Maman Cochet

Maman Cochet, Cochet 1890

Tea, Climbing Tea 

Marie Van Houtte X Madame Lambard 

Now we've reached the highest rank in the history of the roses: Maman Cochet and her color sports sit on the throne of rose royalty next to Maréchal Niel. There are no more beautiful roses than these. 

Maman Cochet was a result of the cross between Marie Van Houtte and Madame Lambard but others mention a Catherine Mermet parentage. Whoever the parents were the result was nothing less than glorious. Huge, light pink with carmine pink shading, globular, high centered blooms in rosette shape. Very strong fragrance. Just like all China's and Teas the blooms appear freely throughout the season. Once established the shrub can reach up to 250 cm so she can be trained as a climber. Can withstand rain and heat well and is remarkably hardy zone 6b to 10b. Like all Teas she hates pruning so don't. In more warmer climates she has no equal and especially in Australia she's immensely popular although very good results can be achieved in less warm climates. 

Maman Cochet had many sports and today we have the following color variations: Maman Cochet (light pink), Pink Maman Cochet (deeper pink), Red Maman Cochet (Red), White Maman Cochet (White with carmine edges) and Yellow Maman Cochet (light yellow). 

White Maman Cochet got elevated to the rank of most beautiful white rose. 

Treat her as she deserves with good soil, plenty of organic material, water when needed and a sunny spot and... don't prune. 

King of Siam

King of Siam, Brauër 1912

Climbing Hybrid Tea 

Mme Victor Verdier X Safrano 

A magnificent climber that needs much more attention. There's a lot of confusion concerning this rose as it is always sold as the old climbing Tea "Roi de Siam" from Laffay. But the rose from Laffay was already lost and extinct by 1850. So when you order Roi de Siam you'll always get King of Siam from Brauër. 

It's a vigorous climbing HT and can reach 2,5 to 3,5 meters or 11 to 14 feet.

The parents are extremely well known and are rose royalty. Mme Victor Verdier is a beautiful Hybrid Perpetual with strong fragrance and Safrano doesn't need introduction anymore as this Tea is the parent of hundreds of magnificent roses. 

It was written in the stars that King of Siam would be a very beautiful rose. 

The big buds open into these very large cherry 🍒 pink HT blooms. They have a very strong fruity fragrance. The blooms are held upright on strong stems so absolutely no flopping over or nodding heads. 

The rose repeats well and can be trained against a trellis, a fence, an arch or large obelisk. 

Zone 6b to 10b 

A wonderful rose 

Rose rust: Identifying and treatment

Rust is the third of the most common rose foliar diseases after Blackspot and powdery mildew. In most rose gardens it's rather rare but it can pop up when you don't expect it and it's always good to know how to treat this disease.

Rose rust is a fungus of the Phragmidium family and it's easy to identify: Orange, powdery dots on foliage and stems which will eventually spread. At a last stadium the leaves turn yellow and fall off.

It's essential to use your eyes when going into your garden. Especially in cooler, wet springs and summers Rust can occur. So inspect the foliage on a regular basis so you can start treatment immediately. Start with removing all infected leaves. Prune them away with your ✂, collect them and throw them in the garbage bin. A proven, organic treatment of rust is using Neem oil. Carefully follow the instructions on the label and always spray in the evening when sun is down. I would advise to buy a Neem oil with emulsifier already added as it's much more user friendly. In Europe the Emulsifier (Emulgator) Rimulgan is especially made for mixing water and Neem oil together. You can use dishwasher soap but it doesn't work as good and you have to use warm water, shake very well and spray immediately.

The formula is 1 liter of handwarm water, 5 ml of Neem oil and 3 ml of Rimulgan. Shake hard for 10 seconds and spray. Use the made product entirely as you can't keep it for another day. When you buy Neem with emulsifier added you just follow the instructions on the label.

Spray with an interval of five days and this for two weeks. Always wet the entire surface of the leaves and stems so also underneath the leaves. 

Prevention of rose Rust:

In Autumn remove all fallen leaves and put them with the trash so never put them on in compost bin. Mulch with organic material. Never spray water on the leaves when watering the roses, NEVER. Always water them carefully at the roots. Don't plant roses too close together and make sure there's an airflow between them so they can dry up quickly after rain.

Buy good Rust resistant varieties. If the same rose is getting rust regularly it's better to remove her and replace it with a more resistant variety. 

Goodluck! 

The typical orange dots of Rust 

A highly infected leaf. Remove such leafs immediately and burn them or put them in the garbage bin 

Leafs which are in an advanced stage of infection 

Sweet blondie

Sweet blondie, Vissers 2010

Floribunda 

Sweet Juliet X Poustinia 

Winner of several awards Sweet blondie is the best Martin Vissers rose to date together with Minerva. 

