This winter so far is a very mild one. Exactly one year ago we had temperatures of minus 18 degrees Celcius; today it is some 10 degrees Celcius in the day time and 5 degrees at night. I’m sure winter will eventually arrive, but every day that we have these mild temperatures are fine by me. Side effect of course is that the roses allready are starting to sprout. This week the roses that I ordered last year from rose nursery De Bierkreek were delivered and today was a perfect day for planting five of the six new moss roses. The roots of the roses were this time beautifully wrapped in compost and plastic and the tips of the stems are dipped in wax, as to prevent them from drying out. It also saves time in digging; because of the compactness of the roots I don’t have to dig extra big holes, for spreading out the bare roots. It wil be interesting to see if there is a difference in growth for the first year.
Today I’ve planted ‘Centifolia Muscosa’, ‘Marie de Blois’, ‘Pelisson’, ‘Soupert et Notting’ and ‘Zoë’. The sixth rose, ‘Whichmoss’, a Hybrid moss Wichurana, is temporarily ensiled, pending her planting in my homegarden. I’m very anxious to see how all these beautiful moss roses wil develop in the coming years. Luckily this year I can rent some more land adjacent to my plot, so hopefully more (moss)roses will find their way to my garden in the near future.