Hi everyone, sorry its been so long since my last post but I have question. I just received two tea rose plants from my nanny who is in a nursing home. I am so proud to be their new owner. So here is my problem. My father transported them in the back of his pickup truck, needless to say they got quite wind blown. They were very healthy out on my nanny's back deck and healthy for most of the week they arrived at my house. One of them, the smaller of the two had a bad break in one of its big stems, I splinted it and wrapped it withe electrical tape, I read that the sap will come back up and help to heal the wound, This one is still doing very well, it seemed to pay no mind to it "broken bone". The bigger of the two is not doing so well, its still green and its branches are still strong but most of the new leaves are brown around the edges, not dead, just not healthy looking, like its companion. Please tell me its going to be fine, I am hoping it is just shock from the trip down here. Any thougth would be greatly appeciated. Also, does anyone know any evergreen (not like pines but just not deciduous)shrubs I could use as a privacy type planting for Alabama?
Don't know anything about plants in your area, but... are your roses still in their original soil and pots? It's best to let them stay with what they are used to. Be sure to keep them watered, and give them a good dose of fertilizer to buffer the shock of a change in environs. Plastic (electric) tap isn't good long-term, so be sure to change that soon, even wrapping the splint tightly with a long strip of brown paper tied with string is better, just change it often so the bush doesn't grow around the string (you likely won't find that in garden books, it's "granny wisdom"!) Be sure to clean all the dead leaves away, just in case something got on the plants on their way to you.
How big are these roses? Can you post a pic of the damaged one? If it is big enough you can prune it down a little an place it in filtered shade for say a week or two, keep it watered an it should recover. Once its recovered its not to late to plant it before our heat sets in. I'm below you by about an hour an a half. By pruning you may have to sacrifice the blooms for this season if it is a spring bloomer only but it may save the rose by doing so. I feel like perhaps the leaves are the only real problem you have due to the wind damage an once those leaves have fallen off new ones will take there place. You have a great resource right there at you in Jemison, a wonderful fella named Jason Powell at Petals from the Past: http://www.petalsfromthepast.com/. He specializes in Heirloom Roses an is a wealth of information. Also don't forget the University's Horticulture Dept.
