i just got a tea rose for mothers day!!!ive never owned a tea rose before,so any advice would be great!

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Sibyl,

I got a tea rose for Mother's Day some years back. I didn't have any gardening experience then, so just kept it by a window and watered it now and then.

A friend suggested I plant it in the garden. That hadn't even occurred to me, but her suggestion is what began my interest in gardening. What little garden space I had was overgrown with weeds, so I just cleared out a little spot, dug a hole, and unceremoniously jammed that poor little rose bush in the hole! Surprisingly, it flourished. Even more surprisingly, it came back the next year, and every year since.

I replanted it twice. It still survived. None of my garden received much sun, but still it thrived, even bloomed! Recently I've moved to a different house, and one of the few plants I took with me was that rose. I've replanted it yet again, and it was looking very puny, many of the leaves withered and died, but just in the last couple days I detected a few new green leaves sprouting.

I'm waiting with bated breath to see if it will come back to life fully! I hope so, because it's lasted SO long with such bad care from me, and it SO deserves to benefit from the several years of gardening experience I now have under my belt.

Hope this helps.

Ronni

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Sibyl,

I can't remember how big the roots were. They were in a small pot, I do remember that, and the roots weren't crowded.

I just dug a hole a little bigger than the roots and soil that I got to slide out of the pot, and planted it.

Ronni

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I am a certified Rose nut and at present count have 18,teas,floribundas,climbers,miniatures,etc. I dont mess with them too much and they are flourishing. They receive 6+ hours of sun a day. The main things I do for them are,deadheading(keeps it attractive and stimulates more flowers)and feeding them used fish water(lots of good stuff in it ) I was fortunate in being able to plant my roses downhill of my goldfish pond,every 2 weeks I stick my hose in the pond and flush it out,all the old water flows down and feeds my plants. You can also use water from a fish tank.
Most of my roses are in their own little garden with stepping stones and a birdbath, enclosed with a little picket fence. My climbers are in different areas of my yard,growing up latticework panels and I put birdhouses on top of the posts(we've had chick-a-dees,titmouses and cardinals use them ).
Happy Gardening (tho I warn you,roses can be addicting!)

Karen

I have a blue girl rose and it is awesome,one of my favorites. As far as the others go, I have pink,yellow,white,red,cream with pink edges,just about every color there is I am now looking for a "Jacobs Coat",I love the way the blossoms change colors.
I put busted up concrete from a construction site(free,free,free )around the edges of my pond. Along one corner I planted African Iris and put bright shiny marbles in the nooks and crannies of the concrete. I also have dusty miller planted along the inside of the edge. I put 4 fantail goldfish in a month ago,2 died but I think the other 2 are going to make it. It is still a work in progress though(just like my gardens).
How big is your pond? Do you have any water plants? I put in water lillies and it seems like they are never going to grow.

Karen

karen.......... i mesured my pond. its 5 feet wide & 1,1/2 feet deep. dont know how many gallons. when i went to see about a pump the guy asked how many gallons, i was like . i dont have any plants yet, but lilies are on my list!my gardens are always in progress too { id go nuts if it wernt !} i like the sound of your pond! ive been getting those glass pebles to put here & there, & i got some large, & med sized rocks to put around it, still working on ideas . sibyl

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Did you order the Josephs Coat too? When I went to the nursery yesterday I looked for a Josephs Coat,but they were sold out Your pond sounds like its about the same size as mine,my husband said it was about 150 gallons,so we bought a pump that handles that volumne and it is working just fine. I also love iris and am planning on putting some in my pond to coordinate with the iris around the edges. My kids bought the cutest frog statues for me,they are 10 inches tall and they each have their own musical instrument,their faces look like they are singing their hearts out. I put them around my pond mixed in with the iris. My very own "Cajun Frog Band"(my husband is cajun).
I bet your pond will be georgeous when you get done It sounds like you're working really hard on it

Karen

FREE MANURE!! Cool! I just love to get free stuff for my garden. Someone in my community was evicted and as an employee I had to make sure all the doors and windows were closed,well while I was there I peeked into the shed and lo and behold there were 2 25lb bags of miracle grow potting soil. There was also a bunch of pots with plants in them(I dont think the plants were legal ),so i dumped them and kept the pots. Needless to say they found their way to my house. They also left behind a sweet little basset hound/black lab mix which I ended up with also. She is the spitting image of my black lab so I had to keep her. My husband calls her a "sawed-off lab"

Karen

Hi everyone, the ponds sound incredible. I hope to have one someday soon. Love the info about the fish water thanks. My kids have a 55 gal. , that I never know what to do with when changing. I love roses too. Two of my favorite are Gypsy Carnival and McCartney. Both are offered by Wayside Gardens catalog. The Gypsy is a cool red/ yellow combo. Very dramatic. I get tons of compliments. The McCartney is what everyone pictures when the picture roses, it is a hot pink. One of my neighbors had to have a sample because it was all her daughter wanted at her wedding. If you like yellow, Ocean job lot offers the most incredible $3 yellow rose Gold Badge. My 6 year old had to have it, I wasn't fond of yellow and didn't think wasting $3 plus my time in planting that thing would be worth it. But wouldn't you know it is incredible. Totally beautiful and always has about 8 perfect hybrid tea roses from June until Sept. Probably the cheapest plant ever put in my garden and it is a wonder. I'm glad I listened to my child.

I've been thinking that about ponds too. I have this great big Step Two plastic pool that my kids have finally almost outgrown. I've often eyed that plastic monstocity and thought that if I painted you or lined you I could sink you in the ground and install a pump and maybe wala a pond.... But that's just me and my recycle craziness. A tour around my yard could probably make others cringe. But my herbs have never done better then when I converted an old step two wagon into a raised bed planter. My strawberries too also enjoy a longer grow season in an old fridge layed down and drilled into. My husband however drew the line when I told him I was considering attaching the old bathroom wall sink to the outside of our house near the patio and then making a planter of the old toilet also. But hey I figured it would have been a conversation piece and worth a laugh ever time some dropped by to chat and shoot the breeze. He didn't see the humour. But I've been a housewife for over ten years and need to live on a budget you would think he'd appreciate the creativity. Anyhow thanks for the advice. Your pond and roses sound incredible. And I swear by that $3 rose at Ocean state, it's going on it's third year and just getting better and better.

That's good to know that people have been able to recycle their kids old junk into something beautiful.I think your uncle has a great since of humour but maybe he should of placed it out back where only the closest of friends could see it. That's too bad about his daughter, other children can be so cruel. I never realized pre -children how having your own could affect you so much when you see kid nastiness. That part of childhood wasn't fun the first time around and it's horrible watching second hand now.