Spider Mites:  A Mite-y Problem

Mites are the third member of the team that is out to get your garden (fungus, insects, mites).  These critters are a difficult problem once they are established, but there are steps that can be taken to ensure they don't get comfortable in the rose garden. The mite that we deal with most often is the Two Spotted Spider Mite.  Spider Mites are in the arachnid family and are almost invisible to the naked eye. They can easily be seen with a magnifying glass and unfortunately the results of their feeding on your roses can be seen easily with the naked eye.

Spider Mite Symptoms

	Generally leaves will lose their brilliant green color and become faded and brown.  You can often see their webbing on the underside of the leaves.
	The underside of the leaves will also look dusty because of the dirt and debris that get caught in their webs.

What Can I Do?

1.	Keep the roses watered - The best way to avoid any issue is to keep your roses healthy.  In the heat of the summer rose bushes need 5 gallons of water per plant per week.  Well watered buses will be able to handle any stress, including Spider Mites, better than thirsty plants.
2.	Use your hose - If you check the bottom of the leaves and see that you are beginning to get spider mites, spray the tops and bottoms of the leaves with your hose.  I know this seems counter-intuitive because leaves are supposed to be dry as much as possible, but the spray from the hose knocks the Spider Mites off the bush and they cannot crawl back on.  Make sure to do this in the morning so the bush can dry off and keep up with your fungicide application.
3.	Miticides - There are several miticides that are available to homeowners to help control mite problems.  Products such as Avid, Neem Oil, and pyrethrin based sprays are effective to reduce the spider mite colonies.  These should be used in conjunction with the steps listed above for greatest effect.

Keep in mind that if your garden is next to brick or surrounded by rock or concrete you may have more mite difficulties.  These surfaces hold heat well causing a very warm microclimate that mites love.  Wash down these surfaces with water as much as possible. Spider Mites can cause you major headaches in your rose garden.  However, with a little bit of diligence and a lot of vigilance you can keep them out and keep your roses beautiful.

Help!! There Are Holes in My Roses!

Budworms:  This Bud is NOT For You

What is a budworm? You will know the damage when you see it.  If your buds and blooms are full of holes, you have been visited by budworms. These critters can damage a whole lot of blooms in a short time so it is important to learn a little more about them and how we can rid our roses of them.   The budworms that attack our roses are actually called tobacco budworms or Heliothis virescens.  They overwinter in the south, but they can spread as far north as New England during the summer.  Adult budworms are moths that are tan or brown in color with three darker stripes across their wings and they are about 1 inch in length. The eggs are deposited on, in, or under the buds and blooms and they take 2-3 days to hatch. Once they emerge they eat their way through as many blooms as they can.  When they have had their fill they make their way down into the soil where they go through their pupal stage to emerge as moths about 22 days later.  Warm temperatures speed up some of these processes.  Now that we know what they are, let's take a look at some contol measures.

1.	Cut Your Blooms - Since the adult moths use buds and terminal growth to lay their eggs, everytime you cut your roses you are removing a possible incubation site.  It is also important to remove "blind shoots" as they can also be a good incubation spot.
2.	Keep Spraying - Although it is difficult to get spray to the budworms inside the bud, it is important to keep spraying. If they emerge from the bud and eat the tissue that has been sprayed you will have one less adult moth in your garden. Bacillus Thuringiensis or Bt as found in products such as "Thuricide" from Hi Yield is a great biological control that works on caterpillars including budworms.
3.	Help the Good Guys - There are many insects and spiders that feed on budworms.  Avoiding broad spectrum insecticides such as Sevin will help keep the beneficial insects in your garden.  It is also a great idea to encourage birds to visit your garden because they will eat the moths and caterpillars that are causing damage to your roses.

Budworms can be difficult to control but by following good gardening practices and encouraging nature to give you a hand, you can keep them from turning every rose in your garden into swiss cheese.  Your buds are for you to enjoy, not for the budworms.

2014 Roses Have Arrived!

Durham has been dreary and cold for the past couple of months.  Few sunny days have interrupted our cloudy days with rays of bright warmth.  The dismal winter months can be hard on rose lovers.  Once you winterize your rose beds, there is not much to do except crack open the Witherspoon Catalog and dream about the new roses you are going to add to your garden in the spring.

2014 Catalog - Click photo to browse our catalog

Even when the days are cold (well what we North Carolinians consider cold) and wet, here at Witherspoon we are always working hard to provide the best roses for your garden.  The gardens are quiet, but here at the shop we are getting ready to unload, grade, and pot up approximately 24,000 roses.  That’s right, 24,000!

Unloading the refrigerated truck from Weeks

The first step in the process is to unload boxes of bareroot roses from refrigerated trucks that traveled from the sunny state of California all the way to Durham, North Carolina.  These boxes of roses have been carefully packed in wet moss and kept around 35° F.  This insures that the roses stay dormant for the entire trip across the country!

Bareroot roses ready to be graded and pruned

We then proceed to unpack and grade the roses.  Here at Witherspoon, we only sell premium grade one roses.  A grade one rose is two years old and has been meticulously pruned to produce at least three strong healthy canes.  Each bareroot is inspected to make sure it meets our standards before it is trimmed up and prepared for potting or placed in cold storage.

Potting Station

Our cold storage unit is 1000 square feet and is kept around 36°.  This unit keeps all of our bareroots cool and moist until they are pulled out, trimmed up, and packaged for shipping or pickup.  We have guys who work in our cold storage unit for hours on end preparing bareroots to ship out as well as make sure that they stay within the proper temperature so that you, the customer, receive a bareroot rose that is healthy and will grow well for years to come.  We are very thankful that they are willing to work in such a cold environment to help us provide the healthiest bareroot roses possible.

Cold frames are filling up!

Even though we offer bareroot roses, the majority of our roses get potted up and grown out in our cold frames until the first of April.  The potting up process can be daunting, but all of the route managers and assistants come into Durham from our satellite locations to help pot up!  It is cold hard work, but seeing the cold frames fill up with pots of roses that will begin to leaf out is exciting!  While the landscape around us is asleep, lying in wait for the warmth of the spring sun, our cold frames are filled with roses ready to wake up and share the beauty and brilliance that only they can offer.

2015 Update:  winterFEST 2015 will be Jan. 23-24, 2015.  Pick out your new roses from the 2015 catalog.

Witherspoon's first sale of the year will be January 25th! 

Visit our Online Store or visit one of our Gardenshops to take advantage of...

$15 Bareroot Roses

$8 Premium Planting Mix

$5 Witherspoon Mini-Nuggets

$18 Witherspoon Planting Essentials

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

CLICK HERE