Saturday, June 12, 2010

Meet Felicia

She may not look like much but she’s got two buds on her left and right canes, which since she’s only been in her spot less than a month, is very impressive. She comes from the Antique Rose Emporium in San Antonio and was chosen because the authorities say she tolerates a lot of shade and will still bloom. She is now queen of the remote side yard/gravel bed. Meanwhile Reve D’Or in blazing sun has shown very little activity despite having been potted more than two months ago. So, go Felicia!
After cutting back the top-heavy Icebergs after their spring bloom extravaganza,I expected a quiet summer. They surprised me by ramping right back up with another round of floribundance. You can’t see in this picture but all their new leaves look like someone took a hole-puncher to them. Research suggests it’s a leaf-cutter bee doing the hole-punching but I’ve never spotted anything but beetles on the roses. As long as they leave the rosebuds alone, I’ll ignore the leaf decimation.

1 comment:

Annie in Austin said...

Hi Libby,

Felicia tempted me, too, but I brought Climbing Iceberg home from ARE a couple of months ago. But it's just sitting there now, not flowering beautifully like your Iceberg!

My roses also have the punched-leaf thing going on. The holes are crescent and/or oblong and away from the edge while the leafcutter bees seem to take rounded chunks from the edges.

My suspicion is that it's damage from Cranberry rootworm beetles/genus Rhabdopterus. Sounds like the least toxic remedy is Spinosad, and I'm considering it.

Annie at the Transplantable Rose