Rose Summer Song (Summer Song) - description and characteristics of the variety

In 2005, David Austin, an Englishman by birth, was puzzled by the creation of a rose that would concentrate all the characteristics of the classic English rose-scrubs. As a result of two years of work, a wonderful flower appeared, which was named Summer Song - "summer song".

Brief description, characteristics of the variety

In fact, Summer Song is an oleander hybrid, a bright representative of English roses. Like most plants in this group of flowers, the rose is a fast-growing, spreading shrub with well-developed flexible stems. The height of the bush can reach one and a half meters in height, the width is usually about one meter.

Rose Summer Song

The leaves are dark green, not very large. The abundance of glossy or semi-glossy leaves adds additional decorative effect to this variety of roses. The buds of this rose when in bloom resemble a peony flower. Their size is quite large - up to 12 cm.

The petals are dense, bowl-shaped. One flower can have up to 50 petals. The color of Summer Song is complex - from pale salmon to bright orange. Like most English roses, the flowers are clustered in clusters. One brush can have up to 5 buds.

These roses exude a delicate aroma, in which notes of exotic fruits are guessed, as well as a peculiar scent of chrysanthemums.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

Like any garden plant, the Samer Song rose has both advantages, thanks to which many landscape designers love it, and disadvantages that, for some gardeners, are the reason for refusing to breed it.

The benefits include:

• frost resistance;
• the ability to tolerate lack of light;
• immunity to most garden diseases;
• rather long flowering period;
• original fragrant aroma.

Disadvantages:

• frequent lack of foliage in the lower part of the bush;
• the need to plant in groups of 3-5 bushes.

Use in landscape design

To use the Summer Song rose in landscape design, you need to take into account its peculiarity of stretching, showing unattractive areas of stems devoid of leaves.

That is why this rose is placed in a group of 3-5 densely planted bushes. If this is not possible, then the bush is planted in tandem with some perennial - the owner of a compact root system, so that there is no competition between the plants for the nutrient medium.

If such a landscape solution is found, then this rose can be placed near obscure fences, decorate unattractive corners of the garden, and also create interesting tapestry mixes, coupled with other English roses.

Summer Song in landscape design

Growing a flower, how to plant it in open ground

Agricultural technology of this variety is subject to the principles common to all English roses.For those who are well familiar with the rules for planting these spectacular scrubs, it will not be difficult to achieve 100% survival rate of all purchased seedlings.

In what form is the landing

The easiest way to decorate your garden with these spectacular flowers is to purchase seedlings from a trusted nursery. When buying planting material, you must make sure that the root system of the rose does not show signs of putrefactive processes, drying out or mechanical damage.

What time is the boarding

The optimal time for planting a rose is late April or early May.

Before you start placing flowers on your personal plot, you need to make sure that the time of night temperatures has passed and the ground is sufficiently warmed up.

In southern regions, where weather surprises are less likely, you can plant the Summer Song rose "in winter". The most suitable time for autumn planting is the second half of September.

Location selection

Before planting seedlings, you need to critically assess the future habitat of the rose. It should be well lit by indirect sunlight. A corner of the garden where the sun is active in the morning or evening would be suitable. A western or eastern location is most suitable for placing a flower.

Lowlands or ravines are not the best place for a rosebush, as cold air can accumulate there, contributing to the development of garden diseases. In addition, attention should be paid to the occurrence of groundwater. Their level should be below 1 m from the surface of the earth.

How to prepare the soil and flower for planting

The soil mixture is one of the determining factors in the successful cultivation of the English Rose Summer Song. The flower will feel good on loam, rich in humus, good air permeability.

• If the soil is dense, clayey, then river sand and humus must be mixed into it.
• Too acidic soil is also not good for the rose. To reduce this indicator, you need to mix a little chalk powder into the soil six months before planting the seedling.

Planting procedure step by step

Planting a rose seedling begins with deepening the hole. The depth should be about 70 cm, and the width should be about 60 cm. Drainage material is laid on the bottom - expanded clay, shards, coarse gravel or any other suitable material. Nutrient organic matter is put on the drainage - humus and manure in a 1: 1 ratio.

For better rooting, a handful of wood ash and a little superphosphate are placed in the hole. This nutritious sandwich is sprinkled with earth, and only after that a rose seedling is placed in the hole.

Planting roses in the ground

After the seedling is deepened into the middle of the hole, it is necessary to straighten the roots, evenly distributing them along the bottom. Next, you should sprinkle the root system with earth and gently tamp. To form a root ball, you need to spill the plant with a bucket of water. The final stage of planting is covering the surface around the bush with coniferous bark mulch.

Plant care

Rosa Summer Song is not capricious in leaving, but she still requires some attention. Timely watering, competent pruning, applying the necessary fertilizers and reliable shelter - this is what this spectacular scrub needs.

Watering rules and humidity

Summer Song requires watering at least once a week. If hot dry weather is established, then the number of irrigations should be increased up to two times.

One rose bush requires at least 15 liters of warm, settled water.In addition, sprinkling is carried out for a rose of this variety, which will prevent the appearance of dry tips on the leaves.

Top dressing and soil quality

During the first year, this rose, as a rule, does not need feeding, since there are enough nutrients that fit into the hole during planting. The next year, at the very beginning of spring, nitrogen fertilizers are applied, which will contribute to the growth of deciduous mass. In the summer, before the start of the growing season, fertilizers based on potassium and phosphorus are applied, which activate the formation of buds.

