Category: Cut and Forced Flowers

Sophie’s Rose Provides Late Season Color

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The frost has come and gone, but Sophie’s Rose continues to bloom. I purchased Sophie’s Rose on a recommendation from Matterhorn Nursery in Spring Valley, New York, one of the best nurseries in the tri-state area:

http://www.matterhornnursery.com/

Matterhorn Nursery contains a large David Austin rose display garden and sells many David Austin roses, including Sophie’s. It blooms prolifically from May through November.

Sophie’s Rose is planted in my front mixed border in part-shade. I am amazed it blooms as much as it does given the lack of full sun.

This is a tall, but not wide rose. It should be planted in a group of at least three, each spaced two feet apart. After being pruned to about twenty-four inches tall in the spring, it ends the season approximately seven feet tall.

For more information about David Austin roses:

http://www.davidaustinroses.com/

The Best Flower Cutting Shears

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In all my books about cut flowers, the authors always talk about using high quality shears that are specifically for flowers. Instead, I have been using my kitchen scissors and bypass pruners (Felco #2s) for years. This year, I started using Japanese shears sold as bonsai trimmers available from Takashimaya New York:

http://www.takashimaya-ny.com/

Takashimaya in Tokyo is a large department store like Saks Fifth Avenue. In New York, it is a small multi-level boutique. The top floor is dedicated to cut flowers and accessories. If you appreciate beautiful and hard-to-find cut flowers, it is well worth a visit.

The shears come in three sizes: large for woody flowers, medium for large green stems, and small for delicate stems. They are very sharp and do not damage the stem’s ability to take up water. My cut flowers now last so much longer than they ever did before.

Ballerina – All Purpose Repeat-Bloomer

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If you are a beginning rose gardener, start with Ballerina. She grows in full sun and part shade. She repeat blooms from May to November (she really does). She has beautiful blooms in sprays that make for wonderful cut flowers and has red round hips that I use in winter arrangements. I have one growing as a pillar rose on a tutuer in full sun. I have seven growing in part shade as a hedge. I have two more in a mixed border. I have two more that have been trained as tree roses, purchased from:

http://www.whiteflowerfarm.com/

For pictures of the hips:

Complicata – Vigorous Once Blooming Rose

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I purchased Complicata in 2004 and she was about eight inches tall. At the end of her first season, she was over six feet tall. She blooms each May/June once and is completely covered with single blooms. She is now eight feet tall and six feet wide, so make sure you have space. Each spring, I cut out any dead branches. In addition, I freely cut out stray canes that extend into the path beside her. Purchased from:

http://www.antiqueroseemporium.com/

For pictures of Complicata in winter with hips:

Rose de Rescht – An Intense, Old Rose Fragrance

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Rose de Rescht is one of my favorite roses. She is one of the first roses to bloom on May and is continuing to bloom into the frost. She blooms in repeat flushes with short rest periods. She is a Portland rose and is three to four feet tall and two to three feet wide after four years. The fragrance is amazing–a heavy, sweet, damask perfume. I have a few in the ground and a few in containers–both work equally well. As you can see in the picture, the flowers are quite full. When dead heading, just pinch off the faded blossom as the new blossom will appear not far from the old blossom.

Garden to Vase by Linda Beutler

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I purchased Garden to Vase: Growing and using your own cut flowers by Linda Beutler earlier this year. It is the first book on cut flowers that is addressed to the gardener, unlike most flower arranging books that assume you are buying the flowers from a florist. While not all of the information is from first-hand knowledge, it is enough of a start for you to experiment on your own. You can find the book on at:

Garden to Vase: Growing and Using Your Own Cut Flowers