Alaska Rose Society
|
Alaska Rose Society
|
Pruning Mature Rose BushesWhen to prune: A good time to prune roses is in the spring, after the leaf-buds begin to break, but before the canes have fully leafed out. By waiting until the buds begin to break, you can be fairly sure of avoiding late spring freezes. Pruning before the roses are fully leafed out means that you can still see the basic structure of the plant and have a better chance of being able to “get into” the bush as needed. Just what is it you are “getting into”? Be aware that all roses have thorns—even the “thornless” Blanda roses have a few thorns at the base of old canes—and thus have the ability to bite back. Most roses are very well armed and will usually win in hand-to-hand combat with the unwary gardener. A few roses, like ‘Lac la Nonne’ and Rosa eglanteria, can be downright vicious and vindictive. What to wear: Steel-plate armor probably would be best. Motorcycle leathers would be a good choice. At a minimum, long sleeves, boots, heavy pants, and leather gauntlets. A denim or canvas coat and similar pants are excellent. Avoid sweat pants, sweatshirts, sweaters, long/loose hair, sandals or loose/low shoes—loose thorns can get embedded in sweaters and sweatshirts and are virtually impossible to get out. Loose hair and a slight breeze could result in being held captive by your favorite rose until a passer-by releases you—often with a snip of the scissors and the loss of a lock. Gloves are a matter of choice, but keep in mind you want to protect your wrists and lower arms, as well as your fingers. Cotton work gloves offer no protection at all—some people use welder’s gauntlets, others use leather work gloves, while some use rubber gloves (just don’t squeeze when you grab a cane). Kid-skin gloves are excellent—the leather is thin and supple, but virtually impenetrable by rose thorns. A gauntlet cuff will keep your wrists covered when you stretch your arm into a bush. What to use: Your first weapon of choice should be a pair of sharp, clean by-pass pruners—avoid anvil pruners for pruning roses. By-pass pruners have two blades and cut like a pair of scissors. Anvil pruners have one blade that presses down onto a flat surface like a knife on a cutting board. A loppers may be needed for some canes on older bushes. For really heavy-duty pruning on older, large bushes, you may even need a small pruning saw. What to know: Know your rose. Know its growth habits–climber, pillar, mounding, vase-shaped with arching canes, or low and sprawling growth. Most importantly, know why you are pruning it—is it an old weakened bush in need of renewal, is it in need of TLC after a moose mistook it for a bed last winter, or is it a large, vigorous bush encroaching upon the front door? What to do: A good approach to spring pruning is to apply the 3-D (or DDD) rule—remove any Dead, Damaged, and Diseased wood. Make sure to cut below the dead or damaged portion, leaving only healthy wood. Wasn’t that easy? For a young, healthy rose, you have probably done all the pruning you need to do! How to do it: Identifying the dead rose canes, or portions of rose canes, can sometimes be a bit tricky. Waiting until the rose is beginning to leaf out can make this job easier—you know the cane is alive if it has green leaves appearing. However, in early spring, the absence of leaves doesn’t always mean the cane is dead. Older canes are usually slower to leaf out than the younger, more vigorous canes. Be sure to examine the full length of a cane—sometimes the older, bottom portion of a cane will appear dead, but closer inspection will reveal leaves and new growth forming at the top of the cane. Look twice before cutting. Often, you will find the tips of canes have suffered “winter-kill”—this happens to late-summer growth that freezes before it matures. Winter-kill also occurs on some roses when the exposed (above the snow cover) portion of canes dies from dehydration. Damaged canes are generally easier to spot. Look for canes that have been broken under the winter snow load and look for canes with bare spots where the wind has rubbed canes against each other and rubbed the bark off. Also, look for frayed ends where moose have nibbled (or chomped!) and examine the bush close to ground level looking for vole and rabbit damage—they will eat the bark around the base of a cane which often will kill the cane. Finding diseased wood is the hardest of the three—generally because we have very few rose-related diseases in Alaska. Look for black areas along an otherwise healthy looking cane—often the area will have split or peeling bark. Cut well below the diseased area—consider removing the entire cane if possible. Be safe by disinfecting your pruning shears with alcohol or a bleach solution after cutting each suspected diseased cane. When pruning shrub roses, especially if pruning a mature bush with many canes, consider removing the entire cane by cutting as close to the ground as possible. When cut from the center of the bush, this will help make room for new canes to grow without crowding and will help keep the bush vigorous and renewed when you remove older canes to make way for new, vigorous canes. By also removing entire canes from the outer edges of the bush, you work to keep it contained within the desired area. |
|
Send mail to webmaster@alaskarosesociety.org with
questions or comments about this web site.
|