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Fitzhardinge (1881-1956), Mrs. H.C.
Discussion id : 88-093
most recent 20 JUN 16 SHOW ALL
 
Initial post 27 SEP 15 by Eric Timewell
All four of the surviving Fitzhardinge roses are on sale in pots at Kurinda Roses, 404 Warragul—Lardner Road, Warragul VIC 3820, 03 5623 6827. It's possible this is the first time four of her roses have been sold together in 60 years. 'Prudence' and 'Lady Edgeworth David' have been authenticated as far as possible by John Nieuwesteeg. 'Warrawee' and 'Lubra', supplied by Golden Vale, have been in the Morwell Rose Garden collection since 1959.
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Reply #1 of 31 posted 27 SEP 15 by Give me caffeine
Nice work. It'll be interesting to see how many people can get 'Lubra' growing well and, if so, under which conditions. I may be daft enough to try it sometime.
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Reply #2 of 31 posted 27 SEP 15 by Eric Timewell
Remember what that woman said on the NSW central coast in the Fifties. Lubra is a lovely rose if you pick it in the bud to open indoors. That's a bit desperate; if the weather is dry enough and it isn't going to ball, leave it be.
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Reply #3 of 31 posted 28 SEP 15 by Give me caffeine
Yep, got that. I'll just put a beach umbrella over it when it rains. ;)
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Reply #4 of 31 posted 28 SEP 15 by Eric Timewell
Obviously you are a liberal thinker. I have a Lady Edgeworth David about to bloom entirely in the shade; tells us something.
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Reply #5 of 31 posted 28 SEP 15 by Give me caffeine
Interesting. I'll bet that wasn't in the manual.

I was just looking at the references for 'Warrawee' too. They seem to contradict one another to some extent (common problem) but they indicate that 'Warrawee' gets similarly disgruntled when rained on. Do all the Fitzhardinge roses have a tendency to ball?
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Reply #6 of 31 posted 28 SEP 15 by Eric Timewell
I haven't yet had any personal experience with growing Warrawee. But it's unusual among her roses in having fewer petals (30ish). As far as I can tell, the others had as many petals as possible, which of course is why they ball.
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Reply #7 of 31 posted 10 OCT 15 by Kebun
A specimen each of Lubra and Warrawee, purchased late last month from Kurinda. After adding some composted sheep manure to the soil mix, both appear to be doing quite well with nice healthy growth with Warrawee presenting as the stronger grower. I will probably plant them out next year after the summer heatwave is over
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Reply #8 of 31 posted 10 OCT 15 by Eric Timewell
Sophisticated choices, Kebun. They look very healthy. I see why you are going to leave them in pots for a year, since they are only one-year plants. But surely you can expect some flowers in autumn 2016.
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Reply #9 of 31 posted 11 OCT 15 by Kebun
According to Stan Nieuwesteeg, they will be flowering by summertime. If that is the case, I will be very pleased. As it is my intention to plant both roses by the low brick wall in the photo (which radiates truly brutal summer heat), it is definitely prudent to wait till the summer heatwave has finished before planting out these young 'uns
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Reply #10 of 31 posted 18 JUN 16 by Give me caffeine
Eric, any updates on how your Fitzhardinge's are going? Have you had any problems with any of them?
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Reply #11 of 31 posted 18 JUN 16 by Eric Timewell
Dear GMC, all my roses grow in pots on a small suburban deck in inner Melbourne. The deck itself is being starved of sunlight by the growth of nearby trees. In the end I may not be able to grow roses at all. Climate change also makes various differences: white fly have been a plague all summer and mildew is worse than it used to be; but really cold winters have returned to induce genuine dormancy in the bushes.
In the last two seasons I've owned eight plants of 'Lubra'. Two have up and died without warning while others flourished. So perhaps those gardeners who found it "a poor grower" were right. In any case, I think 'Lubra' is still well worth the trouble. But I've given all my remaining plants to the Victoria State Rose Garden to make sure it doesn't die out.
'Prudence' has been a rampant grower, I now think to 20 feet in all directions. So far it has been once flowering only. If that remains true then we must doubt John Nieuwesteeg's identification of it as the Fitzhardinge original. But it's much more likely that mine has simply lacked sun. Now I have two huge plants forming a high arch up into the sunlight, waiting to see how they perform this spring.
'Warrawee' here grows like any other HT, always well scented and well formed. Here and at the State Rose Garden it does not ball.
'Lady Edgeworth David' has been for me the pick of the bunch. It flowers consistently for nine months. For anyone who is fascinated that anything can be so pale and yet so definitely pink, it is an endless pleasure. For once the poor conditions on my deck are a help: it never balls, never burns, never gets the wind-blasted look I have seen on bushes grown in empty open spaces. 'Souvenir de la Malmaison' has even better scent but ill-formed flowers in spring. Parkes' 'Sharon Louise' has the same subtle colour on a much bigger bush, but it's flowers are simple-minded floribundas, not so quietly elegant.
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Reply #12 of 31 posted 19 JUN 16 by Give me caffeine
Thanks for the update. So it looks like three of them could be grown by anyone anywhere, given a bit of common sense and basic knowledge. Lubra may be more fussy about conditions, but should still do well if it's happy. It'll be interesting to see how it goes at Werribee.
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Reply #13 of 31 posted 19 JUN 16 by Give me caffeine
Come to think of it, if Lady Edgeworth David will flower consistently for nine months, and you have been getting cold winters lately, that implies it may well flower year round in a warm climate. If it did do that it would be highly unusual for a hybrid Tea, although some of Clark's roses which are nominally in that category will also flower through winter (Sunlit springs to mind)..
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Reply #14 of 31 posted 19 JUN 16 by Eric Timewell
GMC, you may well be right. If Fitzhardinge's roses were bred in monsoonal Sydney, they should, adjusting for climate change, do best on the NSW coast.
As for Alister Clarks, 'Lorraine Lee' will survive the nuclear holocaust along with the ants. But then it isn't a Hybrid Tea.
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Reply #15 of 31 posted 19 JUN 16 by Give me caffeine
I'll have to try Lubra sometime, just to see what happens. The climate up here is pretty much monsoonal, although more like the Indian version. The whole Tweed Valley caldera is a bit of a rain trap, and we get around 60% more than Brisbane. Mainly in very big buckets, with substantial dry gaps between.
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Reply #16 of 31 posted 19 JUN 16 by Eric Timewell
Heroic country up there. I hope gardening doesn't need too much heroism to cope with it. I'd love to know how 'Lubra' fares.
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Reply #17 of 31 posted 19 JUN 16 by Give me caffeine
Not too much heroism required once you know what to expect. It's rather good in many ways. It's a climate where you can grow a huge variety of things if you give them the right spot, although the lack of winter chill does rule out some plants (peonies, for example). The main problem is keeping grass and weeds under control once the summer rains hit. Both tend to behave like rampaging triffids at that time of year.

