BonnieandClyde

If you want roses for a fence then go for the climbing rose variety....yes there is such a thing. And here's a strange but true fact about Bougainvillea, if you dont prune a native plant it wont produce thorns. Once it has been pruned it triggers a reaction within the plant and thorns grow. Saw a program years ago hosted by the botanist David Bellamy. He ran through a big native unpruned bush and not even a scratch. But he said it would unwise to do the same with a bush that had been pruned...and yes the thorns are quite a decent size.

Good luck with whichever path you decide to take.

Very interesting bit of information about unpruned Bougainvillea having no thorns... never heard that before.

Given what you are trying to achieve (a wall of flowers to cover the barbwire fence) you might consider bougainvillea... Many place sell them at Kamtiem for 80 baht... They grow fast like a weed with little or no care and are not so susceptible to bugs and fungus...

Beautiful!

You've given us a good idea for the fence in the rear of the house.

#1 Choose healthy plants at the garden center - thick stems, well shaped form, no obvious disease or insects, good dark green color leaves.

#2 Plant a bit higher than level ground and make sure that you prepare the hole; if it is clay or fill, replace with the bagged type soil. Make sure you have some sand mixed in...around 10% is good. Roses don't like standing water and overwatering.

#3 When you plant, remove the rice husks in the plastic bags by knocking off and just plant a bare root rose into your prepared hole.

#4 Next time you have fresh shrimp shells - dig them into the soil around the rose. Initial planting - use a mild analysis fertilizer mixed into your soil mix.

#5 Check that the soil doesn't get to compacted around the base of the rose and keep the weeds away

As others have noted, water in the mornings and remove old flowers. Roses also benefit from cutting back, after the plant is well-established. Like a grape vine, you can cut back more than you think. Any time you see yellowed leaves, dead branches, insect damage - cut it back. Watch for white mealy bugs, snails and aphids.

I would agree if what you have said but could i add that it is also good to look at what roses are looking good in the neighbourhood and see if you can find the variety. I always preferred the old favourites like time tested Peace , Queen Elizabeth and Mr Lincoln but i doubt these would be true to form even if they were found them in Thailand.

A lot of roses do not have scent as they are breed for size or colour of bloom. It seems like a lot of things in life is you can't have it all.

As for watering i always make sure i water the soil and try to keep the water off the plant itself unless i am squirting of aphids of the stems. Usually i never use a nozzle on a hose . Evenings or morning is the best time to irrigate. I have found a long deep water for roses every second or third day is better than a light water everyday. You can always mulch around the base but not up to the stem if it is drying out too much and to protect the soil against heavy tropical rain.

Do not be scared to prune your roses hard , especially every few years . a hard prune every few years is often called a renovation prune in that you can take it back to the minimum and re-shape the rose into a "V " shape to aid air circulation around the plant. This helps both in combating fungal and black spot disease. Also the flowering will improve.Get rid of the old canes and dead wood and let new stems grow. Lime sulphur sprayed onto the old wood will help with scale but be careful as it will burn foliage and it smells like rotten egg gas. Not too sure where you will find it to buy.

Deadheading is the practise of cutting off the spent blooms. This promotes further flowering as the plant is not supporting a non-productive /dead flower. The idea is to cut the rose as you would cut a long stem rose for the house with a stem at least 100 mm long. Prune back to an outward growing bud.

Much helpful advice here, thank you.

As mentioned before, we want the plants to climb and spread out on a fence. It is about 2 metres high; concrete posts strung with barbed wire and faced with split bamboo pickets.

The posts and barbed wire are an eyesore, so one of the reasons for planting roses is to cover them, also as something of a deterrent to kamoys. Although we've never had a problem in the eight years we've lived in our Nong Hoi neighbourhood.

Can anyone explain why the roses that the old ladies sell on the street don't smell? Is this because of the type of hybrid theey are growing or is it just inadequate fertilizers? I have asked this of many people but nobody could tell me for sure.

The rose bushes on sale at Kamthieng have fragrant flowers mostly, but some are not.

It would be interesting to know why that is.

#1 Choose healthy plants at the garden center - thick stems, well shaped form, no obvious disease or insects, good dark green color leaves.

