December Bloom

by Richard Chew

I recently added a miniature rose to my collections.

This picture (above) was taken when I bought it. It was about to bloom.

This picture (above) was taken when one of the bulb was opening.




A fully opened flower.




Closed up shot at the flower.

This is the full plant. I placed it at the window sill, which is shielded from the rain.

I just pruned it. Hopefully will have as many bloom in January.

The next is my yellow rose. This one is a fast grower. This bloom opened within a month after the last bloom in November.



It has a sweet fragrance. Mild strength fragrance.




The flower is quite lasting. It gradually changed to ivory colour. This picture was taken 5 days later.

I didn't get good result from my Portmeiron Rose this month. Unfortunately the cluster of bulbs that I posted recently got infected. I will share about this in my next posting. It had to do with the compost tea I made.

This picture was taken when it fully opened.

I am still struggling to get this rose plant to fully develop its flower. But this is certainly better than the bloom posted in November.

My priority is to help it survive through this wet weather. Hopefully by February will get better results.

I am also facing same problem with my purple rose.

The encouraging result is that the flower is better developed this month compare to previous months.

This (above) is another addition to my collection. It is also having the same problem like my purple rose. Survival is priority.

As for my Hot Tamale rose, the challenge is to develop its original colour, that is orange with yellow center.

At this present moment, I get darker pink colour.

But the petals seemed a bit sparse, not so full compare to previous bloom.

The flowers spaced out quite a lot. It is matter of pruning it right and growing more stronger stems. I just pruned it, hopefully will get a fuller bloom in February.

The following is one of my favourite. I believe it is French Lace Rose.

I have yet to learn its history. It is still a very young plant. It is growing well. The following photo shots were taken in stages as the flower opens.

This picture (above) was taken when the sky almost dark. I turned on my garden spot light to capture this shot.

And the following picture is of my Nozomi rose. Its a miniature rose.

It is recovering and progressing well. Hopefully by February, this rose will bloom regularly.