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ROSE CARE FOR JANUARY
by Nanette Londeree, Master Consulting Rosarian
by Nanette Londeree, Master Consulting Rosarian
Now that the holidays are behind us, it’s time to get out of doors and work off some of the goodies you may have indulged in over the last six weeks. This month can be the busiest of the year for the rosarian - time for pruning, planting new roses and transplanting existing ones, garden clean up and dormant spraying. It’s the best time of the year to prune modern roses (hybrid teas, floribundas, grandifloras, shrubs) and miniature roses; don=t prune old roses until after they bloom in the Spring. Try to have all the pruning done by mid-February while the weather is cool and the days are still short. When you prune roses for the first time, it may seem like a daunting task - just keep in mind that roses are very forgiving! If you want to learn some great tips about pruning, plan to attend one of the Marin Rose Society pruning demonstrations at Sloat Garden Centers or at the ‘Celebration of the Rose’on January 26 at the Marin Art & Garden Center.
It’s a great time to buy roses – they’re available in bareroot at nurseries and garden centers this month. You can get big healthy plants for less than you would pay in the spring, and have a much larger selection than any other time of the year. One note of caution - look closely at what you buy and where you buy it. Many discount “big box” stores, drug stores and home improvement centers sell roses at bargain basement prices. The roses may be grade 12 or 2 (grade 1 is the best), coated with wax and held in cold storage for up to a year. Before you buy, make sure you have at least three healthy green canes with no brown/black areas, and that the plants/roots are moist. For packaged plants, the heavier the plant, the more moisture in the roots.
When you finish pruning, clean up all cuttings and other garden litter and dispose of them. Don’t add them to your compost pile as they may be laden with spores of disease causing fungi and the eggs of destructive pests.
Once clean up is done, it’s time to dormant spray. Use a horticultural oil such as Volck (the lower purity oil at this time of year is okay for the plants) mixed with a copper solution (a “Bordeaux” mixture) or lime-sulfur. The oil smothers insect larvae, while the copper or lime-sulfur act as fungicides that can reduce rust, blackspot and powdery mildew in your garden. These solutions can also be used around the garden on other plants susceptible to fungal diseases (lilacs, phlox, peach and apricot trees, etc). Plan to spray twice at 7 - 14 day intervals and when using any chemical, be sure to follow the manufacturer’s directions.
A YEAR OF ROSE CARE:
January
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Last Modified: 1/15/08