#2 Plant a bit higher than level ground and make sure that you prepare the hole; if it is clay or fill, replace with the bagged type soil. Make sure you have some sand mixed in...around 10% is good. Roses don't like standing water and overwatering.

#3 When you plant, remove the rice husks in the plastic bags by knocking off and just plant a bare root rose into your prepared hole.

#4 Next time you have fresh shrimp shells - dig them into the soil around the rose. Initial planting - use a mild analysis fertilizer mixed into your soil mix.

#5 Check that the soil doesn't get to compacted around the base of the rose and keep the weeds away

As others have noted, water in the mornings and remove old flowers. Roses also benefit from cutting back, after the plant is well-established. Like a grape vine, you can cut back more than you think. Any time you see yellowed leaves, dead branches, insect damage - cut it back. Watch for white mealy bugs, snails and aphids.

That sounds like a pretty good summary of how to successfully grow roses, and it is much appreciated.

The TVCM Forum and its informed members can be quite helpful.

We buy them at the BIG nursery/market behind Tesco & at the local markets and Saturday market....get the dirt at local nursery/vendors in Hang Dong and they grow beautifully....like weeds....

Agreed.

Kamthieng is great, and as you say, BIG.

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Can't give you any real technical info but we buy rose plants and just stick em' in the ground and they grow beautifully. Of course we water 2x day as well as keep in a sunny place and keep clear of grass etc. and do fertilize with cow manure occassionaly if we have some around. It's the same as we do with our veg. Things grow here wonderfully so might want to try the Thai way (when in Rome and all that), just do it and see what happens. It works for falangs too

To see many, many roses of all kinds go to Bhu Ping Palace. Pay the fee, wear long pants and enjoy the blooms.

Yeah, full sun. Not too much fert, no watering at night. Water at daybreak to keep leaves dry and minimize any fungal leaf diseases.

Thanks to you both for the helpful replies.

The pamphlet, Flower Gardening in Chiang Mai, by R.W.Wood, has been recommended and we will try to get it.

We're new at this, and looking for information, advice, and tips - especially about soil and fertilizer.

The rose bushes will be planted so as to climb the fence on either side of our front gate on a cul-de-sac soi.

Any help would be appreciated.

Pet tags in Thai would be better for us because there are only a few farangs in our Nong Hoi neighbourhood.

Could anyone tell where in Chiang Mai they are available?

Even if, as mentioned, they only last 6 months or so. we would rather have them in Thai.

Thanks for any information.

I don't think you'll find decent darts or a board in any of the sports shops or the place opposite Yupparaj school. The best bet would be, as Tywais said, contacting someone from the local darts league if it still exists. I used to play in the local league and remember having a game at Tuskers one night, having not played for a year or two. Having been a decent player I couldn't believe how bad I was!

In those days the boards were being brought in from the UK and the guy selling darts and flights was bringing them from Malaysia, I think. Try googling 'darts Thailand' maybe you can order from a darts league in Bangkok or Pattaya.

I googled for you! http://www.dartsthailand.com/bar_index.php

Try Half Moon Bar Moon Muang, soi 2

Thanks to you and Tywais. The darts league sounds like fun - if not as players then as spectators.

What you're saying essentially is that quality darts and dartboards aren't available in Chiang Mai. No surprise really, although we will keep trying a little longer.

Much obliged for the replies.

If you want a rustic letterbox try Ban Yuwa [near San Pa Tong]. This village produces much of what is sold at Ban Tawai.

We got a beauty made of old teak for 250 baht. Amazing Thailand... really!

Sports department at Robinson , Sportworld at kadsankeaw

Good luck

Thanks for the reply.

We'll check out both places.

Are good quality darts and dartboards available in Chiang Mai?

Not necessarily the super expensive top-of-the-line kind, but better than kids stuff.

We've been using a fairly good board, bought locally, and have three quality darts that we brought with us when we arrived a few years ago.

We would like to buy a matched set of six darts and perhaps upgrade to a better board.

Any suggestions on where to get them would be appreciated.

Mitsubishi Uni Pin fine line.

At about 30 baht, not the cheapest but an excellent pen.

