Rose Care 101 - February Pruning Guide

On President’s Weekend, or maybe earlier if all chance of frost is gone, I begin pruning my roses. 

First:  have all pruners and long handled pruners very sharp.  Have a container of Hydrogen Peroxide to dip pruners in after cutting any roses you know had fungal black spot.  I tend to dip mine & wipe them off after every two or three.  This prevents spreading any disease to further plants.

Second:  Big question is height to prune.  If you show roses and want fewer, but bigger roses, height should be 12 to 18 inches high.  For landscape color—more blossoms, but perhaps smaller, I go thigh high.  I cut off any branch that is smaller than my pointer finger.  Cut all crossing canes and cut out any dark or dead wood.  Cut a 45 degree angle above a bud.  See photo.

The cane on the right is the acceptable cut.  45 degrees with bottom of cut above the opposite base of the bud.   All other cuts will cause death of above cut cane.  The beauty of the rose is that it is very forgiving.  If you mess up on a cut, go lower to the next bud eye and cut again.  If any splitting occurs, also go lower and cut again.

                                         Click Here to Download a PDF Guide to Rose Pruning.

I have been told many times at rose seminars that you prune all roses the same.  I have found that not to be the case.  First of all, I leave all tea roses with fewer good strong canes (usually around eight).  Floribundas I leave more.  The David Austins and shrub roses can be thinned very little.  The exception to the tea roses is Peace, Dr. Brownell, and their descendents.  I cut them according to growth, and a little higher than the other tea roses.  I picked that tip up from a wonderful little old lady years ago, and they have been much happier and more productive since I figured this out.  On climbers leave several good strong canes—basically a tall version of tea roses.  Miniatures are a small version of the same.

With 126 to do, I will be very busy for the next couple weeks.  Happy pruning.  Though I know it is a lot of work, the only thing that hurts a rose is not pruning.  I think of it as molding a piece of art.

My last segment will be next time.  I will tell you exactly how I fertilize and fungicide and insecticide to have beautiful roses all summer long.

Rose Selection with Judy Brownell

 Now that bare-root roses are arriving and our new rose catalogs begin to arrive from various companies, I thought I might share my thoughts about rose selection.  Forty years ago, I picked a rose simply because I might like the color it showed in the picture.  No other flower can offer a gardener more variety;  has a wider range of color, size, or shape than the rose.  They are truly the versatile of all plants.

I helped a lady landscape her rose garden last year who wanted all whites and pinks.  I have done others who wanted all shades of red and nothing else.  Our neighbor has a line of roses that he can simply run over with his hedge trimmer like all his other shrubs.  Everyone has their own preferences, and the beauty of the rose is that there is a species out there that can accommodate everyone.

Though I have 126 different species of roses in this particular garden where I live now, this time at this house, I chose which ones to put in with more thought than in years past at different houses in different gardens.  Because I knew I wanted a wild array of color, I chose the placement of the color very strategically so that it somewhat flowed across the landscape.  After knowing what colors you want, the next thing to consider is size.  I chose Grandifloras for the back, hybrid teas mid way, and floribundas closer in.  I chose David Austins along an old split rail fence along the driveway, because of their “funky” growth habit and the aroma they greet our guests with.  Once you have a size layout, the next big priority and the MOST IMPORTANT one is the ranking of the rose with the American Rose Society.  Every rose is “ranked” after several years of trial for its disease resistance, bloomability, hardiness, and overall performance.  They are ranked on a 0-10 scale.  Their rankings are acquired from growers across the country as well as their own test gardens.  I choose no rose with a ranking below 7.0.  Have I ever???  Oh, yes—maybe I loved the color or the name and thought sure I could make it do better than others.  In three years it was pulled out and replaced with something else. 

There are also a lot of questions asked of me about what company to buy a rose from.  I tend to buy from the breeders who created the rose.  Remember that any company can “buy” a patent and call it their rose.  Look for the company who won the Rose of the Year award.  You’ll often be surprised.

I have often been asked by many guests to my garden, if you could only choose                ten roses what would you choose?  This past winter, I decided to attempt to put that list together.  It is as follows (iin no particular order):

Love & Peace, Tuscan Sun, Brigadoon, Touch of Class, Love, Starry Night, Artistry, Ronald Reagan, Olympiad, Ingrid Bergman, Crimson Bouquet, and Aperitift.

There may be a day when I can only have or care for ten.  BUT WAIT……a new catalog came last week with a new rose on the front called “Ketchup & Mustard”.  Only ten????

Next time I will offer specifics on pruning.  President’s Day is approaching.  I CAN’T WAIT!