Well, for the first three weeks that I owned it, Talisman didn't do a whole lot except abort the two buds that were on it. It was obviously a bit stressed from its cross-country journey, and seeing as how May is our absolute busiest time of year, I really didn't feel like messing with it (except keeping it watered). Finally, I potted it up into a gallon container, drenched it with a mild fertilizer solution, and... it took right off :) After a couple weeks I decided to boost its fertilizer rate. Not a good move :( Roses are sensitive to fertilizer as it is, and this is such a small, immature plant that it proved to be even more sensitive than what I'm used to. So I gave it 9 or 10 days to adjust, and... it aborted another bud and just stopped growing.
*sigh*
Okay, so I drench its soil with clear water to flush out the excess fertilizer. A week later, my Talisman rose is starting to pick up steam again. Its leaf buds started to swell, so I knew it was going to be okay. After those four days of 90+ degree temperatures we had, it needed watered again, so I reverted back to my original fertilizer rate (a little less than 1/2 teaspoon of Jack's Classic 20-20-20 fertilizer per gallon of water, for those keeping score). Again, I drenched the soil with this solution to make sure the nutrients were balanced and the soluble salts weren't building up. Talisman is growing along quite nicely now, and should be blooming (finally!) in the next ten days or so. I'll try to post a pic or two when it does. I'm really not expecting much from these first blooms, as it is such an immature plant. Also, I know from the research I've done that this particular variety doesn't like extreme heat -- and it's growing in a black pot in full sun in a sweltering greenhouse right now! So the flowers will be less than stunning, in all likelihood.
For now, though, I'm concentrating on producing vegetative growth and getting the plant as big as I can as fast as I can. The beautiful flowers will come later :)
Updates to come...
*sigh*
Okay, so I drench its soil with clear water to flush out the excess fertilizer. A week later, my Talisman rose is starting to pick up steam again. Its leaf buds started to swell, so I knew it was going to be okay. After those four days of 90+ degree temperatures we had, it needed watered again, so I reverted back to my original fertilizer rate (a little less than 1/2 teaspoon of Jack's Classic 20-20-20 fertilizer per gallon of water, for those keeping score). Again, I drenched the soil with this solution to make sure the nutrients were balanced and the soluble salts weren't building up. Talisman is growing along quite nicely now, and should be blooming (finally!) in the next ten days or so. I'll try to post a pic or two when it does. I'm really not expecting much from these first blooms, as it is such an immature plant. Also, I know from the research I've done that this particular variety doesn't like extreme heat -- and it's growing in a black pot in full sun in a sweltering greenhouse right now! So the flowers will be less than stunning, in all likelihood.
For now, though, I'm concentrating on producing vegetative growth and getting the plant as big as I can as fast as I can. The beautiful flowers will come later :)
Updates to come...
