure), Pope John Paul II, Paprika and last years seedlings :D

Just a few blooms of the many roses on my deck, the first is Harrison's yellow, Rose de Resch and finally Varagata De Belonga. All young plants, I'm enjoying their first blooming season this spring. 

So these are this years seedlings,  a lot less then last years possibly due to the odd spring we've had and more likely  due to the way I stored them.  I kept them dry during stratification period so they wouldn't mold but as a result I believed it cause slower germination.  There are still a number of stragglers coming up so maybe everyone will just arrive a little late either way a fun venture.

Ok so I never showed off last years seedlings, and now that the new ones are sprouting I better do so now or never.....

Ok so this was one of my favorites, It established itself quickly and was one of the larger of last years seedlings. I gave this one to my aunt.  I hope to see if the flowers develop even better I really like the ruffly petal shape.

One of the numerous singles, I gave a few of these away, they were fun  as the singles opened up quite quickly but many of them tend to easily mildew I'm giving a few of them a second summer just to see what their about, some have developed tall sprawling canes.

 

a semidouble offspring of Mr. Bluebird, I have a number of supper small minis that came from that batch :) they are very cute but I'm more interested in hardy plants that can put up with the heat on my deck. 

Ok so this is my second favorite of the bunch this guy is a growing monster easily quadrupled in size it's first season.  A friend nicknamed this roses from this crossing sawtooth as the leaves are very jagged and even more so now. 

                                         I din't do to much to protect my seedling roses this winter as it was so mild, even so I lost this rose which was the one I was most excited about it's petals remind me of whipped frosting and it had a green eye :( very sad about this one though as a seedling it was kind of puny

This is another Mr. Bluebird cross I am quite happy with this one :)

O like the color but no impressed with the plant 

another of my faves 

this bud is the same rose below

                       
                                                     
                                                                        more singles

The Seedlings are starting to sprout!

My little mini roses are also doing well, at least, all but one which I think separating caused to much root damage so I'll just have to wait and see how he does.

I recently helped my mom prune back her roses and I was left with a few lengthy straight canes so I think I'm going to try my hand at rooting and grafting a rose tree. who knows what will happen though, I'm kind of just winging it and waiting to see what happens! :)  I have searched on the web for ways to graft a rose tree and I really didn't find to much. There was a u-tube film on grafting in general so I'm going to attempt to follow their lead. Right now I have two cane. One the with a circumference a bit bigger than a pencil, and the other about the width of my thumb. I don't know if that's too big but I figure I'll take a whack at it! So for now a few of rosy projects in motion and I can definitely say I am in anticipation.

just some sketches I'm playing around with

So my miniature roses finished blooming. They lost a few leaves adjusting the conditions in my house, but I'm happy to say there is quite a lot of new growth to make up for it. So far so good. Today I separated each individual plant so fingers crossed.    Looking back think I should have divided them up sooner the root systems were pretty developed filling out the pot they were in.

As for other projects, I currently have a number of rose seeds I pulled out of the fridge and I'm watching hopefully they sprout soon! I'll post them if they start sprouting!

                         Miniature Roses snow-birding indoors

So as I have been deprived of of sun and roses for the season with the exception of my "Trader Joe's"  purchase. Knowing they tend to dry out or rot, after there stint in conditions not as welcoming as the greenhouse. I decided to look up any suggestions out there to keep the little guy alive. I scanned a few articles....well two actually, and these seem to be the most helpful tips ~ plus a few I thought necessary.

~ Prevent root rot, make sure the roses aren't drowning in water. Put them in a container that allows water to drain.( that may just mean removing the wrapper or bucket) Roots like to breath....

~one suggestion mentioned a saucer with gravel to catch the water and to actually maintain a bit of water to evaporate, to help the plant handle the dry conditions of the house.

~I believe a grow light is necessary for the plant to continue growing and maybe even bloom. (I'm currently borrowing the florescent light from my aquarium for a few hours each day. I'll let ya know
  how well that works out.)

