Judith's Corner - May, 2004
I joined GVRS in spite of the silliness of a rose show--I thought it
was a dumb, stuffy tradition. I know, I know--the irony. Anyway, I've worked
on the last three rose shows, but I've never entered a rose in the show. Call
me "chicken."
This year, I'm entering some of my roses--I've decided to unleash my
inner Little League Parent. I wanna be a contender.
This change is brought to me by a lovely rose called Gertrude Jeckyl. I
bought one after watching it bloom at the nursery, and I intend to train it to
grow up my chimney. This rose is so beautiful I can't help but believe it can
win some kind of prize, if for no other reason than it's the prettiest shade
of pink I've ever seen. For the first time, I'm paying attention to categories
and classes for competing.
Most of my roses are still the result of impulse purchases, but last
Fall I began to plant roses I'd chosen after learning something about them.
This year my reward has been some glorious blooms, so my competitive juices,
which I didn't know I had, are bubbling with anticipation. I've had great luck
this season with Rio Samba, Intrigue, Angel Face, Arizona, Mellow Yellow,
Garden Party, and Flower Girl. I'm still waiting for the first buds to open on
Teasing Georgia, which promises to be another beauty. So, this is fair warning
to all of you--I'm aiming for trophies!
On another topic: Most of you know I work at a nursery, so here's some
nursery insight. Nursery tags--those plastic flags/tags that you get on all
nursery plants--though informative, are first and foremost, ADVERTISING. The
photographs on the tags are taken of plants and flowers at their point of
perfection--this is especially true of roses. It can take roses three years to
grow into their nursery tag (or catalog) pictures. In those years, they'll
sometimes resemble their pictures, and sometimes they won't--the colors,
sizes, and shapes might not be true for a season or two. There's huge
variation from one rose to the next when it comes to development--some roses
mature faster than others. Some are late-bloomers.
After purchasing roses, don't leave them in dark containers out in our
sun--those black pots become ovens for baking roots in a very short time. If
you have to hold plants in their pots, keep their bottoms shaded and cool,
with some dappled light on the foliage. Morning sun is better than afternoon,
but even it can become too hot for the pots. I speak from experience--I used
to think "Full Sun" meant full sun, but it doesn't. I baked four roses to
death last summer.
Nursery tags are written in states like Oregon, Connecticut, Florida,
and North Carolina. Except for the Plant Select line, which you'll find at
most local nurseries, plant tags ARE NOT written in Colorado. "Full Sun" in
most parts of the country bears no resemblance to full sun in Western
Colorado. Our afternoon sun is so intense that roses that can endure all-day
Oregon sun are fried in an afternoon here. Use some common sense--try to
provide some afternoon shade for your plants when possible, and plant
wisely--if you can't sit out in the sun all afternoon, your roses might not
want to either.
I had the chance to travel to Montrose for a visit with the Montrose
Botanical Society. I'll report on that visit in greater depth in the next
newsletter, but I did want to mention that they have the beginnings of a
terrific Xeric garden, and an excellent meeting facility. I was warmly
received, and enjoyed my audience of rose lovers. Thanks to Carol Betz for
arranging the whole thing. I love a good road trip, and hope to do it again!
Judith Curtis-Mardon