Good bed preparation and mulch deals with most of the weeds. Nothing except napalm will deal with the grass.
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Reply #18 of 31 posted 19 JUN 16 by Eric Timewell
So your climate would be ideal for Multiflora crosses like Lambert's 'Gartendirektor Otto Linne' or any of the Reithmullers. Down here they are meagre two-foot things but on the Darling Downs they are normally two metres high and wide. You'd have to like mass effects though, something Fitzhardinge obviously did not care for.
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Reply #19 of 31 posted 19 JUN 16 by Give me caffeine
I'd already thought about some of the Riethmuller roses. They seem like good all rounders for the garden. Apparently not too spiky, mostly well scented, and not prone to disease.

I hadn't spotted 'Lady Woodward' before though. That one is quite something.
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Reply #20 of 31 posted 19 JUN 16 by Eric Timewell
Lady Woodward is Riethmuller's only surviving HT. I know of one plant in the entire universe. Perhaps John Nieuwesteeg has one and might give budwood to his brother Stan at Kurinda.
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Reply #21 of 31 posted 19 JUN 16 by Give me caffeine
Well the HMF nursery listing says Kurinda already has it, so maybe he already did. Given how nice it looks, one plant for the entire universe seems a bit stingy.
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Reply #22 of 31 posted 19 JUN 16 by Eric Timewell
Well, er, I hope it isn't a clerical error by the person who composed the list.
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Reply #23 of 31 posted 19 JUN 16 by Give me caffeine
Dunno. But presumably you're referring to the plant at Maddingley Park. Margaret uploaded a photo of a plant at Ruston's in 2012 (photo id: http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=21.192554) so if that plant is still alive that would make at least two. Did the Ruston's one snuff it?
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Reply #24 of 31 posted 19 JUN 16 by Give me caffeine
It's still on the HMF listing for Ruston's. Also, Kebun's garden listing says he has one (which presumably came from Kurinda).
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Reply #25 of 31 posted 19 JUN 16 by Eric Timewell
You probably know, most of the Ruston's collection is in danger and many have gone. Many others have been transferred to interstate gardens for safety. But if Kebun got one from Kurinda then indeed they exist in plural, a very fine thing. I must order one myself for the new season.
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Reply #26 of 31 posted 19 JUN 16 by Give me caffeine
No I didn't know that about Ruston's. Pity.

