How long do your DA roses take to repeat flower?

[minniebear]

Just that really! Mine tend to flower late May/early June and look amazing. Then the past two years we've had a party for my daughters birthday mid June and the buggers don't have a single flower in sight. They look like big green bushes. Then they flower again in mid July, and maybe once more in late August/early September. They all conspire together to flower at the same time and go bald at the same time, so the flower bed looks amazing or very boring depending on what they're doing.

We have a rose garden locally and their roses bloom continuously all Summer. I keep on top of deadheading, cutting back to five leaves when I remember, and I cut them back over winter. They're all healthy - a bit of black spot much nothing bad, and I water them a bit if it's really hot and dry. I have a Queen of Sweden, Gertrude Jekyll, Glamis Castle and then a couple more David Austin ones too. Does anyone have any lucky with this? Am I doing something wrong? Or is it pretty normal?

Difficult isn't it. I tend to take the dead bloom down to where I can see a stem bud next to a leaf, rather than just removing the bloom. I hope that stimulates the stem bud to grow and have a flower.
Also, are you feeding them through the summer?

Mine have been flowering since mid May and are not showing any signs of stopping anytime soon.

As well as deadheading, I mulch a lot in early spring and then give them a specialist Rose food twice a year (e.g. Miracle Grow Rose and Shrub) - once when the first buds emerge and then again at the end of July.

It's worth a try if you are not already feeding them.

I think I need to invest in some rose feed. Is Miracle Grow good?

To be honest, I think that all rose feed will have pretty much the same composition. I use Miracle Grow as it's easy to get hold off.

I've found it works wonders on hydrangeas and clematis too, so worth getting some.

depends on the type of rose as well. some flower once, others a few times an others have some fliwers continiously.
yes to feeding and mulching and deadheading.

Deadheading and watering them helps. Plenty of well rotted manure over the winter. I found my ailing DA rose improved dramatically after I planted alliums near it but I'm told that this is an old wives' tale.

Mine have been fine for the last couple of years but this year has been disappointing. We had lots of flowers early on and then nothing. Two of them (Gertrude Jekyll) have some new buds now, but two are still looking a bit sad.

I'll try deadheading further down next time.

(Novice gardener, but gradually learning stuff)

Some of mine have been flowering steadily and happily since May, and others have been doing exactly what yours have been. The most reliable bloomers in my garden that I can identify have been Gertrude Jekyll and Brother Cadfael with an honourable mention for Lady Emma Hamilton.

I have some others which are doing well but can't identify them as the names have worn off the tags that the previous residents left on the bushes.

I use Top Rose food and they bloom beautifully but not all constantly.

The are all supposed to be repeat flowering roses.

I also don't think I pruned them all that well. The shapes aren't quite right, and the Lady Emma Hamilton (which is a lovely rose) suddenly sent up five enormous branches in May and proceeded to produce a huge number of flowers at the end of each stalk. I wasn't sure whether to cut them off when the flowers had gone.

Climbing roses benefit from the branches trained horizontally, they then send up vertical flowering stems.

JT05 - Does that mean I may have pruned it to think it is a climbing rose? (Oh dear...I really don't know much)

Still, I don't think so. I usually prune hard in December. I remember one year pruning a climber in March and a neighbour laughed at me cos the plant went and growed like topsy.

Sorry, to clarify. The new strong shoots that grow up are the ones trained horizontally.

I'll try training my climbing rose better and went out to get Miracle Grow today and bunged some on! Fingers crossed!