Anna Olivier

Anna Olivier, Ducher 1878

Tea 

Guillot says Anna Olivier is a descendant of Safrano 

A glorious rose in more dry, warm summers or in a sheltered, Cosy spot. Light pink with creamy center and reverse pink highlights. These blooms are big and exude a strong real Tea fragrance.

A very vigorous grower which makes a rounded shrub of approx 150X150 cm or 5X5 feet. She can get higher in ideal circumstances and then she can reach 350 cm or 11 feet. Very prolific bloomer from spring well into autumn. Zone 6b to 11b. Ideal as a solitair or in big pots. Excellent as a cut flower. Hughly popular in Australia

Bienvenu

Bienvenu, Delbard 1996

Modern Climber 

Claire Renaissance X Abraham Darby 

A very underrated rose, especially in Western Europe. In Eastern Europe, Ukraine and Russia this rose is immensely popular and very rightly so. 

This rose combines the healthy, very free flowering and fragrant features of Claire Renaissance with the unsurpassed blooms of Abraham Darby. Both being extremely fragrant it was written in the stars that Bienvenu would be equally fragrant.

Bienvenu can be bred as a climber and then it can reach 300 cm or 9 feet or you keep her shorter and she'll behave as a large shrub. She needs support in both cases as she produces masses of blooms.

These blooms are medium to large, pink and very full and old fashioned. They usually stand in clusters. The fragrance is really really strong, Old rose with citrus. 

Not often without blooms she will adorn your garden for months and her health is also top notch. Zone 6b to 9b, rain tolerant but loves full sun. 

This rose really is "Bienvenu"

Pink Magic

Pink Magic, Louis Lens 1990

Hybrid musk/Multiflora 

Seed: R. Multiflora X Ballerina

Pollen: Kathleen 

An exquisite, very free flowering Hybrid musk. Big clusters of small light pink flowers, almost identical to those of the pink Confederate jasmine (Star jasmine, Tuscany jasmine, Trachelospermum Jasminoides). The flowers seem to hang /float in the air as the stems are thin and elegant. A good musky smell is present.

This rose is an eco rose as she will atrackt pollinators and give hundreds of hips in autumn. 

A very elegant rose for the ecological garden. Rounded growth, 150X120 cm or 5X4 feet, a bit higher when she's got help to climb. Blooms from late spring till late autumn, zone 5b to 9b, heat and rain tolerant.

Very beautiful in the border, as a hedge, pots and as tree rose. 

Good old Louis Lens was his time ahead, only now we realize how welcome his eco roses are 

Highly recommended rose 

Lyda

Lyda, Lettunich 1994

Hybrid musk/Multiflora 

Seedling of Francis E Lester 

Lyda is one of the best creations from the end of the 20th century and is regarded as a superb Hybrid Musk (in fact Hybrid Multiflora).

Big sprays of light pink to lavender to mauve, single blooms with a strong fragrance. Can grow up to 150 cm or 6 feet but with some help she can climb up to 3 meters or ten feet. Non stop flowering if she's deadheaded regularly. This rose is one of those very rare roses that love shade so don't be afraid to plant her in semi or full shade. It will even enhance her color 

Zone 5b to 10b. Extremely disease resistant and heat tolerant.

If you wanna try your first Hybrid musk (Multiflora) then you should consider Lyda 

Francis E Lester

Francis E Lester, Lester Gardens 1947

Climbing Hybrid musk 

Kathleen X unknown 

A gem from the past this Francis E Lester. Climbing Hybrid musks are rare and this is one of the best. Bred in the USA by Lester and hugely popular in America and Europe, especially in old houses and old style cottages or country houses. Today she has become rare in America but she continues to be popular in Europe and frankly that's for real good reasons. 

Francis has giant clusters of small to medium single flowers. They are flesh pink and almost white at the center. They spread a very strong clove fragrance and attrack many pollinators, it's an eco rose. Buds are round and small. After several weeks of blooming the spend flowers turn into red hips which is a beautiful sight in autumn and winter and food for birds. In full flush she's really something.

Tall and vigorous she can reach 600X350 cm or 18X10 feet. Give her the space she needs. Open trees, big obelisks, walls, roofs etc... she'll turn it into a romantic feature.

