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grandpasrose
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Winding Down to fall.....

Well, I picked the last of my tea roses today :cry: I got a gourgeous, humongous bouquet, cause you can bet I cut anything that even looked like it had a threat of opening!!! :lol: That will be the last of them now until next summer. I won't have to worry about pruning them down or covering them for winter yet, maybe another 3-4 weeks. Sigh :roll:
VAL
Last edited by grandpasrose on Thu Oct 27, 2005 7:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
The Helpful Gardener
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Try and look at it this way; without the winter we wouldn't have a lot of our great plants that need the vernalization. Small consolation to you rose folk that could grow these things all year long in the right place. Val, you just need to move to Southern California! :D

Scott
grandpasrose
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I only wish!! If I didn't have all the familial commitments (elderly parents, etc) I probably would consider it!
Honestly though, it is sort of nice to have a break from it all, and know that you can concentrate on something else, for a couple of months anyway! :wink:
VAL
opabinia51
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Even though fall and witner wreak havoc with my arthritis and chronic pain, I still love them. Especially Fall. That is when all of my composting efforts are taken over by a myriad of micro and macro organisms.

Not to mention, the yummy winter vegetables that I plant become oh so sweet and yummy!!!!

Anyway, good luck with all your work Val. (And everyone else)
grandpasrose
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Thanks Opa! You too! I know what you mean about winter exacerbating the pain of illness. I have arthritis as well, and it gets quite painful, and have disintegrating joints in my knees, hips, and back, so have to be very careful not to fall when walking on ice. Since there is ice here pretty much from November 20 on, I don't get out much in the winter.
Gardening though, seems to just pull me through, and I can go forever!
Have a wonderful evening! :wink:
VAL
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Grey
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Hey Val, sorry that's your last bouquet. Smell it and enjoy it often!
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Pictures! We need pictures! These memories have to last until next spring, and the memory ain't what it used to be (although all this grousing about the bones and joints is making this 44 year old feel spry) :P

:lol:

HG
grandpasrose
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Hey Scott!! I'm only 45. It's what the genes give ya, I'm afraid. I think that all the bad health genes from anywhere in the family gathered up and presented as me!!! If I were an experimental rose, they would have tossed me out long ago!! :lol:

Grey, I have the bouquet on a table between my kitchen and living room where I have to walk by all the time, I take a sniff every time - heavenly! I have also put some to dry in my silica. Hope all is well with you! :wink:
VAL
kevinschoppe
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Our thought go out to you Grandpa. We are still having 80oF+ days here. No sign of cold yet. I have been mixing that Alphafa Soup and the roses seem to respond to it well. Lots of new growth.

The one thing about our area is that you can never tell about the weather. Last winter 04 we had 3-4 feet of snow in the area, and on the beach. Where as Winter 03 it was 80of on Christmas day. You never know about the weather here. We will be thinking about you. :wink:
grandpasrose
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Thanks alot Kevin! It's great to hear from you. Are things starting to get back to a little bit normal down there or is it pretty up and down still?
I know what you mean about not knowing what winter will bring. Although I have never had it be 80 degrees, I have seen several winters now where we had close to no snow (hence our water shortage) and temperatures well above freezing. But then there are 7 feet of snow, -30 degree winters, so I still do my roses the same old way though, cause you can't trust the weather, and this way they're safe no matter what winter
brings!! 8)
I will still be here on the forum though all the way through, so still feel free to drop in and ask questions, or let us know how your roses are recuperating!
Thanks for your thoughts, as mine have been with all of you. :wink:
VAL
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Grey
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grandpasrose wrote:Hey Scott!! I'm only 45. It's what the genes give ya, I'm afraid. I think that all the bad health genes from anywhere in the family gathered up and presented as me!!! If I were an experimental rose, they would have tossed me out long ago!! :lol:

Grey, I have the bouquet on a table between my kitchen and living room where I have to walk by all the time, I take a sniff every time - heavenly! I have also put some to dry in my silica. Hope all is well with you! :wink:
VAL
Are we all talking about our ages here? :lol:
I'm with Val. As an experimental rose, I look strong and in the earlier stages of life grow steadily and appear stronger than average. Flowers and general shape pleasant to the eye. Colors average, nothing bold. Somewhere not long after maturity, problems start to develop - major supporting stems have genetic defects that will require additional support as the rose ages, perhaps even before mid-life.

I would have been pulled and replaced too. lol.

I'm still getting a rose here and there. My leaves are turning greener now tho, so that is good. :)
grandpasrose
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You got it Grey! We just keep finding new spots to send new shoots from, and different ways to flower!! Can't harbor on what you can't solve - move on and do something you can do!!! Glad to hear you feel like you are feeling greener! :lol:
VAL
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The last flower on the 'Therese Bugnet' gave up the ghost a week ago. I, however, am still here (somewhat the worse for wear, but still kicking!) 8)

Scott
grandpasrose
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As long as you're still kicking Scott, you've got a long way to go!! :lol:
We've had below freezing a couple of mornings in a row now: 26 degrees F this morning. Forecast is for snow tomorrow - we'll see. It's been such a strange year for weather. I'm not covering my tea roses yet though - still not cold enough.
My John Cabot, Jens Munk,and Bonicas are all still blooming!! They are so hardy!! :wink:
VAL
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See why I'm a landscape rose kinda guy? 8)

HG
grandpasrose
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Yeah, they have their place, but I don't know, nothing beats that one perfect, glowing, glorious tea rose, not for me anyway!!! They just bring something out in my heart when I see them bloom, I could gaze at them forever.....8)
VAL

p.s. that really came out sappy didn't it? :lol:


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