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Helen Chesnut's Garden Notes: Wet spring can cause rose rot

Dear Helen: My rose garden has been spectacular this summer. The carpet roses in particular have given a fine display of colour; however, I have a number of small rose bushes and climbers with flower buds that did not open into full bloom.

Dear Helen: My rose garden has been spectacular this summer. The carpet roses in particular have given a fine display of colour; however, I have a number of small rose bushes and climbers with flower buds that did not open into full bloom. Instead, they turned brown and fell off the plants. What could have cause this to happen?

H.A.

The photo you sent indicates a condition called “balling,” which occurs most commonly in wet summer weather on many-petalled, fully double roses. Rain, or overhead watering, does not usually damage the blooms once they are open, but in the late bud stage the outer petals rot, congeal and prevent the flowers from opening. Sunshine following wet conditions further hardens the decayed casing, making it completely impossible for the flower to open.

Affected flowers rot. Some will fall off, others remain on the plant to create a distressing mess. It’s possible the condition arose in your garden this summer because there has been some rain during parts of the summer that are usually dry.

I have one rose in my garden that is susceptible to balling of the buds. The rose, Don Juan, is a climber that I grow as a pillar rose at a corner of a vegetable plot. Its thickly petal-packed buds are prime candidates for ruination if they become wet as they are about to open.

Dear Helen: One of your recent columns had a photo of a globe artichoke plant bearing numerous plump, edible buds. Have you any suggestions for neighbours of mine having major aphid problems with their globe artichokes this year?

K.M.

Aphids congregating in the flowerbud “globes” we love to eat is a nearly ubiquitous issue on these plants. When I see the first clusters of the creatures on the buds I wash them off, using the jet spray setting on a hose-end watering wand. A few follow-up sprays usually keep the buds fairly clean until they reach a harvestable size.

When I cut the artichokes for use, I shorten the stems, leaving a slight stub at the bud base, and bring them to an outdoor tap for a final jet stream of water aimed around and between the lower leaf layers. This cleans up any malingering aphids along with visiting earwigs, which abound in my garden this year.

Weekend column. I’ll be taking time off from writing a Saturday column this week. The events listed below cover the period through to next Wednesday. Enjoy the holiday weekend.

Garden events

Picnic in the gardens. The Horticulture Centre of the Pacific, 505 Quayle Rd. in Saanich, is inviting families and friends to bring their own dinners for a picnic in the gardens this evening. Enjoy local musicians, browse through the works of local arts vendors, visit a master gardener booth for answers to gardening questions and check out sales of plants propagated from the gardens. Admission is by donation between 5 and 8 p.m. hcp.ca.

Government House plants. Plant sale days have been extended to include both Tuesday and Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., at Government House, 1401 Rockland Ave. in Victoria. An extensive range of plants will be found at the plant nursery opposite the tea room. In the selection are many plants for both sun and shade. They include choice items such as the golden Choisya Sundance, feathery astilbes, small red Japanese maples, tough and showy heucheras (coral bells) as well as salvias, phlox, sedums and much more. Last sale day is Aug. 27.

Dahlia meeting. The Victoria Dahlia Society will meet on Thursday, Aug. 1, at 7 p.m. There will be a presentation on What Makes a Show Quality Dahlia and a demonstration on staging flowers for show. The meeting will be in a member’s garden. Contact vdspublicity@gmail.com for the address. Visitors are welcome. First visit free. The society will be staging its annual show on Aug. 17.

View Royal meeting. The View Royal Garden Club is celebrating its 70th year with a special event featuring Linda Gilkeson, local entomologist and educator, speaking on Resilient Gardens in the Presence of Climate Change on Wednesday, Aug. 28, at 7:30 p.m. in Wheely Hall, 500 Admirals Rd. in Esquimalt. Space is limited. Advance tickets for the event are available for $10 at all GardenWorks centres.