Very healthy, even after more than 75 years. Zone 6b to 9b but she can take Zone 5b. Shade is tolerated and rain doesn't bothers her.

My (now deceased) female friend, the wife of the former ambassador in Congo had Francis E Lester growing on her estate. She really loved that rose and it was there that I got acquainted with this marvelous rambler. 

If you want a special, kinda climbing Ballerina, then you must buy this rose. 

Propagating roses with a root grow tool

Propagation through cuttings is a rather successful way to get more of the same variety. If you want to even improve the success rate you can achieve this by using special root grow balls. What are root grow balls? Well, they are just a plastic tool that will ensure your cuttings will take root. You can easily buy them online at Amazon and they are really cheap and can be used many times.

How to use them? 

Well, it's fairly simple: Choose a rose stem that has bloomed but make sure it's at least as thick as a pencil ✏. Now you take a spot that's at least 20 cm or 8 inch from the top. Just above a pair of leaves you remove the green bark for approx 3 cm or 1 inch. So all the way around the stem..

If you want you can dip that area with root growing powder using a dry cotton swab (the ones you use for cleaning your ears. Dip it in the root powder and apply it onto the area without bark, don't overdo it.

Now you remove the two pairs of leaves above and underneath your treated area. Take your tool and open it. Take your stem and place it in one side of the mold. The area without the bark has to be in the center of the mold. Now fill it up with really damp potting soil (when you press the potting soil the water has to come out). Make sure that the mold is really full. Now you take the other part of the mold which you've already filled up with damp soil and place or click it on the other part of the mold. Now your cutting is entirely surrounded by potting soil and roots will start to grow in the mold. You must wait at least 20 days before you open the mold, I would wait 4 to 5 weeks. If roots have formed you prune the cutting away from the mother plant and you plant it in a pot. 

Roses from cuttings: Wet kitchen paper method

Growing roses from cuttings isn't that difficult, it only takes more time to get a strong good plant. The biggest advantages? Getting much, much older than grafted roses, more bushy, more healthy shrubs and many roses, like the once flowering roses and the Teas, do better on own roots. So plenty of reasons to try it.

Taking cuttings can be done when roses are dormant or in July when the stems have flowered. In fact it can be done all year round as long as you don't take new, soft wood. It has to be ad least medium hard if you do it in summer. 

Take your sécateurs or clippers and rub the blades with some desinfectant and go to your rose. Always take wood at least as thick as a pencil. Prune right underneath an eye. You can take several cuttings from a long stem. They have to be approx 20 cm or 8 inches long. If done in summer you remove all leaves except the two at the top. Now take scissors ✂ and remove a part of each of those two leaves.

Dip the bottom of your cuttings in root powder and give it a little slap to remove all excess. 

Now you take kitchen paper and you wrap it around the lower part of the cutting. When they are all wrapped in paper you spray them with a spray bottle filled with just water. They have to be really wet. Now you take a plastic zipper bag, the ones you can re-use for your sandwiches, those with a zipper. Put the cuttings in the bag and zip it up so no moisture can escape. Put the bag in a light spot but no direct sunlight. Room temperature or just a bit higher is perfect.

After three to four weeks you should see roots growing out of the kitchen paper. Maybe not all cuttings will succeed but that's okay, it doesn't cost you anything. 

When you see the roots clearly you open up the bag and you remove the paper gently. Put the cuttings in a glass of water immediately so don't let them dry out. 

Take plastic pots (higher is better than wide) and fill them for 1/3 with potting compost. Take your cuttings and put them in the pots. Hold them with one hand and fill up with your other hand. Gently press the soil around the cuttings and give plenty of water, it has to come out at the bottom. Make sure that at least 1/3 of the length of the cuttings is covered with soil.

Now you can keep them inside for a few weeks in a bright spot and after that they can go outside in a sheltered spot. No direct sun and no frost. If frost is predicted you bring them to a bright 🔆 frost free place. Don't let the pots dry out so make sure to check every few days. 

In spring they can go outside. Once you see that they start to grow you can bring them to partial shade first and after one week they can stay in full sun. Always check if they have enough moister but don't drown them. 

