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ROSE CARE FOR FEBRUARY
by Barbara Picarelli, Master Rosarian
by Barbara Picarelli, Master Rosarian
We've probably been pruned out, but just a bit more about it for this month's issue since we can still prune roses into February. With this warm weather we'll just about finish before we have all our roses leafed out.
First off I get my pruning shears out of their hiding place and sharpen them. My husband is good at many things, but leaving tools outside is not part of his better virtues, thus I hide my best pruning tools. Once done, I then start at the top of my hill to prune and clean out the beds. The reason I start at the top is I've learned the hard way that anything that falls downhill in an already clean bed has to be redone. I DO prune to an outside bud at a 45 degree angle, clearing out the inside of the plant and remove all dead, diseased, and crossing canes to make a nice vase shape. I tend to prune a little high, leaving my bushes at about 18 inches, since I am not an exhibitor and like lots of roses, as opposed to the really big blossoms for an exhibitor’s table. But I also know that I can still take the canes down more later if I want to, before they leaf out too much. I also take care not to leave too many stem on stem canes, as leaving too many of last year's side growth diminishes the size of new canes.
On miniatures, I grab the top of the plant and shear it across, either above or below my hand depending on the height of the bush. Then clean out all dead, diseased, and crossing canes, clean up the debris and I am done! (I took two minis to North Bay for my pruning talk and used this technique and almost had a few in the audience come unglued!) Then I clean up all the debris underneath. Now I know the recent info says that it is not necessary, but unfortunately no one has told the raccoons in my neighborhood and they like to look under any sort of "stuff" left on the ground, be it bark or leaves. They tear up everything in their wake.
This is also the time to do some dormant spraying and we're lucky to have some lovely warm days so no rain to wash it all off. Use whatever material you want but a good dormant oil will help smother some of the scale or small larvae that may just be coming out. Remember to read the labels and use the correct amount. More is not better.
This month was a gigantic pruning marathon by a dedicated crew of volunteers to earn money for our rose society, so I took some photos which I'd like to share with you. We used the very same techniques in our host gardens as we do in the MAGC garden and in our own gardens at home. Part of the month was pretty cold and damp, but it did not affect the enthusiasm and labor of these volunteers. BRAVO!!!
Pruning photos by Barbara Picarelli
A YEAR OF ROSE CARE:
January
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