Great groundcovers, and your Talavera frog is irresistible!

zuzu said: Great groundcovers, and your Talavera frog is irresistible!

Thanks, I put some annuals in it, because it can't take our winters, so I have to put it away every year.

It's too bad that the lush green stuff doesn't tend to take well around here, but I'm still learning what will and will not work, and what may or may not suit my level of experience, so thank you very much @KatyLLL for the input and ideas!

This week's update isn't looking too bad. The first King's Ransom has a lot of drying leaves, and I remember thinking that blights on the leaves wouldn't be likely around here because it's so dry, but I've taken to trying to avoid watering the leaves as they're becoming a little discolored.



The Chicago Peace has a new shoot coming from the ground level, and I'm hoping that is not coming up from below the graft, but (since I don't really know what I'm looking at,) I'm going to let it grow, and see what we've got.



The last King's Ransom below has a tiny little sprout starting to shoot out, and I am VERY glad to see that there's a little life left in there still.



Overall I'm pleased to see a little progress here, and I remain optimistic. It's funny to me to see the little green ring forming around my mulch pile. I don't believe that we've broken 90° yet, but I've already started on my hoop shade project. I'll give more details in a few days when the rest of the materials come in. Seriously bad timing on my part, but I like ramen noodles anyway. Cotton

Just for a consideration: may it would be a good idea to cover rose in hot climate with non black pot with holes to create some shadow? I did it and kept about 12 days after plating, time to time gave my new roses some air.

@Elena999 That would probably work in an environment that's less windy. Today we're having winds between 20-25MPH, so everything needs to be anchored down to keep from blowing away. I think your idea could be adapted to work using tent stakes, or yard anchors & ties, but I've already started in another direction. I like that you're giving out ideas though. Thanks, Cotton

Cotton, we also had some windy days (Tornado also ), in regular case I just place stones on top. After heavy wind harvesting pots. Good luck!!

Just checked my roses and might want to follow my own advise and place pots back it's 80-s today and next 2 days. A lot of new ones have very tender buds...

and this how my roses recovering from winter:

CottonTexas said: It's too bad that the lush green stuff doesn't tend to take well around here, but I'm still learning what will and will not work, and what may or may not suit my level of experience, so thank you very much @KatyLLL for the input and ideas!

Don't fear. They are grown in full sun in Phoenix Arizona-- I believe it is harsher there. It is just good you got them in the ground in early spring. As far as losing leaves, sticks, and things like that. Basically, that is transplant shock. Just keep watering correctly, give it rose fertilizer, and you will see small tiny leaves starting to grow out. The plant will get established this year, so just expect that. The roots are the main thing. Without good roots, you have no plant. Some root stimulator is a good idea. I use root stimulator on all my plants outside and inside, and in the winter, I water every week with root stimulator. Root stimulator is not fertilizer, it is plant hormones so they are not interchangeable. Next year it will start showing off. I have one that lost all the leaves on it, and many people might have figured it had died. I took a look at it and see tiny leaves starting in places.

I'm finding great satisfaction in posting weekly updates to this thread. Not only does it allow me to keep track of the progress of my own roses, but I'm really enjoying seeing how some of y'all are doing along the same time.

The first King's Ransom is growing like crazy, and I am loving it. I hope that this one continues to do well.



The Chicago Peace also has a lot of new leaves, and that new growth I mentioned earlier is above the graft, so this beauty might turn out to be a little more bushy - which I would like even better if I could get the other two onboard with the idea. :)



The last King's Ransom is making slower progress, but I am super-happy to see that there's a new little shoot popping out on the other side of the same branch. To be completely honest, my expectations for this one is less about whether or not it will be beautiful, and much more hopeful that I can just keep it alive. We can worry about the rest once I'm comfortable with the amount of growth I'm seeing.



All of the materials that I need to make a plant shade has arrived, but I'm not sure when I should set it up. We finally broke 90° yesterday, but we're going to be in the 50's & 60's for the next week, so I'm thinking it might be May before I need to put it up, and even then, I'm not sure if I should leave it up, or if I might need to go pitch their shade in the afternoon, and take it down again in the evening so that they'll get the morning sun. I'm sure that there's time for the answers as we approach closer to that need though. For now, I'll keep doing what I'm doing, and try to keep the rogue plants from trying to creep in on the mulch. I hope y'all're all having a great day! Cheers, Cotton

Hello again, I can't believe how fast the week has gone by, but it's time for another update. We got some rain overnight, and it's supposed to be rainy tonight as well, so I got a little break for a couple of days from the twice-per-day watering routine, but of course will resume again once it dries up outside.

I couldn't be happier with the first King's Ransom. It is still growing like crazy!



The Chicago Peace is looking wonderful as well. I find great satisfaction watching these two as they start to take shape.