Anyway, you and Kebun can be the guinea pigs for Lady Woodward. I have enough to worry about at the moment. I'll look at the rare stuff when things settle down and I need more worries.
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Reply #27 of 31 posted 19 JUN 16 by Margaret Furness
No, no transfers out of Ruston's - we wouldn't risk transferring the caltrop weed seed. Everything HRIAI planted at Renmark in the last 8 years is still there, barring a few duplicates removed, and a few losses. Losses have been disproportionate in the Aus bed, which may have rose-unfriendly soil; so several Riethmullers and Midnight Sun have died. As far as I know Lady Woodward is still there. I try to keep the Renmark listing up to date as far as the HRIAI plantings are concerned. What the current owners have removed from their area is outside HRIAI's scope.
Many of the HRIAI roses have been propagated either by cuttings or by John N taking budwood last summer, in addition to those sent around the country in previous years, in the hope of establishing backup gardens in various places. Negotiations for some of those gardens are continuing.
Negotiations are on-going regarding the sale of the property; I don't know where they're up to.
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Reply #28 of 31 posted 19 JUN 16 by Eric Timewell
Thank you, Margaret. We are all in your debt. Just think what you will be able to do when you can drive a car.
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Reply #29 of 31 posted 19 JUN 16 by Give me caffeine
Thanks for the information, Margaret.
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Reply #30 of 31 posted 19 JUN 16 by Margaret Furness
It's a team effort by HRIAI. The fairly recent Renmark members have been a wonderful asset.
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Reply #31 of 31 posted 20 JUN 16 by Ozoldroser
Hear, hear to what Margaret has written.
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Discussion id : 83-577
most recent 8 MAR 15 HIDE POSTS
 
Initial post 8 MAR 15 by Eric Timewell
The following has just appeared on Trove: BEAUTIFUL GARDENS. (1938, March 25). Daily Mercury (Mackay, Qld. : 1906 - 1954), p. 9. Retrieved March 8, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article170468002

BEAUTIFUL GARDENS.
SYDNEY LADY GOES ON WORLD TOUR.
"I do wish every woman with a garden would cultivate hybridisation and add new varieties to the plant world," says Mrs. Harding C. Fitzhardinge, of Sydney, who, after 15 years of rose cultivation, has set off on a world tour of beautiful gardens with her husband, Dr. Fitzhardinge, by the Aorangi [sailing to Vancouver via New Zealand and Honolulu]. Through patient experimentation (states 'S.M. Herald'), Mrs. Fitzhardinge has evolved the only Australian plant ever patented in the U.S.A. "One good rose in 8000," is the accepted ratio of results; but not until 10,000 had been tested did the famous "Warrawee" rose appear. Lovely to look at, its chief characteristics are strength and "often flowering" habit. After travelling across Canada by car, Dr. and Mrs. Fitzhardinge will visit Harrisburg (U.S.A.), where Dr. Horace M'Farland, the eminent horticulturist, conducts his experiments. About 12 years ago he selected the "Warrawee" as the most outstanding rose of a group sent over by the N.S. Wales Government. It grew well and distributed widely, soon became a great favorite, and was patented. The American Rose Society has arranged an itinerary and has invited Mrs. Fitzhardinge to view many famous gardens, and see her rose growing in another land. Various universities are on the plan, and at Pennsylvania Dr. Fitzhardinge will renew old friendships, as he once lived there for several years. At the German Horticultural Conference, to be held In Berlin next August, Mrs. Fitzhardinge will be present as an Australian representative. For many years she has acted as judge at the N.S. Wales Horticultural Society's exhibitions. "In Chicago people who have never picked a flower in their lives all support their local horticultural society," said Mrs. Fitzhardinge. "But here in Australia, where a home without a garden is an unthinkable thing, the apathy of people towards our horticultural societies is unbelievable. If only women knew what a thrilling thing it is to evolve something different. The scope of hybridisation in wild-flowers alone is tremendous." Dr. and Mrs. Fitzhardinge's son, Mr. Colin Fitzhardinge, is on the land at Wongalong, near Mandurama, growing wool and fat lambs. At present grasshoppers and drought are interfering with an experimental plot on his property, where Mrs. Fitzhardinge has been experimenting with geraniums so as to develop strength, increased color, and charm, and, if possible, make them disease-proof.
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Discussion id : 63-757
most recent 21 APR 12 HIDE POSTS
 
Initial post 21 APR 12 by Eric Timewell
Olive Fitzhardinge's second son, Brian, died at 14 in 1932. He had been a pupil at Knox Grammar three minutes across the footbridge from home. The Sydney Morning Herald of 14 June 1933 (p.16) has a touching photo of his mother unveiling Memorial Gates where her son would have entered the grounds each schoolday. It is the only known photo of Mrs Fitzhardinge appearing in public.
Photo attached below.
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Discussion id : 63-752
most recent 21 APR 12 HIDE POSTS
 
Initial post 21 APR 12 by Eric Timewell
The article on page 144 of the Australian Rose Annual for 1934, "Warrawee—a new Australian rose of merit" is not by Mrs Fitzhardinge; probably by the editor.
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Reply #1 of 2 posted 21 APR 12 by Patricia Routley
Thank you. Fixed.
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Reply #2 of 2 posted 21 APR 12 by Eric Timewell
Thank you. You are very quick off the mark.
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