In 2005, David Austin, an Englishman by birth, was puzzled by the creation of a rose that would concentrate all the signs of classic English rose scrubs. As a result of two years of work, a marvelous flower appeared, which was called the Summer Song - "summer song".
Short description, characteristics of the variety
In fact, Summer Song is an oleander hybrid, a vivid representative of English roses. Like most plants in this group of flowers, the rose is a fast-growing sprawling bush 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.
Rosa Summer Song
The leaves are dark green, not very large. The abundance of glossy or semi-glossy leaves adds extra decorativeness to this variety of roses. The buds of this rose in its full bloom resemble a peony flower. Their size is quite large - up to 12 cm.
Petals are dense, cup-shaped. One flower can have up to 50 petals. Summer Song's color is complex - from pale salmon to bright orange. Like most English roses, inflorescences are collected in brushes. One brush can count up to 5 buds.
These roses exude a delicate aroma in which notes of exotic fruits are guessed, as well as a peculiar smell of chrysanthemums.
It is interesting! In most catalogs, the English rose Summer Song is registered under the name Austango.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
Like any garden plant, the Samer Song rose has both advantages due 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;
- ability to tolerate a lack of light;
- immunity to most garden diseases;
- quite a long flowering period;
- original fragrant aroma.
Disadvantages:
- frequent lack of leafy lower part of the bush;
- the need to plant in groups of 3-5 bushes.
Use in landscape design
In order to use the Summer Song rose in landscape design, it is necessary to take into account its peculiarity to stretch, demonstrating low-sympathetic sections of stems without 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 plants for a nutrient medium.
If such a landscape solution is found, then this rose can be placed at the inconspicuous fences, decorate the unsightly corners of the garden, as well as create interesting trellis mixes, coupled with other English roses.
Summer Song in Landscaping
Growing a flower, how to plant in open ground
Agricultural technology of this variety obeys the principles common to all English roses. Those who are familiar with the rules for planting these spectacular scrubs will have no difficulty achieving 100% survival of all purchased seedlings.
In what form is landing
The easiest way to decorate your garden with these spectacular flowers is to buy seedlings in a trusted nursery. When buying planting material, you must make sure that the root system of the rose does not have signs of putrefactive processes, drying out or mechanical damage.
Attention! A few healthy kidneys should be present on the stem.
What time is the landing
The best time for planting a rose is the end of April or the beginning of May.
Before you start placing flowers on a personal plot, you need to make sure that the time of night minus temperatures has passed and the ground has been sufficiently warmed up.
In southern regions, where weather surprises are less likely, you can plant a Summer Song rose "in the winter." The most suitable time for autumn planting is considered the second half of September.
Location selection
Before planting seedlings, you need to critically evaluate 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 hours will be suitable. Western or eastern locations are most suitable for placing a flower.
Important! Summer Song should not be rooted close to trees and sprawling shrubs. The distance from the rose to the tree should be at least 1.5 m.
Lowlands or ravines are not the best place for a rose bush, 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 for the successful cultivation of the English Song Summer Song. The flower will feel good on loams rich in humus, good air permeability.
- If the soil is dense, clayey, then it is necessary to interfere with river sand and humus.
- Too acidic soil is also not good for roses. To reduce this indicator, you need to mix a little chalk powder in the soil six months before planting a seedling.
Landing procedure step by step
Planting a rose seedling begins with a deepening of the pit. Depth should be about 70 cm, and width - about 60 cm. Drainage material - expanded clay, shards, coarse gravel or any other suitable material is laid on the bottom. Nourishing organic matter is put on the drainage - humus and manure in a ratio of 1: 1.
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 in the middle of the hole, it is necessary to straighten the roots, evenly distributing them along the bottom. Next, sprinkle the root system with earth and gently ram. 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 mulch from the bark of conifers.
Important! Deepening the cuttings into the hole should be carried out in such a way that the root neck is below the soil surface by about 7 cm.
Plant care
Rosa Summer Song is not capricious in leaving, but 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
The Summer Song requires watering at least once a week. If hot arid weather is established, then the amount of watering should be increased up to two times.
One rose bush requires at least 15 liters of warm, standing water. In addition, for a rose of this variety, sprinkling is carried out, which will prevent the appearance of dry tips on the leaves.
Important! All water treatments are performed in the evening, at sunset.
Top dressing and soil quality
During the first year of this rose, as a rule, top dressing is not required, since it is enough of those nutrients that fit into the hole during planting. The next year, at the very beginning of spring, nitrogen fertilizers are introduced, 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 agro shop you can buy a special mineral composition designed for park roses. Since two waves of flowering are characteristic of Summer Song roses, fertilizers are applied twice a season.