The second King's Ransom is still coming along slowly, but at least there's still some green color there. I wish there were more shoots coming out of the other stems, but for now, I'll be happy to take what I can get from my poor little rose.



There is no doubt that without the help from this awesome forum, (made up of awesome folks - that is,) there is no way I would have gotten these roses to stay alive. Even my beloved "troubled-child" of a King's Ransom has been so encouraging to watch as it grows. I know I've got a lot to learn still, but we're getting there one day at a time. I hope y'all're all staying warm & dry - spring is just around the corner! Cheers, Cotton

Good job! You have succeeded in nurturing those roses in a pretty forbidding environment.

Heya folks, I can't believe it, but it's that time again for an update!

Our first King's Ransom is growing beautifully. I couldn't be more pleased with the way things are going with his one.



Our Chicago Peace is also looking fantastic still, and I am just as pleased to see so much progress here as well.



The last King's Ransom has me constantly worried. I see more wilting on the tiny little shoots, and I just don't know what I can do. This one was the biggest plant with the most green leaves when they got planted, but has done a complete 180 ever-after.



I pulled all the mulch away from the grafts, and I'm pretty sure that soon I'll need to put up some shade for them. I'm also looking at putting down some compost, and more mulch, but otherwise I'm not real sure what I might do for my poor little rose. I'm worried it might not make it, and I'm pretty sure that it's too late in the season to replant if it finally does go south. Oh well, what's a guy to do, but the best that he can do, huh? Thank you all for the ongoing support, and I hope y'all have a wonderful rest of the week. Cheers, Cotton

Go ahead and cut the two upright canes on King's Ransom to about half an inch above the bud union, since they've already died back. I see a speck of bright green near the center, which suggests a new shoot might be emerging, so leave it intact if that's the case.

Mike said: Go ahead and cut the two upright canes on King's Ransom to about half an inch above the bud union, since they've already died back. I see a speck of bright green near the center, which suggests a new shoot might be emerging, so leave it intact if that's the case.

Yup, I did a scratch test before I cut them off, and they were definitely done. Here's a pic of the current results.



I also took this as an opportunity to cut the blackened stems from the other roses as well, but it's going to start raining here soon, so I'm afraid those pics will have to wait. I'm wondering now if I might / should have cut the top of that last branch where it's turned black. Hopefully this little one will be able to pull through without the hindrance of dead weight. Thank you for the advice! Cotton

I would cut above the new tiny green growth, but be honest, I suspect that growth will fail as the entire cane has darkened and appears to be dying back. But who knows, you might get what's called a "basal break" - meaning a new cane growing from the base above the bud union. Don't hold your breath, but don't give up just yet.

Just before it rained I got out there and snipped the top of that branch, and there seemed to be some life left in it, and because I am the worst cameraman on planet Earth, here's a close-up of my thumb while holding the bit that I took off.



The whole plant is discolored, and man is she looking rough. We're at least two weeks past the ideal planting time for my zone, the box stores have all quit selling roses, and I don't know how much spent earth I would need to move after a rose has died, so if she doesn't make it, I'm likely going to have to leave as-is for another year All we can do is all we can do though, so here's to my good friends "Hope & Cope" And thanks again to you, @Mike for all your helpful input on this.
G'night y'all, Cotton

Here's what it looks like this morning. I was certainly more hopeful before I saw the new growth dying off, but I've come to the conclusion that this one is most likely not going to make it :(



It's not completely gone yet, and we'll see where we are in the next update, but I knew that there was a likelihood that something like this might happen due to my inexperience, and if I have to begin again, at least I can take with me the lessons that I've learned along the way. Meanwhile, I hope that all of you are having a wonderful day! Cotton

Cotton, I would cut you rose up to ground level, clear from mulch and open grafted area. Water with some stimulator and cover with non-transparent and non-black pot and wait a couple of week before get rid of this rose.

Thank you @Elena999 , I'll get out there and cut below the discolored parts of the stalk, and it's been suggested that I look into alfalfa meal (maybe?) as something with beneficial growth stimulants. I'm actually outside of Amarillo, and a trip into the city just isn't in the cards. Could there be anything that might achieve the same affect available at the local Wally-World? I'll see what I can find for a non-black pot to cover it with just after I take my pruners to it. Desperate measures! Cotton

Well, there's no turning back now!



I found the finest china vawz to cover this Kings Ransom with:



Well, it's neither transparent nor black, so it should work, right? Probably a silly question, but am I supposed to poke holes in it or something for air?

I'll keep it on there for two weeks, and keep watering to see what happens. In the meantime, I'll start searching for growth stimulators that can be had locally. A big THANK YOU to everyone that has chimed in thus far, and together we'll try all we can, and see what we can get to work. Cheers, Cotton

EDIT: I just put in an order for some compost, chelated iron, and alfalfa meal. It'll take about a week to get here, and hopefully my poor little rose can hang on until then.