Joan Swenson: Roses respond to tough love, so get to pruning and lopping
| Wednesday, Dec 31 2008 07:08 PM
Last Updated Friday, Mar 27 2009 01:48 PM
It’s roses time — time to prune the roses you have in your yard and time to plant new bare root roses, too. Pruning will rejuvenate your roses and get them ready for peak spring bloom season, which is just around the corner in Bakersfield.
Roses need to be cleaned up and most need to be reduced in size so they’ll look their best when they begin their spring bloom cycle.
Hybrid teas, floribundas and grandiflora roses should be pruned to create a vase-like shape, opening up the center of the plant. This “vase-like shape” is a rough approximation of what your plants should look like, because not all roses will cooperate with this plan — I think of my Double Delight and laugh at the possibility of turning it into a vase. But do what you can, aiming for an open center with canes framing it.
Remove branches that cross over the open center and prune away weak or dead growth. If you have to remove canes, use a lopper or a saw to cut them out at the bud union of the plant. (The bud union is the spot where the bush desired rose variety is grafted onto the root stock.) If you find canes that grow from beneath the bud union, snap them off if you can (the toe of your shoe may help) or cut them if you can’t.
Reduce the size of the rose bush by about a third. To help create the “vase,” find leaf buds located on the outside of canes and make cuts just above these buds. Make your pruning cuts at 45-degree angles about a quarter of an inch above growth buds.
Tree roses are pruned the same way as hybrid tea, grandiflora and floribunda roses are, except that the plant is located on the tall root stock. Tree roses generally look less vase-shaped and are more rounded. Old-fashioned roses or climbing roses should be pruned after flowering in the spring because they bloom next year on the current year’s growth. Cut back miniature roses by about half. Make pruning cuts just about the lowest outside-facing growth bud to encourage good flowering growth in the spring.
There’s no need to spray for insects or diseases on roses, as they aren’t a problem in Bakersfield. Rake up fallen leaves; wait a few more weeks to fertilize.
Meanwhile, if you want hands-on instruction, learn from Kern County Rose Society members at the annual pruning of roses at the Stiern Memorial Rose Garden at Cal State Bakersfield, 9001 Stockdale Highway, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 10.
Rose Society members will help novices learn proper pruning techniques. Volunteers do the winter rose pruning on the approximately 75 rose bushes.
Participants should bring pruning shears and gardening gloves. Hot beverages will be provided. The garden is located on the north side of the Dore Theatre; take Stockdale Highway to Don Hart Drive West. For more information, call Denise Nielsen in the Alumni Affairs office at 654-3211.