Woman across the street from Nakornping Condo does good work and turn around in 3 days.

Might be useful to some people if you say exactly where Nakornping Condo is.

Isn't it the hi-rise on Charoen Rat just north of the Riverside?

Are you saying it is or asking?

I'm sure augustwest will enlighten people.

Asking.

Woman across the street from Nakornping Condo does good work and turn around in 3 days.

Might be useful to some people if you say exactly where Nakornping Condo is.

Isn't it the hi-rise on Charoen Rat just north of the Riverside?

The ones at Talat Warorot are very utilitarian with not a hint of ability to do anything imaginative/custom. We had a few things done by them and were very disappointed every time. They made awful cushion covers and messed up our kid's school uniforms. We would not go back. We found an excellent lady who does custom and high-end work about 50 meters from Dukes Mae Ping River on the same side but she is so good that she is swamped and her turn around is more than 40 days now - if she will even take the work. We have found another lady who is great and does custom work in Sansai, but we're trying to find out what's going on with her as she has been closed for about 2-3 weeks now. Neighbors say shes around just not working at the moment. If I get more info I'll update.

Much obliged for the input.

The problem seems to be that the older women who retire due to poor eyesight or whatever, are not being replaced by younger people as in the past.

Most of the work we want done is rather basic, so we'll give the markets a try before looking for someone with more skill.

Agreed... the old aren't being replaced by the young to the same extent as before.

Years ago there was a seamstress in almost every soi in the Wat Muang Guy/Sanam Golf area where we live. Now very few. The young girls have more career options nowadays.

Working in a bank or office brings with it the chance to join the "leun-mai" Thais with their smart clothes and new cars.

There are still many good seamstresses in Chiang Mai, but they are harder to find. A friend of my wife's mother used to do my sewing, but she had to stop because of her age and bad eyesight. Her three daughters are all CMU grads and on their own. A typical case.

Choke dee... hope you find someone.

That seems like a pretty good summing-up, and it probably applies to other skilled occupations as well.

Thanks for the reply.

The ones at Talat Warorot are very utilitarian with not a hint of ability to do anything imaginative/custom. We had a few things done by them and were very disappointed every time. They made awful cushion covers and messed up our kid's school uniforms. We would not go back. We found an excellent lady who does custom and high-end work about 50 meters from Dukes Mae Ping River on the same side but she is so good that she is swamped and her turn around is more than 40 days now - if she will even take the work. We have found another lady who is great and does custom work in Sansai, but we're trying to find out what's going on with her as she has been closed for about 2-3 weeks now. Neighbors say shes around just not working at the moment. If I get more info I'll update.

Much obliged for the input.

The problem seems to be that the older women who retire due to poor eyesight or whatever, are not being replaced by younger people as in the past.

Most of the work we want done is rather basic, so we'll give the markets a try before looking for someone with more skill.

before you go all the way to Warorot Market, walk through the Nong Hoi Market and check out the seamstresses there.

Warorot is no problem, but Talad Nong Hoi would be closer.

Thanks for the suggestion.

As a general rule, Thai people don't open gifts in front of the giver. They say a polite thanks and let it go.

There are solid cultural reasons for this. Getting a gift creates an obligation and making it an important gift by showing delight makes the obligation stronger.

You will know your gift was appreciated if they begin to do more little things for you. Invitations to dinner etc. Finding things that you would enjoy. Etc

Insightful post.

That has been our experience exactly.

It is rude to show too much enjoyment of a gift. It is like saying the gift is more important and better than the person.

"...rude to show too much enjoyment of a gift."

That's a big part of it... for sure.

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I went with my g/f to have the zipper on her handbag fixed and the lady who fixed it was very proficient. She and another seamstress were tucked away in a far corner of Warorot Market and they were both very adept and skilled at their sewing stations.

Yep upstairs (Level 2?) inside the big Warorot building you will find a whole bunch of seamstresses, sitting down at their machines, day after day. Good prices and good work.

Thanks to both of you for that information. We'll go tomorrow.

"local" where?

We live in Nong Hoi, but we get around.

Anywhere in or near the city would be OK.

What we meant by "local" was not so much about being nearby, as it was about not being up-market or posh.