New subscriber by the Hudson River

Hello, I'm a new subscriber, and wanted to introduce myself. My name is Mike Stewart, and I live in the lower Hudson Valley of New York (Peekskill, to be precise). I mostly grow roses - about 50 of them. I wanted to extend my thanks to DG for the great database, because it was so helpful to me last year when I undertook a little research project.

When it comes to growing roses, my yard is both a blessing and a curse. The front yard’s southern exposure floods the lawn with sunlight that most roses would normally thrive in. Unfortunately, the front yard is also frequented by deer, whose appetite for roses forces me to grow my plants in the safety of the back yard.

The back yard's fenced-in border of arbor vita is an effective barrier against unwelcome visitors, and provides an evergreen background for colorful blooms. But the trees’ long shadows create a lot of shade. The yard’s limited number of sunlit patches have already been filled to the limit with a combination of floribundas, grandifloras, shrubs and minis; but like many rose lovers, I can’t seem to get enough! There are always one or two (or 19) more plants I’d like to introduce – but where?

As I pondered my dilemma during last fall’s pre-order season, I took notice of the occasional mention of “shade-tolerant” roses in various catalogs, and thought this might be the answer to my own ceaseless appetite for more rose blooms. So I made a project of researching the plants that the growers promote as needing less than six hours of sunlight per day. That’s not to say they can grow in the dark; they still need sunshine to thrive and bloom, but not as much as most other roses.

It turns out that the list I accumulated from various catalogs, garden guides, and databases was longer than expected. It includes 235 roses among 23 classifications. If you're interested in more information about these roses, feel free to email me at repeatbloomer@yahoo.com.

Happy planting!
Mike Stewart

Hi Mike,

Welcome to Daves Garden. Sounds like you are really hooked on those roses and I don't blame you. They are great plants. I don't do well with them, but I think that is mainly due to our humidity in the summer and the black spot that follows. This year we had a great year and not one bit of blackspot. I also started using the Bayer All in One systemic. I don't know whether to say it was the weather or the product, so I'll just stick with saying that both really helped. Have you made it to the Rose forum yet? There are a lot of rose growers here and that forum is really a nice one to visit. Hope you will have a great time in the garden here. I'm sure you have a lot to offer many of us. Happy Holidays Mike. Will catch you in the forums later.

Shirley

Greetings from Pocahontas, TN 80 miles east of Memphis right on the TN/MS stateline.

I know you will enjoy Dave's

Judy

mike - welcome to daves garden from your neighbor up route nine in waqppingers falls. there is another gardnener in carmel.

Hi Mike,

Welcome from a fellow Hudson Valley'er just a wee bit south of you in Stony Point. I am a DG'er only a few months myself. It's funny that you mention the shade tolerant roses. I started a thread not long ago asking people for recommendations for roses that will do well in shadier locations! Maybe you can help me zero down my choices. I am looking for one or two so 235 sounds overwhelming. I too have a serious deer problem but so far they have not decimated my roses. I spend quite a lot of effort on deer deterrence. Again, welcome!

Victor

Hello Mike, welcome, I'm a newby myself. The Hudson Valley is one of my favorite places... grew up seeing the Huson River out my window a little bit further south of you, in Yonkers.
I have had marginal luck with shrub roses described in the Wayside Garden catalog as shade tolerant. They are the small, hardy shrub roses. Have had much better luck with a beautiful, fragrant, thornless pink climber with a french name, (sorry, can't think of it right now); it is in the shade most of the time on the north side of the house and puts on a spectacular show every May.

Hi Mike welcome

Hi again Mike, I looked up the roses I grow. "Zephirine Drouhin" rose is the one that blooms beautifully in the shade, is thornless climber and very fragrant.
I have had less luck growing four Meidiland landscape roses. The Wayside Gardens Rose catalog claims the Scarlet Meidiland "tolerates more shade than other roses" This is rather ambiguous. I orderd mixed colors and they mistakenly sent me all white roses instead of including the scarlet and they haven't done well in the shade at all and one of them died.
I have a beautiful picture of the Zephirine Drouhin which I will look for in my files.
Happy New Year.

Hi, Mike! (And Victor!) Nice to see some "hometown" boys here! Herbie and are fast becoming buddies! And check out GordonHawk when you have a chance! He has a rooftop garden in Brooklyn that will make you shout out in glee!

Welcome to DG - home of the BEST seed and plant traders!

welcome mike from wappingers falls n.y.

Hi Mike. and Welcome. We used to live outside of Peekskill on a road called "Rick Lane". Of course it was dirt then and everyone's car got stuck in the mud in March. But I hear it's paved now. I love those Cortland Apples. We used to get a half a bushel, make pies and put them in the freezer.

I thought for a minute with a name like "repeat bloomer" you were an Iris nut. But you can't beat roses - and fireflies.

Welcome to Dave's Mike, great to have you here to share your experience with roses....
have a happy growing year! cheers !!

Hey, happy new year everyone! I hope all my fellow gardeners in the Hudson Valley and elsewhere are enjoying the season. Wasn't Saturday beautiful?! I actually got out to put up a new wood fence alongside my rock garden. I never expected to be able to do that in New York on January 1st. This time last year I think the ground was frozen solid!

So how's the weather for the rest of you folks?

Brugie, I'm getting ready to order some Buck Hardy roses that were originated in Iowa. Do you by chance have any experience with them?

Judy, I used to live in Memphis, not too too far from you. But I was only there for a year, so I never got to garden. Not sure I could have in all that humid heat!

RoseOne, I just planted a Zephirine Drouhin last spring. It grew, but hasn't started blooming yet. It's growing up the side of my garden shed nicely, and I hope to see blooms this coming year.

Doss, they have indeed paved that road. Peekskill's going through a mini-revival these days - you should come back and visit some time!

Best wishes to all,
Mike

Hi, Mike

Welcome to Dave's Garden. I, too, love roses, but have a limited variety because many do not winter over well here. My yard only gets half day sun due to mountains and the tall spruce trees. Our nibblers are moose, and they can be aggressive!

The moose can even get by those horrible stickers on the Rugosa Roses? Too bad it's too cold there to grow bouganveilla. Now those are some thorns.

Most of the time the moose eat the natural plants and shrubs. They love the local willow trees, but will also eat ferns, alder, etc. In the winter, they strip the bark from trees, as well.

My neighbor's cat is named "Moose," and he likes to eat leafy plants, too!

If he starts chewing on the bark, I'd lose him!

Repeatbloomer, you've missed the thread on the pet forum about what strange things your pet likes to eat. It's a silly thread but worth a giggle.

Unfortunately my own two indoor cats like to eat my own rose cuttings. If I don't remember to take them off the dining room table at night before I go to bed, I come downstairs in the morning to find the most unusual serrated petals, with tiny little teeth marks.

Think you can produce those roses with the serrated petals genetically? Or you could just put your cats to work!

Maybe if I mixed the rose genes with the cat genes in a petri dish, and added a little 7-7-7, who knows?

Roses with claws and thorns?

Hello again Mike, I hope your Zephirine Drouhin does well for you. It is very vigorous here and is climbing against the side of my north facing porch. Send in a picture when spring arrives in the Hudson valley.

I wonder if this is how pussywillows originated!