March is an excellent time, weather permitting, to clean rose
beds of leaves and debris from the previous winter. Spores of the three most
common molds that prey on the rose in Colorado, powdery mildew, black spot and
rust, overwinter on dead leaves.
Middle to late April, after the last frost, is considered
the best time to prune and first feed roses.
There are people who do prune in autumn. Roses that bloom once a season
are pruned after they have bloomed – some as late as the end of June. Tall
roses threatened by wind and snowfall would benefit from pruning anytime to
protect them from exposure. With our
unseasonably warm weather, many of us are seeing a great deal of new foliage
emerging on canes suggesting that early pruning might be in order. Common sense is the rose gardener’s best
guide.
The process of pruning is very straightforward. All dead and diseased canes should be removed
initially. Where disease is prevalent and
before moving to a healthy rose or other plant in the garden, clippers and
hands should be washed with hot water and soap, and then rinsed with rubbing alcohol. Gloves should be changed.
Roses like air and light.
The gardener is wise to leave plenty of space between the rose and
surrounding plants when pruning. Opening
up the center of the rose also allows for good air flow and light.
The preferred shape of the rose, its size and the number of
roses or other plants in any given garden all will determine how much pruning a
rose will need from season to season. A
rule of thumb is that no more than a third of a healthy cane should be pruned
away in most cases. A diagonal cut is
made just above an outfacing eye bud (about a ¼ inch) located below an emergence
of healthy new growth. A drop of water
soluble Elmer’s Glue applied to the freshly cut cane will protect it from
carpenter bees and other boring insects.
When the rose has died back to the ground the cane should be cut back to
the available new growth accordingly.
There is no mystery to growing lovely roses. They require pruning once a season; feeding
every 4-6 weeks before August 15th; deadheading as needed to keep
blooming; and proper watering. Depending
upon soil structure and weather, an inch per week during growing season is
standard. As with any other shrub or plant, check soil moisture before
watering. Roses don’t like wet feet.
The roses featured here are, in order of appearance: Just Joey, hybrid tea; Scentimental,
floribunda; Vavoom, floribunda; the Crimson Fairy Rose, ground cover; Neptune,
hybrid tea; Remember Me, hybrid tea.