Today, in any agricultural store, you can purchase a special mineral composition designed for park roses. Since the Summer Song rose is characterized by two waves of flowering, fertilizers are applied twice per season.

It is very important to regularly inspect the soil around the bush and assess its condition. First of all, weeds should be promptly removed, which are actively developing on the nutrient soil.

Regular loosening will significantly improve the air permeability of the soil, which will not allow the development of all kinds of rotting of the root system. Mulching with coniferous paws or pieces of bark will help to retain the amount of moisture needed for the rose bush and prevent the emergence of new weeds.

Pruning and replanting

Pruning a rose shrub is a must-have procedure that promotes growth and abundant flowering. It can be either sanitary, when old, weak or diseased stems are removed, or formative, in which the direction of growth of branches is set. It is carried out twice a season.

• The first time the bush is stopped in early spring, when the vital juices of the plant are not yet very active.
• The plant is cut for the second time in the middle of summer, trying to get between the waves of flowering.

Transplanting an adult rose bush from place to place is not recommended. But if the need for this nevertheless appeared, then the most suitable time for this is spring or autumn. First of all, you should prepare the planting site in the same way as for rooting purchased cuttings. Before transplanting, you need to shorten the stems as much as possible. Ideally, up to 35-40 cm.

Pruning a rose

After that, it is necessary to dig in the bush in a trench manner, gradually deepening towards the root system. It is necessary at all times to ensure that the earthy clod around the roots does not lose its integrity. If the root system is highly branched, then the roots must be carefully shortened with a sharp knife.

The next stage of transplanting is to gently move the plant from one place to another. Care should be taken to ensure that the earthen clod retains its integrity. After immersing the bush in the ground, empty places should be sprinkled with earth, tamped and watered abundantly.

Features of wintering a flower

In winter, the Summer Song rose variety requires protection from low temperatures, icy winds and the aggressive winter sun. Before arranging a bush for wintering, you need to apply fertilizer and pruning in advance, about 2-3 weeks in advance.

Covering garden material and snow cover will serve as a reliable shelter. In some cases, a cone-shaped plywood structure is built around the bush.

Blooming rose

If the care of this variety of the English rose was carried out in compliance with all the rules of agricultural technology, then the flower will certainly thank the gardener with abundant and long flowering.

The first buds of the Summer Song rose form in mid-June. Usually the flowering is friendly. Blooming roses stay on the bush for about 7 days, after which they gradually fade.

The first wave of flowering lasts about 6 weeks, after which a dormant period begins. The second wave of flowering begins in mid-August.Its duration is shorter than the first and lasts about 5 weeks. When the last bud falls, you can gradually begin preparing the rose for wintering.

Also, landscape designers know that fewer buds appear during the second wave. Therefore, it is very important for this rose to choose a companion plant that would fill some lack of flowers.

Care during and after flowering

Summer care for a rose during flowering is mainly reduced to the timely removal of faded inflorescences. Care must be taken to ensure that the fruits do not set, as they take away food from the plants.

In addition, you need to remove the stems that grow inside the bush. In order for the flowering to be lush, between the waves, you should feed the rose with manure diluted in a bucket of water (1 kg of manure per 20 liters of water).

When the Summer Song rose has completely faded, you can start pruning and preparing for winter.

Faded pink buds

What to do if it does not bloom, possible reasons

If the Summer Song rose has been properly cared for, then most likely there will be no flowering problems. But it so happens that a rose does not release buds for several years.

There may be several reasons:

• the first year after planting;
• wrong place to place a rose bush;
• violation of the rules for pruning;
• inadequate care;
• active development of root growth;
• dangerous fungal disease - bacterial burn;
• natural aging of the rose bush.

In order to stimulate the rose to bloom, you need to analyze the care of the plant and eliminate possible causes.

Flower propagation

To preserve the varietal characteristics of the flower, reproduction is carried out in a vegetative way, using cuttings. Seed propagation is not practiced for this hybrid rose variety.

Usually, in mid-July, after the first wave of flowering, it is time for formative pruning, which removes healthy but malformed stems.

Detailed description

In order to propagate the Summer Song rose, you must perform the following algorithm of actions:

• take the strongest healthy stems left after pruning;
• cut into cuttings so that each of them has 4 buds and several leaves;
• remove excess leaves from the end, which will go deeper into the soil mixture;
• place the cuttings in individual cups filled with nutrient soil;
• water abundantly;
• cover with a garden cap and place in a well-sanctified place.

From time to time, the seedlings should be ventilated by lifting the hood. Watering is carried out as the soil dries out. Usually, by the fall, each seedling acquires its own root system and is ready for planting in a permanent place of growth.

Preparation of planting material

Diseases, pests and ways to control them

Most diseases are not terrible for the Summer Song rose. Pest insects also show little interest in this spectacular flower.

However, as a preventive measure, the plant should be treated with antifungal compounds from time to time. In order to avoid rotting of the root system and the development of sclerocial rot, it is necessary to observe the watering regime and remove weeds in time.

Rose Summer Song is an extremely showy flower. Thanks to its bright, unusually colored flowers and wonderful smell, it will be difficult for her to remain unnoticed even in the most remote corners of the garden.