Coronavirus, Covid 19 Discussion and How It Has Affected Your Daily Life Chat Thread

[MROO]

Neither did I. No gardeners in the family tree either.
And trust me, there is a trail of murdered roses behind me as I have learned about the various classes of roses and realized that I was always picking the wrong ones to grow.
Believe it or not you are in a good growing zone both in place and temps. My fellow rose enthusiasts out in CA, TX, and FL would love to have your zone. Roses just bake there.

I started in zone 5a and the only thing I could grow were a few very hardy hybrid teas. Spindly things, stingy on flowers, and needing constant attention to survive. And my climbers never really got over 5 feet, even though I tried, because brutal cold and harsh winter winds are an uphill battle. Behind the house near my back porch was a small little protected area that roses could survive if I really babied them and covered them in protection for the winters. Bleh, too much work for only a handful of flowers. Especially since I was never gaga over roses to begin with. (until I met English and antique roses)

Here, I'm in zone 6b and I know exactly the temp swings you are speaking of. (I used to live in NOVA too) Roses are hardier than you think, if you get the right ones. That's the trick- learning the different types and which ones like which conditions. Teas will never really be rewarding unless they are pampered. Knock Outs and landscape roses can survive, but they really aren't all that pleasing and have no scent. Old roses though? The ones that have been around for hundreds of years...growing uncared for on highway hillsides, the back forty, and over that falling down shed out back? Yeah...stock that comes from those roses. And of course those English roses bred for chilly damp conditions in the UK.
Just like chickens, certain roses thrive in some places and are dismal failures in others.

Zephy is a girl who can do it for you. If the winters are mild enough here she'll keep leaves on her year round. She's one of the first to flower and without any pampering or spraying she'll give a big spring display then push out smaller flushes all summer and fall long. She had blooms on her last Thanksgiving.
Of course with minimal inputs she does better, but she's a no fuss girl. And there are plenty more like her in all kinds of colors.

I'll do some more digging, in the mean time tell me what are some roses you have tried. Bare roots from Walmart or home improvement stores? (It's ok, I still grow some of those too)
Potted up roses later in the spring at home improvement stores? Like hybrid teas?
Ordered roses through online places like Burpees, Jung Seeds, Spring Hill, etc...? (I've done that too.)
And tell me just a little bit about your soil. Sandy? Clay? Loamy? How do veggies grow for you? How far away is the coast (this affects micro-climate)

WONDERFUL! I am VERY close to the VERY top of the Chesapeake Bay ... as in, we walk our dogs in the Critical Area. Because I live directly on major tributary, so we're in a "no salt, no chemicals" zone. It makes Winter deicing interesting, but it means no nasties added to the roads and soil. And my soil is amazing! Dark and loamy in the yard, classic northeast clay on the creek bank, but pretty much alluvial everywhere else. Veggies thrive and my lilacs were massive in just a handful of years.

My front yard is sunny, the back yard is too, but won't be for long, as we have a few trees growing in to replace a 50+ foot maple that came out a few years ago. I have multiple places for a climber or a really tall-caned bush, including an old porch and one entire side of my house, along a gravel driveway.

Most of the roses I've tried have been teas - hybrids from garden departments and garden centers. I've had some luckk (but not here) with bare root, but almost none with potted roses. The one exception was a beautiful, potted Angel Face (dusky lavender with a wonderful, sweet scent) but it didn't survive the transplant to the new house. As a kid, we had one of the old Girl Scout Roses - pretty lemon yellow. I wish it was still there, as there's only one left in existence, out in the southwest, and the last I heard from the fellow that had it, wasn't doing well. That was probably ten years ago, so it's probably gone now, too. So sad!

I currently have one rose. It's thriving, but it's a cheater! It started out as a mini rose that my toddler son picked out for Mothers' Day. The root stock took over, and it's now a huge, healthy fountain of slender, arching canes, almost no scent and tons of tiny red flowers. It sounds pretty ... but it's a MESS! I think I'm going to put an arch there, just to make it look like it belongs!