Sweet Blondie Was the result of the cross between the David Austin rose Sweet Juliet and the Flemish award winning rose Poustinia from Jef Orye. The result couldn't be better. 

The rose is very bushy making a nice rounded shrub of approx 80X80 cm or 3X3 feet. From late May till late October the shrub is covered with loosely formed double blooms in clusters. They are cream with a light yellow heart. When fully open the stamen are visible. The blooms soon turn into white in hot weather.

Extremely disease resistant and rain and heat proof Sweet blondie is a must have for every rose lover. Non stop blooming always is one of the best qualities in a rose. Ideal as a low hedge, as a border rose, as a standard (tree) rose and for in pots, she won't disappoint. 

Her fragrance is light but delicious. One of the best replacements for rose Iceberg (Schneewittchen/ Fee des neiges) since this rose has become extremely susceptible to Blackspot. 

Bravo Martin Vissers ! 

Why no digging is better for our soil

Until two decades ago it was considered completely normal to digg the soil of our gardens and vegetable plots / beds. People learned it from their ancestors and I can still see my grandfather digging in cow manure each year in March. But science hasn't been dormant and today we have much more scientific knowledge about how the soil works.

When we look in forests or countryside we see healthy growth without digging or interference. The soil in nature doesn't need digging to bring air and organic material in. There are very good reasons why that's the case:

Remember my emphasis on the topsoil containing the black gold called humus? Well it's that upper layer of soil which hates digging. Our layer of topsoil contains billions of good bacteria and they digest the organic material which falls on that topsoil. With the help of earthworms that topsoil is one big busy energy factory making all the goodies for our roses and other plants. They also get help from Mycorhizza fungi in breaking down organic matter. It's a giant network underneath the surface. 

What happens when we dig into the soil and flip it over? Or what happens when we bring in organic material into the topsoil? All organic material which breaks down needs oxygen to do so. The bacteria need it. So when we dig in organic material like compost or manure the bacteria in that organic material gets deprived of that necessary oxygen and what happens? They extract it from the topsoil, from the humus layer. This is very bad for our plants as the roots need oxygen. If we spread out our compost, worm castings, composted cow and horse manure as a mulch it will extract the much needed oxygen from the air with no harm for the topsoil. 

A second problem that occurs when we dig and flip soil over is that the bacteria living in the topsoil get exposed to UV light and die. In the soil are lots of anaerobic bacteria working day and night to produce healthy soil but when they suddenly get exposed to the air and oxygen they also will die. We intervene in a perfect working process by digging and it has big consequences for our soils.

So the best way to create a healthy soil is to leave it alone as much as possible and to give it each year a thick layer of organic material on top of the topsoil. Nature will do the rest. 

Organic treatment of Japanese beetle and what NOT to do

Japanese beetles are one of the biggest threats to Western agriculture and our roses and now the beetle is emerging in Western Europe it's crucial we are proactive in dealing with this pest and not gonna wait till they are a plague of Biblical proportions. It's better to be prepared.

Female Japanese beetle love moist lawns and grasslands. In dry, hot summers they will struggle to lay eggs. So we know they love the roots of grass. I could recommend you to remove your lawn and turn it into borders but it's not that easy. Your neighbor can still have lawn and the beetles are airborne so they will just fly to your beautiful roses. It's a real group effort so it's imperative to organize neighbor meetings to create a battle strategy. Treating the beetles is easier than you think but again, it's a real group effort. 

Removing lawn however is always a good move as lawn is green concrete. It has zero biodiversity and doesn't help us in establishing a good biodiverse environment for pollinators and essential insects.

Two methods of killing the beetles have been very successful but again it only works if as much as possible neighbors join in. Of course the local authorities in cities and Villages must also cooperate and treat those lawns which are their responsibility but seen the nature of this threat they will have orders from the government in being proactive.

The first and most successful treatment for Japanese beetle are Milky spores. It's a fungus which kills the grubs in the soil so you have to apply it in summer and fall for two years. After two years your treated area remains beetle free for up to 20 years but again: Beetles from non treated lawns can fly to your garden so the group effort is ESSENTIAL.

The second successful treatment is using nematodes. These tiny worms will start to actively look for Japanese beetle grubs and infect them. Milky spores and the specific nematodes ONLY target grubs of the Japanese beetle, they are 100% safe for all other organisms.

The nematodes you need are Steinernema Glaseri and Heterorhabditis Bacteriophora.

Both products are available online and aren't expensive. Always strictly follow the manual! 

What to do to prevent beetles from eating my roses? 

Kaolin clay is very effective. You spray it or you throw it on the foliage of your roses. After rain you have to do it again. Beetles are most active end of June till early August so you really only need to apply Kaolin clay five to six weeks.