It is very important to regularly inspect the soil around the bush and assess its condition. First of all, weed grasses that are actively developing on nutritious soil should be removed in a timely manner.
Regular loosening will significantly improve the air permeability of the soil, which will not allow the development of various kinds of putrefaction of the root system. Mulching with coniferous paws or pieces of bark will help to retain the amount of moisture necessary for the rose bush and prevent the emergence of new weeds.
Pruning and transplanting
Pruning a rose-shrub is a mandatory procedure that promotes growth and abundant flowering. It can be both sanitary, when old, weak or diseased stems are removed, and formative, in which the direction of growth of the branches is set. It is carried out twice a season.
- The first time the bush is stopped in early spring, when the plant's vital juices are not yet very active.
- The second time they cut the plant in mid-summer, trying to get between the waves of flowering.
Important! Pruning should be done with a clean, preferably disinfected pruner. Otherwise, you can infect the rose bush with some kind of garden disease.
Transplanting an adult rose bush from place to place is not recommended. But if the need for this nevertheless arose, then the most suitable time for this is spring or autumn. First of all, you need to prepare a seat in the same way as for rooting the acquired cuttings. Before transplanting, you need to shorten the stems as much as possible. Ideally, up to 35-40 cm.
Pruning roses
After this, it is necessary to dig a bush in a trench manner, gradually deepening to the root system. It is necessary all the time to ensure that the earthen lump around the roots does not lose its integrity. If the root system is highly branched, then the roots need to be carefully shortened with a sharp knife.
The next stage of transplantation is to carefully move the plant from one place to another. It should be ensured that the earthen lump retains its integrity. After immersing the bush in the ground, you should sprinkle empty places with earth, tamp and pour plenty of water.
Features of wintering a flower
In winter, the Summer Song rose variety needs protection from low temperatures, icy winds and aggressive winter suns. Before you arrange a bush for wintering, you need to apply fertilizer and prune in advance, in about 2-3 weeks.
Shelter garden material and snow cover will serve as a reliable shelter. In some cases, a cone-shaped plywood structure is constructed around the bush.
Flowering roses
If care for this variety of 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 Summer Song rose buds are formed in mid-June. Usually flowering friendly. The blossoming roses stay on the bush for about 7 days, after which they gradually fade.
The first flowering wave lasts about 6 weeks, after which there comes a period of dormancy. 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 to prepare the roses for wintering.
Important! The second wave of flowering is characterized by smaller flowers.
In addition, landscape designers know that during the second wave, fewer buds appear. Therefore, it is very important for this rose to choose a companion plant that would fill in a certain lack of flowers.
Care during and after flowering
Summer care of a rose during flowering comes down to the timely removal of faded inflorescences. Care must be taken to ensure that fruits are not tied, as they take away food from plants.
In addition, you need to remove the stems that grow inside the bush. In order for the flowering to be magnificent, 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 causes
If the Summer Song rose was properly cared for, then most likely there will be no problems with flowering. But it happens that a rose does not release buds for several years.
There may be several reasons:
- first year after planting;
- the wrong place to place a rose bush;
- violation of cropping rules;
- improper care;
- active development of basal shoots;
- dangerous fungal disease - a 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 the 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, the time comes for formative pruning, during which healthy but not growing stems are removed.
Important! To avoid the development of fungal diseases, the place of cut after pruning must be sprinkled with wood ash or covered with garden var.
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 leaflets;
- remove excess leaves from the end that will go deep into the soil mixture;
- place the cuttings in individual cups filled with nutritious soil mixture;
- water abundantly;
- cover with a garden cap and place in a well-consecrated place.
From time to time, seedlings should be ventilated by lifting the hood. Watering is carried out as the soil dries. Typically, by autumn, each seedling acquires its own root system and is ready for planting at a permanent place of growth.
Preparing planting material
Diseases, pests and ways to combat them
Most diseases are not afraid of the Summer Song rose. Harmful insects also do not show much interest in this spectacular flower.
However, as a prophylaxis, the plant should be treated with antifungal agents from time to time. In order to avoid rotting of the root system and the development of rot type sclerocial, it is necessary to observe the watering regime and remove weeds on time.
Rosa Summer Song is an extremely spectacular flower. Due to its bright, unusually colored flowers and marvelous smell, it will be difficult for her to go unnoticed even in the most remote corners of the garden.