Okay - You got me so excited over this that I'm rambling (pun? I'd like to saY it was intended, but it wasn't!) It's almost 10:30 & I still have to "do" the dogs tonight. Gotta keep up with my furbabies!
Thanks for the offer! I'm going to look up Zephy while the dogs are out .. then I'm done for tonight. I'll catch everybody tomorrow, I'm sure ...G'Night All!

 

[SnapdragonQ]

WONDERFUL! I am VERY close to the VERY top of the Chesapeake Bay ... as in, we walk our dogs in the Critical Area. Because I live directly on major tributary, so we're in a "no salt, no chemicals" zone. It makes Winter deicing interesting, but it means no nasties added to the roads and soil. And my soil is amazing! Dark and loamy in the yard, classic northeast clay on the creek bank, but pretty much alluvial everywhere else. Veggies thrive and my lilacs were massive in just a handful of years.

My front yard is sunny, the back yard is too, but won't be for long, as we have a few trees growing in to replace a 50+ foot maple that came out a few years ago. I have multiple places for a climber or a really tall-caned bush, including an old porch and one entire side of my house, along a gravel driveway.

Most of the roses I've tried have been teas - hybrids from garden departments and garden centers. I've had some luckk (but not here) with bare root, but almost none with potted roses. The one exception was a beautiful, potted Angel Face (dusky lavender with a wonderful, sweet scent) but it didn't survive the transplant to the new house. As a kid, we had one of the old Girl Scout Roses - pretty lemon yellow. I wish it was still there, as there's only one left in existence, out in the southwest, and the last I heard from the fellow that had it, wasn't doing well. That was probably ten years ago, so it's probably gone now, too. So sad!

I currently have one rose. It's thriving, but it's a cheater! It started out as a mini rose that my toddler son picked out for Mothers' Day. The root stock took over, and it's now a huge, healthy fountain of slender, arching canes, almost no scent and tons of tiny red flowers. It sounds pretty ... but it's a MESS! I think I'm going to put an arch there, just to make it look like it belongs!

Okay - You got me so excited over this that I'm rambling (pun? I'd like to saY it was intended, but it wasn't!) It's almost 10:30 & I still have to "do" the dogs tonight. Gotta keep up with my furbabies!
Thanks for the offer! I'm going to look up Zephy while the dogs are out .. then I'm done for tonight. I'll catch everybody tomorrow, I'm sure ...G'Night All!

You have a wonderful climate and area to work with and rest assured, you can grow roses successfully. While our soils are vastly different, we can grow mostly the same roses. So if I can do it, you can too.

It's getting late in the year for bare roots, but there are still some places selling them and they will have upcoming online sales. Roses can be ordered bare root, or in small pots. They can be bought locally in larger pots too as you know. Roses in pots do require extra care and water while in the pot, but they can be planted any time during the growing season, though preferably not during really hot or dry spells. I've planted potted roses as late as Nov here and they've done great.
Often I'll order bare roots in early spring, plant them in pots to make sure they are what they are supposed to be (because mislabeled roses are as common as oopsie chicks) see how they grow and bloom, and then decide where to plant them in the fall.

For some instant info on roses here are a few resources you can use right away. The rest I'll put in a PM because it's a lot and will take you some time to visit them.

Rose forum on Houzz.
https://www.houzz.com/discussions/roses

While I don't find this the easiest place to post or navigate (they keep changing things over there) the people who post are wonderful! The most helpful and knowledgeable people and from all over the world. Most have their zones or locations listed by their user names
so as you are drooling over the picture of their gorgeous roses, you can know if you can grow the same roses yourself.
Also, if you are googling something, like Angel Face rose or rose planting depth, put the word "houzz" in the search and you will get a ton of threads to read and research on there. Like here, it's a good place to google a question and get instant info without having to spend tons of time reading specific websites that never actually answer your question.
There are also sub-rose forums like Antique, Propagation, and forums for different states or locations.

I had to stop hanging out and posting there because people are excellent at sharing the various places having rose sales and someone got herself, and her wallet, into a little bit of trouble with such easy access to sale info.

