Growth Spurt



Graham Thomas growth spurt




Graham Thomas blooms

 My Graham Thomas rose is three years old and it's been growing pretty much at a snail's pace.  It has produced more blooms every year, mostly in the late May/early June timeframe.  After that, it blooms sporadically throughout the rest of the season.  But a couple of weeks ago, it had a tremendous growth spurt--well, one stem did anyway. 

This particular rose is supposed to grow up to 8 feet high.  It loves the sun and is hardy to zone 5.  I do absolutely nothing to it all year long other than add some time release fertilizer at the beginning of the season.  Maybe if I fussed a bit more, I'd have more uniform growth but that's not the kind of gardener I am. 

When I ordered Graham Thomas, I was told I could train it as a climber.  I'm having some difficulty doing that since it has such an upright growth habit, but I'm not giving up yet.  Meanwhile, I'll just enjoy these little surprises when they happen.

Bookshelf:  Container Gardening Books