"Aged turkey manure is pure gold for roses," says award-winning rosarian Rayford Reddell, and such is the man's easygoing authority that I would no sooner question the truth of this than I would the prediction that the Seattle Seahawks will once again be sweeping the cellar of the AFC West. Author of the bestselling book of the same name, Reddell and Garden Valley Ranch co-owner Bob Galyean take viewers on a relatively thornless tour of their nine-acre spread in Petaluma, CA, home to some 6,000 roses of striking beauty and bountiful variety. Close-up demonstrations guide budding rose cultivators through the subjects of planting, pruning, watering, feeding, spraying, and mulching (echoing another naturalist, the poet Walt Whitman, Reddell intones "I sing the praises of mulch.") When it comes to fertilizer, Reddell touches my own bargain-minded heart by counseling "my best advice is to buy what's on sale." Better than For the Love of Roses (reviewed in our November 1988 issue), and more comprehensive than Gardening From the Ground Up: Growing Roses (reviewed in our October 1989 issue), Growing Good Roses is beautifully filmed, assuredly written and presented, and filled with great tips. Growing Good Roses was recently awarded first place in the "Instructional" category at the Special Interest Video Association (SIVA) awards. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (R. Pitman)
Growing Good Roses
(1993) 56 min. $29.50. The Larkspur Company. PPR. Color cover. Vol. 9, Issue 1
Growing Good Roses
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