Having had an unusual hot and dry summer, it wasn’t until September that we could work on the roses again. While our so called “Sidekick” field has been trimmed to base level this year just after the rose harvest and regrown quite healthy, the “Little ones” had a tough time without any water. Having feared this already in spring, we decided not to plant the new rose plants right away on the field but kept them in the garden nursery over the summer where they were taken great care of. They will be planted out on the field late fall this year. Amongst them are not only the pink Rosa damascena, but also the more rare white Rosa alba, which may also be distilled to rose oil. This species is known to be more resistant to diseases and generally more sturdy. However, on the downside is its lower oil content compared to Rosa damascena.
Meanwhile, our “Big ones” were reluctantly sharing their space with Black Locust, which has invaded parts of the field. Trying to manually pull out the new sprouts and roots was probably one of the most frustrating and at the same time satisfying moments on the fields. Unfortunately, to clear the entire field from it, we would have probably needed another week of hard work. So the battle continues…
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