First bud starts to open at last!

As a total novice gardener, I have been a bit worried about my first ever rose bush. I did not have any border or garden space to plant it, so I ended up buying a 2ft high plant and potted it in a half-whiskey barrel (advice from this forum). I made a couple of extra drain holes in the bottom of the pot, 6 in total and filled near to the top with John Innes no 3. I topped this with some well rotted manure. It has also been well watered at container level.

I was a little bit worried about black spot and mildew, especially with the recent wet weather in Cornwall, so I have treated the leaves a couple of times in the last 6 weeks or so with a spray that is supposed to help.

I noticed some black residue on the leaves, but this seems to have cleared. The buds did seem to look a little bit dark and wilted and nothing happened until yesterday. All of a sudden, after 2 days, the first bud is opening! Wow!

Any tips on keeping my first rose bush happy will be much appreciated. The variety I have is David Austin 'Tess Of The d'Urbervilles'



And the next day, fully open. Never noticed until recently how really beautiful roses really are.

 

Worth waiting for Julie.. Very nice.