Newsletter - January 2009

Hi,

As I'm writing, the weather is the coldest of the season yet - 27 degrees this morning. There was a thin film of ice crystals lying along the edges of the Suisun Marina's turning basin when I walked this morning. Thank goodness the drop- lights are protecting the orchids and citrus, raising the temperatures just enough. As much as I want to prune the roses, it's going to have to wait until I can stand to be outside for a length of time. Perhaps a few more days, so while I wait let's discuss rose pruning.

Many of you probably have rose bushes that look okay considering the season with some of them still showing bloom. This may be a deterrent to pruning, but all of the books on the subject highly recommend a period of dormancy for the health of the plant. Plus, last year's leaves tend to harbor last year's fungus and insects. Then there's the fact that roses bloom on new rather than old wood, so the more new growth promoted by pruning, the better.

To begin, I tend to cut back the tallest canes to a point that's easier for me to manage. Then I remove all the canes growing toward the center of the plant. The end goal is a bush with between three to five canes arranged evenly spaced around the center crown of the plant. These canes should be about 24 inches high and completely bare of stems and leaves. The top cut should be above a node that points away from the center of the bush. (The node is a growth point. These are easy to see on a rose as the node lines encircle the stem. The bud direction is indicated by a bump on the node. This bump will be the first branch to appear in the spring.) The buds will branch about six weeks after the bush is pruned, and six weeks after that, the first flowers of the season will bloom. The shape of the bush will be a classic vase form.

You may find a few surprises when you prune the roses. Sometimes, you'll see a hole in the center of the stem. This means the bush has cane borers, an insect larva that burrows into and eats the cane. When this happens, cut off the cane until the hole disappears to ensure the insect is gone. You might also find that the rose has a different type of leaf and cane emerging from the bottom trunk below the graft. You may be tempted to leave the branch to see what this rose looks like (flat, red, single bloom and scentless), but you'll find its not worth the effort and will end up removing it eventually anyway. Not only will it sap nutrients, but may eventually take over your desired rose cultivar.

After the rose is pruned and the area is cleaned from debris, it's a perfect time to apply rose systemic insect control and fertilizer. Then you needn't worry about them until the red new growth appears. At this time, it's important to apply rose fungicide as the new foliage emerges to protect against black spot, rust and powdery mildew. These show up every spring especially if it's wet with cool evening and nice daytime temperatures. I know those of you who are into organic gardening are cringing at my advocating the use of chemicals, but if you want beautiful roses and are busy with work, they're your best option. Read the directions and be sensible. Protect yourself with proper clothing, don't inhale the products, and keep children and pets away from the areas until the products dry.

If you have climbing roses, remove all but a few of the old canes and only keep one or two of the new ones. The climbers will bloom more profusely if you train the stems horizontally rather than vertically. With rose trees (standards), prune the canopies the same way you would a bush, so that only three to five canes surround the central crown. These stems will be shorter though, between eight to twelve inches. Take care to protect the grafts on tree shapes keeping the trunks free of new growth to maintain their shape. Mini roses and landscaping roses really don't need formal pruning. I do however like to take some time to visit their overall shape and pinch prune to bring them back to a manageable size. They will still produce their wonderful blossoms more profusely on new wood. The exercise is worth it.

I hope you have a wonderful beginning to the New Year.