Happy Winter from the team at Wagner's!
Winter is a hard and challenging time for us, as we are extremely busy digging, pruning, grading plants, cutting rootstock and preparing the soil for next year's roses... Many essential jobs to do at the same time, with a team 4-5 times bigger and a weather that's not always kind to us.
But it's also an exciting period, because we can finally prepare and post your orders and receive all those lovely comments and feedback from you that always make our day.
Your patience and your understanding of all the challenges we're facing in this period certainly make our busy season easier.
Varieties are selling out fast, but we still have good numbers of those popular highly fragrant varieties (some of them are pictured below) that normally sell out earlier in the season and that we budded in bigger quantities this year, just for you...
It's certainly not too late to place your order; but please consider that we start dispatching orders starting from the very first ones received at the end of last year; so, if you place your order today your roses will be probably be posted around late July/early August - which is not a problem, because it's still winter and a good time for planting new roses in your garden.
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We are often asked how old our bare root plants are and what's better, and we notice that there is a lot of confusion around this subject. So, let's try to understand what we are talking about.
Years ago the chain stores forced the Rose Industry to produce 2 year old plants, in order to hit the market earlier and have rose plants ready around April, or even before then.
The rose growers decided then to dedicate a part of their annual production to plants that were budded in summer, and, instead of being dug out in the following winter as usual, were left in the ground for an extra year, so they could have a longer growing season and be ready to be dug out at the beginning of Autumn.
These roses are called 2yr old plants, while all the other plants with a normal growing process are called 1yr old plants.
By definition, 2yr old plants are bigger and with a heavier root system, and 1yr old ones have a greater fibrous root system, which can enhance better growth.
What's better? Neither of them, as they are both good plants and they'll both perform well, if looked after correctly.
At Wagner's we grow excellent 1yr old plants, that are often as big as 2yr old ones. And we have some wholesale customers that specifically order our 1yr old plants as they're easier to prune and transport.
As much as we want you to consider buying roses only in winter time, to give them the right length of growing time in the field, we honestly don't believe that older roses will perform better than 1yr old plants.
(in the picture: some of our 1yr old plants)
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| Roses are the hero of the garden (we maybe biased about this...), and they are very territorial about who their neighbours are.
They need at least 6 hours of sunlight, lots of water and nutrients and they don't like to be planted near large trees or shrubs, as these plants will take all the nutrients in the soil and over time can kill them.
The perfect companions for roses ideally like the same water and fertilising regime, they must have a shallow root system, and need to be planted 40cm away from the base of the rose.
- Garlic, chives and leeks are part of the onion family and help deter aphids.
- Herbs such as oregano, sweet basil, mint, parsley and thyme look great as they provide low greenery and are handy for the traditional ‘Sunday night roast’.
- Flowering companions such as Lavender, Yarrow, Marigolds, Alyssum, Delphiniums, Dwarf Verbena, Lupins, Phlox, Violets and Hollyhocks gives a cottage garden scene that will attract beneficial insects – especially ladybirds who love to snack on aphids.
- As we will never be able to have a ‘blue rose’, incorporate the colour into your garden with Borage, Butterfly Blue Pincushion Flower and Catmint.
- And in wintertime when your roses are sleeping, consider planting low growing spring bulbs such as Snowdrops, Anemones and Daffodils.
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| We have produced and published around 20 tutorial videos so far, to help you grow perfect roses and do the right thing in the right season.
You can follow Brian's tips and demonstrations in many ways:
- subscribe to our Youtube Channel
- watch the same videos on our website
- follow us on our Facebook and Instagram pages
- read our answers to the Frequent Asked Question on our website.
- or contact us directly, sending an email to [email protected]
(in the picture: Tuscan Sun)
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| Happy Birthday! is one of our beautiful 2021 Releases, created by Australian breeder Bruce Brundrett.
When we had to choose its name we were delighted by its bright yellow colour and its frilly petals, and we all agreed it was the perfect rose to celebrate something important... like a Birthday.
We wanted their labels to be special and celebrative too, so here they are, just arrived from the printer!
Happy Birthday!'s label will give you all the information about the rose and the correct way to plant and to look after it, with a surprise inside: a greeting card for your personal birthday message.
Isn't it beautiful?
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If you enjoyed reading this Newsletter, suggest it to your friends and rose lovers around you. We send out our News every 1st day of the month.
If you have a question or a particular subject you want us to write about, please let us know. Send an email to [email protected] and we'll do our best to help you.
Grazie e a presto! Benedetta and the Team at Wagner's |
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