Sunday, January 18, 2009

Pegging 'Adam'

An added benefit from some recent remodeling has been expanded garden beds! Of course, larger planting areas give us the work of amending the soil and the pressure of "designing" the plantings. Yesterday, as I was doing a bit of gardening housekeeping, I saw new options for the 'Adam' rose (pictured in the back, left of the photo below). Its new canes have stretched out across the newly enlarged bed. New growth at the leaf axils just seemed to say, "peg me". Pegging is a nearly forgotten method of training roses. I doubt I would have thought of it last year - but was lucky enough to hear Jennifer Wilson of Lucy's Garden speak about old garden roses. She grows and sells antique roses in the Rio Grande Valley AND has a pegged rose in her garden. If you have the opportunity to hear her speak, don't pass it up! Her knowledge and enthusiasm are a wonderful combination.

Small climbing roses are suitable for pegging - you need one with canes that grow between 5 and 7 feet. To peg a rose, fasten the canes to the ground by pinning them with a stake or "peg". According the The Guide to Old Roses by The Antique Rose Emporium, we should let our canes harden properly before they are bent down and pegged. My 'Adam' has canes that are growing fairly perpendicular to the ground so I think I may get to bypass this step. The Antique rose Emporium peg their roses twice a year, before the onset of new growth (late January and late August). The canes are usually arranged in a perfect wheel around the center of the plant. Since my rose is planted against the garage wall, I will have a semi-circle.



Adam has double blooms that are salmon and cream colored.

6 comments:

Meems said...

Very interesting, Mary Beth. I'm glad you are having fun with your new pegging information and your expanded bed. Can you believe I don't have a single rose bush?

I'm working on some expansions as well... the design side is my favorite part. Waiting a few more weeks to plant is very hard.

Mary Beth said...

OMG, Meems, first I learn you have no palm trees and now, no roses! And still a gorgeous garden! The design is the hard part for me. I've got to do it little by little.

Anonymous said...

Oh, I have been wanting to do this to one of my roses ever since I read about it on the Antique Rose Emporium's website years ago. Unfortunately, I just dont have the room, but I think pegging roses would be a wonderful way to go. Make sure to post photos when yours bloom. I would be interested in seeing how this turns out for you.

Jan
Always Growing

Mary Beth said...

JAN - I never thought I would have the room either! I just hope I have enough sun where that rose is planted for LOTS of blooms. Time will tell - but, good or bad, I promise to share more photos.

Anonymous said...

I visited a garden this week that has been grown almost entirely from cast-offs and cuttings. The woman had an antique rose bush she'd grown from cuttings picked up at a cemetery down the street. (Someone pruned and left them behind.)
I don't normally like the kind of sloppy growth habit of antiques, but pegging could change my mind. Thanks! I'd never heard of it.

Jimmy and Jennifer said...

Mary Beth, you MADE my day! :-) I have a customer looking for some Adam roses (ARE is sold out completely!), and I googled 'old garden roses>>adam.' Cultivating Paradise popped up with this handy little mention of Lucy's Garden! Yippee! Thanks for the kind words and the link to Barbara's article. My goal for the summer is to get Lucy's website operational... if not, I may have to start a blog! Let me know how Adam performs for you as a pegged rose. My Madame Isaac hasn't knocked my socks off yet, so I'm going to try with Baronne Prevost, a much more reliable bloomer that really wants to be 6' tall for me! Happy gardening! -Jennifer