Monday, October 21, 2013

What's Beneath Your Feet?

Soil Samples 
What’s Beneath Your Feet?

In the long run there are only two things that are always touching your rose bushes, soil and air.  If that air happens to be relatively dry and 75 degrees your bushes will thrive.  On the other hand, if that air is 95 degrees with 95% humidity your bushes will struggle.  The same is true for soil.  Healthy soil is the foundation for your bushes and it can mean the difference between thriving and barely surviving.  Soil is the only thing that delivers nutrients to your rose bushes which makes it the most important factor in growing beautiful roses.
Soil chemistry is extremely complicated and there are a lot of factors that go into healthy soil.  As with most things simple is better so we will concentrate on the big factors.

pH – it is important to know the pH of your soil.  For roses you want the pH to be between 6.0 and 6.5.  pH will affect how nutrients are made available to your rose bush.  Proper pH will let your bushes get the most out of the nutrients in the soil and the fertilizer that you put down.  Use the Digital Soil pH Meter to check your soil throughout the growing season.


Nutrients – we ask a lot from our roses.  They are always growing new roses for us to cut and enjoy.  All of that growth takes a lot food and roses are definitely heavy feeders.  A good base of lots of cow manure when you plant your rose bush is extremely important.  Composted cow manure delivers a large variety of nutrients to your rose bushes over several years.  It is well worth it to spend a little more at the beginning to give your plants the nutrients they need for years to come.

Fertilizer – fertilizer is the main course for your roses.  The N-P-K delivered by fertilizers allows your bushes to continue to thrive and bloom.  Whether you use Witherspoon Premium Rose Fertilizer or an organic option it is important to remember that the fertilizer is delivering nutrients to the soil and the soil is delivering them to the plant.  Sandy soils don’t hold on to nutrients like clay based soils do so you may have to increase your fertilizing regimen for those types of soils.  If you are not receiving a lot of rain, make sure that your irrigation system is set up in a way that will help the fertilizer deliver the nutrients to the soil.

Texture – roses like to stretch.  They want to spread their feeder roots as far as possible to find every bit of nutrition they can.  If not preparing a full bed for your roses, it is important to dig a wide hole and diligently prepare the soil.  In this case sandier soils have an advantage because the roots easily move through the soil.  On the other hand, compacted clay soil does not grow happy roses.  When planting roses, we recommend planting with our Witherspoon Premium Planting Mix.  Whether you have sandy or clay soil, Witherspoon Premium Planting Mix is great product to use.  It is a mixture of cow manure, soil conditioner, and PermaTill (a product that helps keep clay soils from compacting).


Our roses offer us so much joy.  If they are not happy in their soil, they are unable to get up and go find a better spot.  They depend on us to prepare and maintain their growing environment for them.  Spend a little extra time and money to properly prepare the soil when you plant your rose bush, check it each month, and it will thank you for years to come with bountiful bouquets of beautiful blooms.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

2014 Rose Introduction

Meet the New Roses!

I know you don't want to think about this, but the winter months are right around the corner.  Between the shorter days and the cold weather, it is hard not to long for the warmer days of spring.  Let Witherspoon help you get through these tough months!  Take time to curl up in your Snuggie with some hot apple cider and the Witherspoon 2014 Rose Catalog.  Now is the time to dream about your new rose garden and begin to make your plans for next year.

So grab that cider and sit with me for a while so I can introduce to you the new roses we are carrying this year.  We are excited to introduce six brand new varieties along with two varieties that have returned after a long absence!

Brand New for 2014
Happy Go Lucky
Hybrid Tea

The charming, old fashioned pure yellow blooms will brighten your day, and since it is such a prolific bloomer, your days will never be dull!!  To top it all off, this bush has great disease resistance and a moderately fruity fragrance.  (3'w, 3-5'h )
Good as Gold
Hybrid Tea

This rose is not for the faint of heart!  With daring golden orange blooms, long stems and a sweet citrus fragrance, Good as Gold is a bold addition to any garden.  (3'w, 3-6'h)






Jump for Joy
Floribunda

Luscious clusters of peachy-pink blooms will have you jumping for joy in your garden.  Not to mention, the mild apple fragrance and long lasting blooms that will certainly bring a smile to your face!  (3'w, 3-4'h)
Sweet Sunblaze
Miniature Rose
Sweeten up your life with this disease resistant mini! The flourishing double blooms are the clearest pink in the Sunblaze family, and with a slightly spicy fragrance, you will have a little sugar and spice which makes everything nice!  (18"w, 1-2'h)




Lady of Shallot
David Austin

Orange red buds open to reveal a stunning old fashioned chalice bloom with a salmon pink center and a golden reverse.  This hardy and disease resistant rose will also tantalize your sense of smell with the fragrance of warm tea and spiced apples!  (3.5'w, 4'h)



Munstead Wood
David Austin

Enjoy the mystery of this rose as light crimson buds gradually open to reveal a deep velvety crimson center!  This excellent repeater is disease resistant and has a strong fruity fragrance.  (2.5'w, 3'h)












Welcome Back!!
Melody Parfumee
Grandiflora

This grandiflora has clusters of deep plum colored buds that unfurl to reveal rich purple blooms which soften to lavender on this prolific bloomer.  These beautiful blooms paired with a strong old rose fragrance and disease resistant foliage will have you singing throughout your garden.  (4'w, 5'h)








Radiant Perfume
Hybrid Tea

If the deep golden yellow color of this roses doesn't draw you i for a closer look, the strong citrus fragrance most certainly will.  The long stems are great for cutting and the rich green foliage creates a perfect backdrop for the radiant blooms!
(3'w, 5-6'h)







To celebrate these new additions to the Witherspoon Rose Family, I am giving away a R.K. Witherspoon Rose!!

That's right...you heard me... a FREE ROSE!  I know you are wondering what you have to do to be entered into the drawing for this FREE ROSE.  It's easy... just follow our blog!  At the end of October I will enter the names of all our followers into a randomizer in order to pick a winner!  Isn't that easy?


UPDATE 10/16/2013
I have added a followers section to the top of the right sidebar so it should be easier to find where to follow the site!

The winner of the R.K. Witherspoon has been notified via email!  Congrats and we can't wait to hear from you!

Stay tuned for more giveaways!!  


This could be your rose!




If you are interested in learning more about our new roses, check out this video introducing our new catalog!


If you would like to receive a 2014 Catalog from Witherspoon