Roses..... Sep 2013

[Munir]

. Lovely collection-very healthy plants & beautiful colour flowers.
. Already min 13C & winter yet to arrive in 15 days-what are the winter temps? I suggest don't take the risk of exposing your roses to harsh weather in the open,unless they are suitable for this.If you must,then try a few this time,not all.
. Just to get an idea,what is their price tag?
. Good luck!

[Farhan Ahmed]

Beautiful, even the foliage is so lush and glossy, simply unbelievable.

[M Farooq]

The purple rose of quite unique. Is this the new rose which was termed as the "blue rose"...

If you remember Faiz Ahmed Faiz's nazm "Nisar Mein Teri Galiyon kay Aye Watan Jahan... Challi he rasm kay koi na Sir utha ke Chally"...he later mentions "Yuhin hamesha khilaye hain hum nay aag mein phool"...so I would like to change it for you to "Yuhin hamesha khilaye hain humne baraf mein phool" in a Canadian garden! Great...a plant lover is a plant lover in any part of the world.

[KBW]

Thanks a lot every one.

Munir bhai, they cost between $5 to $15, depending on the size and also, from where one is buying. Roses are very cheap in Pakistan, in fact every thing is so cheap in Pakistan that one is simply amazed. Temp in winter drops down to minus 20* during jan and feb, minus 5 to 10 is quite a routine. The roses will be pruned and mulched during winters. I will be using pine bark for mulching. However, I am seriously thinking of planting them in a bigger pot and keep them inside near the glass window. I may be able to extend their bloom for a couple of months more this way...... but overall growth will be doubtful.

Farhan bhai, I am feeding them with high phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. Hope they survive the winters well.

Farooq bhai, thanks for the kind words. Yes, it's hard to stay away from plants, wherever one might go. BTW, today I visited Toranto Botanical garden and was fascinated to see the variety of plantation. In a few more days, fall would set in and most trees would start getting yellow and orange. What a sight it would be. Any plans of visiting Toronto??

regards

[M Farooq]

Farooq bhai, thanks for the kind words. Yes, it's hard to stay away from plants, wherever one might go. BTW, today I visited Toranto Botanical garden and was fascinated to see the variety of plantation. In a few more days, fall would set in and most trees would start getting yellow and orange. What a sight it would be. Any plans of visiting Toronto??
regards

Yes the fall colours are beautiful but the winter is not...at least for me. I wish I could see the botanical gardens of Toronto and the University of British Columbia...I have heard that they are the best. Why don't you give us a virtual tour of the botanical garden, if you have some pictures. I am sure everyone will enjoy :-)

[Munir]

Thanks a lot every one.

Munir bhai, they cost between $5 to $15, depending on the size and also, from where one is buying. Roses are very cheap in Pakistan, in fact every thing is so cheap in Pakistan that one is simply amazed.........

Pakistan may be cheap in prices compared to other countries,but seen against the average local income level it may at best be at par,if not expensive.The best equation is when one earns in $ & spends in Rs,isn't it?

.............. BTW, today I visited Toranto Botanical garden and was fascinated to see the variety of plantation. In a few more days, fall would set in and most trees would start getting yellow and orange. What a sight it would be. Any plans of visiting Toronto??

You must have taken pictures;can you post some? Similarly of fall,to show the colours.

[Mustansir Billah]

Great roses!

[KBW]

Purchased few rose bushes. Though this is no time to purchase roses and hardly any good bushes are available but my itch of planting something forced me to collect whatever best was available in the nurseries. Strong scent was of course at the top of selection criterions while buying the roses.

I always wanted to have Rugosa roses but they are hardly ever available in Pakistan. They are so different from other roses in so many things. Saw a healthy Hansa bush in one of the nurseries and bought it immediately.


Would have to wait for 6 months to see these cluster of uniquely coloured purple highly fragrant flowers. The scent is typical clove scent.


Love the gorgeous looking foliage which is so different. I wish I could bring a few bushes back to Pakistan. Wonder how would they survive in areas like Lahore / Sialkot etc but I have seen that roses which can survive extremely cold weathers can also bear hot summers better than many other roses. Let's see how far its true for Hansa. In any case, Hansa is known to be an exceptionally disease resistant rose.



Bolero is known to be highly fragrant and very double white flowers.


Luckily, Bolero bush has few buds on it. Would love to see the flowers.



Cap Diamant is also known to have heavily scented large size pink flowers. I will have to wait for 6 months to see how true is that....



Finally, John Cabot, a climber with large crimson flowers which are known to be moderately fragrant. I intend covering on of the isolated fences with John Cabot as it has the tendency to spread laterally.

[KBW]

Since I am not left with many days before frost, it was important to quickly plant these roses in the ground.

Decided to do it yesterday and every hour, remembered Pakistan. What a country where one could get a mali in 2000 Rs easily, sometime much cheaper. Here, if I wanted to get the pits prepared and roses planted, it would have costed me around 300 $.

So, marta kia na karta, started digging the pits early morning.





In next three hours, I was able to dig one large size (1x1x5) and five medium size (2x2) pits. Every second, remembered Pakistan.

But the job was not done. I had to prepare the soil mix. for which I used black garden soil (enriched), sheep manure, leaf mould and Salmon eggs.


Yes salmon eggs. I had caught a few Salmons a couple of days back from Highland River and was able to retrieve lots of eggs. After preserving the eggs which will be used next three months for trout fishing, rest of the eggs were thrown at the base of the pits where they will rot with the passage of time into a super powerful manure. At the base, which would currently be around 8 inches below the roots, I also dumped few 5:15:15 sticks. By next spring when roses will grow their roots, they will need lot of phosphorus and potassium and it will be right there for them. Will not harm them now as it is around 8-10 inches below the roots.






All rose bushes (5) and patio / minature roses were planted in the pits.

After that I watered the pits and in the evening, when the had dried out a bit from top, I mulched them using Cedar mulch.




Mulching will keep the roots warm, will help the plants in establishing quickly before the first frost sets in. I hope I am successful.

[Farhan Ahmed]

Ahhhh great roses. Gr8 DIY.
Na Mali na Jawan. Sahab khud hi shruuu. Atleast no one was there to watch ...Just loved it
How much this compost bag cost there?