When you see beetles feasting on your roses you take a bucket of water with dishwasher detergent, pick them from your roses and throw them in the bucket. They will drown immediately. NEVER EVER crush them in your hands or fingers. When you crush the beetles feromones are released in the air which will attract countless of other beetles to eat from your roses. Tests in laboratoria have confirmed this. Crushing beetles is the most stupid response in removing them. Also hanging traps with feromones in trees or in your gardens have the opposite effect. You will only lure hundreds of beetles into your garden and they won't be interested in the trap when they see your roses.

Milky spores are an effective method to kill the subterranean grubs 

Nematodes will also attack grubs and are highly effective 

Kaolin clay creates a Barriere for the beetles. They won't eat from the foliage when it's covered in clay powder 

Kaolin clay powder, available online 

Japanese beetle found in Southern Germany

Countries in Western Europe are in state of alert as the first Japanese beetle has been found in Germany. The beetle was found in a feromone trap and was dead. Japanese beetles are a real threat to the agriculture sector because of their destructive nature. They eat a whole range of plant and tree species and can bring devastating harm to them. Trees and plants they really love to feast on are members of the rose family. Among them: Apples, pears, plums, cherries, berries, apricots, nectarines, peaches and sadly enough also our garden roses. They also love maples, Lime trees, Birch trees and even the mighty Sycamore trees. It is without saying that this pest beetle can cause billions of Euros in damages.

For us rose lovers in Western Europe this beetle can do serious harm if it manages to get established here. 

Till a few years ago the beetle was only found in Italy. It came along with boats from Asia just like the Asian hornet which has spread all over Europe and is a real threat to our native cultivated and harmless honeybees. European honeybees lived for millions of years together with our native European hornet and while that latter one can pick a bee now and then it's a gentle giant and considered an ally and partner of gardeners as it eats aphids, sawflies and caterpillars. However the Asian hornet is smaller than his European nephew but much more aggressive. They can kill an entire bee hive in half an hour.

The Japanese beetle has the same voracious nature and often targets it's prey plants or trees in group.

The Japanese beetle starts it's life like nearly all beetles of the same family: They hatch from the eggs and stay subterranean for one year as grubs. The female lays it's eggs on lawns and the grubs target the roots of the grass. When temp rises they submerge as an adult beetle. Once a beetle has found food it spreads feromones to attract other beetles and work as a team to consume the victim plants or trees. The beetle dies within 45 days and one female can produce 60 eggs.

Inhabitants of Belgium, Holland, France, Germany, the UK etc.. have a duty to report any beetle they see or find.

How can we reduce impact on our beloved roses? If you have lawn you can treat it with Paenibacillis Popilliae. This is a fungy which only kills the grubs of the Japanese beetle so all other organisms are safe. Kaolin clay (China clay) is a very effective product in preventing damage. Just like rock dust (lava dust) it's sprayed on the foliage of our roses. The beetles die when they eat from it or they leave the plants alone. Spraying with Neem oil two times a week can put the beetles off from eating the leafs.

This of course is all speculation at this time because we don't know if the beetle will succeed in conquering Western Europe but it's always best to be prepared. 

If there's any news regarding the spread of the Japanese beetle I will report it here. 

Heilige Elizabeth

Heilige Elizabeth

St Elisabeth of Hungary, Gergely Márk 1988

Modern Hybrid /Modern Climber 

Queen Elizabeth X Excelsa 

A marvel of a rose and deserves so much more attention. Rose experts don't hold back in praising this rose 

The indestructible Queen Elizabeth from Lammerts got crossed with Excelsa, that pompon shaped red climber. The result was spectacular: a large shrub of approx 180X150 cm or 6X5 feet. Can get significantly taller when trained as a climber. Blooms are very big, approx 12 cm or 5 inches. They stand in clusters and have the beautiful color of Queen Elizabeth. Surprisingly enough the flowers are strongly fragrant. The rose almost has a Perpetual blooming, the blooms just keep coming. Said to be one of the very best modern roses. Zone 5b to 10b. Heat, drought and rain resistant. 

Ideal for pots, hedges, climber and wherever you want a beautiful big shrub. 

Highly recommended rose! 

Elie Beauvillain

Elie Beauvillain, Beauvillain 1887

Mrs William's Gloire de Dijon

Climbing Tea, found rose

Gloire de Dijon X Opheri

Extremely vigorous Elie Beauvillain is a very good substitute for the degenerating Gloire de Dijon. Growth is vigorous with extremely healthy big glossy foliage. She can arch up to 4 meters and is suitable for nearly every climbing purpose. She reblooms three to four times which is very good. Zone 6b to 10b

Her blooms introduced a new range of colors in the climbing Tea section. They are huge, very old fashioned and light pink with copper and apricot. Moderate fruity fragrance. A highly recommended variety