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ROSE CARE FOR JANUARY
by Lenore Ruckman, Master Rosarian
by Lenore Ruckman, Master Rosarian
Here in Northern California we prune roses from late December until mid February putting our roses into dormancy to provide a good bloom cycle in the spring. Most of the varieties bloom on new growth.
Remember the following: dead, diseased, crossing and skimpy. Use these four words as a guide to remove canes for all hybrid teas, floribundas, grandifloras, shrubs, miniatures and repeat blooming old garden roses. The exception is once blooming old garden roses; prune these after the spring bloom.
Proper Equipment: Sturdy gloves, your favorite shears, long handled clippers, a small saw, warm clothes with a smooth surface (to avoid ripping on the thorns and prickles), a full rain suit, water proof shoes or boots, and a hat or cap.
Now go out to your garden and take a good look at the growth on the bushes and climbers. Look at the height and width of all the bushes. This will tell you how much to prune; moderate to low for a very prolific hybrid tea or grandiflora, or medium for a low growing shrub. Prune knee high for most hybrid teas or waist high for tall grandifloras or tall shrubs.
Before beginning, try to defoliate the bush and discard all the diseased leaves. Do not compost any diseased leaves. Push mulch aside from the center of the plant to check for any suckers coming from below the bud union and remove any suckers by cutting off as close to the root as possible. Begin pruning from the top and work down to the correct height for the bush with outward facing canes and leaving the center open. Make cuts with the cutting blade facing downward and at a 45 degree angle 1/4 to 1/3 inch above the outward facing growth eye or swollen line on the cane.
Hybrid Teas, Grandifloras, and Floribundas: Cut 1/3 to 1/2 of the height of the bush.
Miniatures: They are easy; cut back to 3 or 4 inches and clean out dead wood. Now is the time to re-plant if the mini has been in a pot for more than three years.
Old Garden Roses and Shrubs: They require less pruning than hybrid teas. Remove dead canes and prune to shape bushes. You may leave some inward facing canes for a full look on shrubs. Repeat blooming varieties prune similar to modern roses (bourbons, chinas, teas, hybrid perpetuals and noisettes). Shrubs cut back about 1/3rd of bush and shape.
Climbers: Remove dead and diseased canes. Remove suckers and remove oldest and weakest canes. Cut back on each shoot to two or more leaf buds along the lateral canes. Retain 4 or 5 of the most vigorous canes. Re-tie to the trellis or support, knotting the string around the support, then loosely around the cane.
Tree or Standard: A standard or tree rose has three parts: the under stock, the trunk, and the bud union at the top of the trunk. Prune on the top growth for good symmetry and reduce to 3 or 5 strong canes outward facing with an open bowl shape. Remember to support the trunk top and bottom to withstand any wind.
Tetanus: Keep current with a booster shot every 10 years minimum. Check with you doctor as some suggest every 5 years. Natural habit of the bacterium is responsible for the infection in the soil and the spores it produces are widely distributed elsewhere. When growing it produces a toxin 50 times as poisonous as cobra venom. A wound from a thorn prick can harbor enough bacterium to produce sufficient toxin to kill an unvaccinated human. So beware if you are active in the garden and protect yourself from this disease and keep your immunization current.
Finally when you have completed pruning you can now clean up the garden and dispose of all the clippings; do not compost as the diseases can over-winter and remain in the soil.
Now decide which roses you want to discard and replace with a newer variety or move to a better location in the garden. I try to make room for one or two of the new introductions every year.
Happy pruning for a new year of beautiful roses in your garden!
Source: The Consulting Rosarian Manual. Drawing from Ortho
A YEAR OF ROSE CARE:
January
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Last Modified: 2/3/10