~Remove spent blooms and any leaves, that may have shed after adjusting to a new environment.

~Water after the soil has been able to dry a bit, I think sticking to early in the day, is a good Idea just as one would with roses outside to prevent powdery mildew.

~if Powdery mildew does rear it's ugly  head just mix up a bit of water,  few drops of dish-soap, baking soda and a few drops of olive oil ( I approximate my mixture because I use it in a small spritz bottle(there are numerous recipes out there more exact.( ....I couldn't find my book with the recipe I use sorry :P..... it's around here some where, I just had it....)

~ As the roses start producing new growth you may decide to transplant them. I say roses because there are typically four small individual plants. ( I think I'll keep mine together until they fill out the pot a bit more, if it looks like they need room then I think I'll use individual Styrofoam cups(with a few holes poked through the bottom for drainage of course.)

And lastly a bit of water soluble fertilizer....A.k.A Miracle Grow, I'm going to wait a bit for a show of good faith from my plants because I want to see a bit of action first.....but then again, I might give in, who knows..... I am excited for these little guys and I'll continue posting on how they're doing. I hopefully I'll be planting them outside next spring :D  
       
                                                        ~Merry Christmas~

     

 One of my projects as a cake decorator :D... one of the most enjoyable jobs I have had thus far.....

Sooo it has been quite some time since I have visited this page.  Life in the past few( maybe I should say many months) months became quite busy between work and school.  Rose gardening was not forgotten but sadly it was kind of put on a back burner. Between my husband and I we of course kept the vegetable garden and roses watered and I potted all but two of my juvenile roses into 1to 5 gallon sized pots.  I also attempted to cross one of my roses which in the end refused to take.

The most recent gardening activities I have done include pruning my roses following the example of our local public rose garden. I've decided next year, I will instead start pruning in the spring, after reading some articles and books which explained keeping the growth and hips on the bush through the winter season helps insulate the plant and prevent die back.

This year I started going rose crazy early. With my little herd on the back porch huddle together looking like nothing more than a bunch of bleak little twigs. I began pouring over pictures of roses At "Heirloom Roses", "Rose Petal nursery" and  "proven Winners". I even convinced my husband (Panda) that I absolutely needed one of those mico Minnies I found at the grocery store. In my defense it was pale peachy pink thing with large old fashioned blooms(some look quartered) and it had scent! The little guy smelled like a hint of summer and for 4.99 I was sold (thank you,

"Trader Joe's").... of course now I really need to hurry and get him a plant light! I keep rotating him in to the windowsill with the most light but hes going to need more. I wish I knew what he is..

 This winter I am attempting to get some rose seedlings going thanks to a hybridizer who sent me a few of his spares plus a few hips I snagged around the neighborhood so I am looking forward to this new project! So I'm just playing the waiting game right now. Cheers and ~Merry Christmas to all~

Today has been lovely and wet. The clouds low and dripping kept the temps up and the sun out of sight. It almost felt tropical... My roses are all dewy and they don't seem to mind the rain. Well all except for my one Queen Elizabeth OP seedling. I brought him inside because his feet were getting a little to wet for comfort. I hope he makes it as he is the last out of half a dozen little guys who didn't survive it for some reason or another....I've decided to baby him quite a bit because I''ll be very disappointed if at least one doesn't make it. (he kind of reminds me of "Littlefoot " as hes the last youngster.

There are other roses of course new to my collection and I am very much excited to see what they become. I received them from a benefactor on the rose hybridizing forum I belong too. There are about a dozen of them minus one I gave to a friend.  Each rose is quite interesting as each plant is a bit different. I think it is very exciting to be on the receiving end of a hybridizes extras, specially when they breed for hardy disease resistance. Right now they have all bushed out in many shades of jade and emerald and a few are developing fat little buds which I cant wait to see blossom.

One thing I am particularly excited about is winning a number of Oso Easy roses! I received the manure tea that was part of the winnings but I'm waiting for the newbies to arrive before putting it to use and for the rain to let up :)