When you see that they are really taking off and roots are starting to come out at the bottom you can plant them directly in their final spot or you plant them in a bigger pot. 

Good luck! 

Reproducing varieties yourself: Patents & considerations

Growing roses from cuttings is a fun and very satisfying way to create more of your beloved varieties.

Before we start I have to tell you that it's forbidden by law to grow roses from cuttings (or grafting for that matter) when the variety is still patented. This means that this variety can only be reproduced by the owner of the patent or nurseries that are allowed to do so. It's only normal that rose breeders want money for their creations. As long as the patent is in full force they get paid for each sold plant of their variety. Once when the patent is expired and didn't get renewed you're allowed to reproduce the variety yourself.

But! Rose breeders and rose nurseries aren't getting rich from their magnificent creations and it's essential we keep buying roses directly from the nurseries as this is the best guaranty for rose breeders to keep creating new roses. 

So which roses can we reproduce without feeling guilty or breaking the law? 

* Non patented roses which are nearly impossible to get in your country 

* You don't know the name of the variety of the old rose growing in your garden 

* Old heritage roses which are very hard to find, they aren't patented

* Old Modern roses without a patent that are very hard to find in your country

* When you have explicit permission from the patent holder when the patent is still in force 

A patent can be in force ranging from 15 to 25 years and it can get prolonged so it's always best to look it up on the internet HERE

Always search under the international variety name. For example the rose Jean de la Fontaine from Meilland has the international name of MEIffable 

Of course no police officer will come to your home when you propagate a valid patented variety but it's about doing what's right. If you can buy the patented variety in a nursery from your country just do the right thing and buy it there. 

Climate change from my point of view and what to do in our gardens part II

Since 2013 climate change became really visible in Flanders, Belgium. Before that it went slowly but as of 2013 you really could see and feel the changes. More dry summers, more heatwaves, wet and mild winters and spring starting earlier nearly each year. This doesn't mean we always had scorching hot and dry summers and very mild winters but with almost 50% increase it's still mind-blowing. From 2017 till 2023 we had one normal "Belgian" summer being 2021 with all others being way hotter combined with long periods of drought.

We had to start adjusting our garden to these hot and especially dry summers as we saw our ferns dying off, shrubs loosing foliage and even roses dying. You can water your garden on a daily basis during hot summers but it's a very costly business and it isn't sustainable is it? No, we had to make changes and we immediately decided to turn the garden into an ecological and sustainable place for us and wildlife to thrive, even during hot, dry summers. 

We already had three water Features, hedgerows made from willow twigs and pruning wood from the fruit trees, shrubs and roses. This already attracted a massive amount of wildlife and good beneficial insects. Chemicals got banned completely and the main theme was: What goes into the garden stays in the garden so we try to recycle everything.

If you want a drought resistant garden you know you have to protect your soil from drying out. The best way to do this is by mulching the soil with a thick layer of organic material. We use composted farm manure and garden compost and we make a thick layer of approx 15 cm or five inches. Each November we give a new layer. It prevents the soil from evaporating moisture during dry weather so your roses and perennials don't need extra watering the first weeks of drought.

Having plants which demand wet and moist soil isn't really a good option if you don't want to be a slave of watering each evening in summer. No, you need rather drought resistant plants and the mulching allows us to plant whatever thrives in normal soil. Once flowering shrub roses and ramblers, Tea and China roses, prairie perennials such as Echinacea, Rudbeckia, Helenium, Phlox, lavender, Perovskia (Russian sage), Geraniums, Penstemon and Salvia are just some examples of plants that will do well in dry conditions.

Of course we also have roses in pots and I can't escape watering them almost daily during hot dry weather but we use rainwater for this purpose. 

If you really want more beneficial insects and pollinators you have to choose those families of plants that are native to your home country. They don't have to be the wild varieties, the cultivated ones are just fine. Why? Our local wildlife has been living with our local flora for thousands of years and they get the most nutrients from these plants. So even when you fill up your garden with let's say blooming Agapanthus or Jasmine or other non native plants the pollinators will visit them but they can't get the same amount of nutrients from them than from local flowers. You can have non native plants of course but the majority must be local ones.

With these few tips you're already on your way to a sustainable garden ready for climate change.