David Austin Roses-https://www.davidaustinroses.com/us/

Aside from being pure eye candy, you can browse by zones, color, type, etc... and there is a section for advice and care. Learning the right way to plant specific roses can go a long way towards insuring their survival. Even the best rosarians were once newbies and had to learn.
Order the free catalog! Full of helpful info as well as a pleasure to look at.

Paul Zimmerman-
http://paulzimmermanroses.com/
Helpful videos and a very helpful site. My style of rose keeping (lazy) is a lot like his. Though I'm not calling him lazy, just me. I prefer a no fuss care style.

*sigh* I tried to make this a short post.
...more info coming via PM later today. Still gathering resources.

 

[FortCluck]

@21hens-incharge i finally got pics of the mystery chicks. I was waiting for more feathers to grow in.

Anyone can answer, but what are these?

 

[21hens-incharge]

@21hens-incharge i finally got pics of the mystery chicks. I was waiting for more feathers to grow in.

Anyone can answer, but what are these?


View attachment 2136120View attachment 2136121View attachment 2136122

AWWWWWW!!!! Pretty light brahma babies!

 

[FortCluck]

AWWWWWW!!!! Pretty light brahma babies!

Wonder if they are pullets

 

[21hens-incharge]

Wonder if they are pullets

They are slow to mature and white birds are a pain to try and see early saddle feathers.....which are months away yet anyway.

Only time will tell...

Can you get close up comb shots? Sometimes the combs give them away as there are subtle differences in shape even this young. Straight on not from the side.

 

[FortCluck]

They are slow to mature and white birds are a pain to try and see early saddle feathers.....which are months away yet anyway.

Only time will tell...

Can you get close up comb shots? Sometimes the combs give them away as there are subtle differences in shape even this young. Straight on not from the side.

Yes I do actually I just took them for a thread I made...

Let me know what difference I’ll see. I have 4. This is all the same bird.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Yes I do actually I just took them for a thread I made...

Let me know what difference I’ll see. I have 4. This is all the same bird.
View attachment 2136245View attachment 2136246

Ok so it is not 100% especially with hatchery birds but.....

You see that little row of bumps going down the middle?
Males generally have 3 rows of similar sized bumps while females have one row or a row in the middle with one on either side much smaller than the middle.

I think this one is female.

 

[FortCluck]

Ok so it is not 100% especially with hatchery birds but.....

You see that little row of bumps going down the middle?
Males generally have 3 rows of similar sized bumps while females have one row or a row in the middle with one on either side much smaller than the middle.

I think this one is female.

I hope they are all female I don’t know if my tractor supply sells light Brahmas. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that breed there before.

I do know when he was saying that they were meat chickens or leghorns, I liked the idea because I either get meat or leghorns. Once I got into the car, I was like wait a minute they have feathered legs. My husband was asking if they were those breeds and I said definitely not.

I have a light Brahma cross bantam rooster but he’s not pure. I’m actually really happy they are this breed because I’ve been wanting one, but the farm that we usually order from is backordered with chicks right now. We had one last year, but a black snake ate it. I was so mad because it snuck in the coop before we closed it.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I hope they are all female I don’t know if my tractor supply sells light Brahmas. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that breed there before.

I do know when he was saying that they were meat chickens or leghorns, I liked the idea because I either get meat or leghorns. Once I got into the car, I was like wait a minute they have feathered legs. My husband was asking if they were those breeds and I said definitely not.

I have a light Brahma cross bantam rooster but he’s not pure. I’m actually really happy they are this breed because I’ve been wanting one, but the farm that we usually order from is backordered with chicks right now. We had one last year, but a black snake ate it. I was so mad because it snuck in the coop before we closed it.

Our TSC sells them. I recall last year seeing a big ole batch being sold for $1 each as they were aging out of the brooder. The store manager came over and told me she would sell them to me for 50 cents each if I wanted some and ducklings for a buck each. I had no room so passed.....and they were straight run. They don't let you look to close at them when boxing them up so for me it was a no.