Preparing for rose battle

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 11, Issue 498, 10 August 1993, Page 6

Preparing for rose battle

The last few frosts have finally put paid to the late blooms on the roses. Leaves have begun to fall and the plants have decided that winter is really here. If you have not yet pruned your roses it would be as well not to leave it any later or the plants will not have a chance to put on sufficient growth to give a blooming in November or ' December. I quite agree that when faced with a mass of twiggy branches, this task can seem a bit daunting and I for one usually come out of it with a few battle scars. The first requirement is a stout pair of gloves and a pair of sharp secateurs. Blunt

tools will only serve to crush and tear the stems leaving the plant wide open to disease spores. Begin by examining the bushes you have to prune and the reasons for pruning. The first job is to rid the plant of all damaged, weak and unhealthy growth. Secondly prune the bush to a good shape so that as the new growth emerges, it will not only have a tidy and pleasing appearance but the new branches supporting the blooms will have room to grow without being hampered by other branches crossing them and will show the blooms to the best advantage. Thirdly open up the centre of the bush to take

advantage of the air and sunlight. Begin by cutting away all weak and sickly looking growth and if any branch shows sign of dieback (the dark brown or black dead-wood at the end of the branches) cut the branch back to healthy wood. A cleancut should show a healthy green stem and a firm white pith in the centre. Cut away any branch which crosses over another and any twisted or malformed branches. Having got rid of the rubbish you should now see the main leaders and how to deal with these more clearly. Usually three or four main leaders are left remaining but in a mature bush five or more may be left and as many of these can be retained as will give the bush a good open appearance without crowding. In mature bushes it is advisable to remove one leader cutting it out right down to the base of each year to encourage the plant to send up strong new leaders. More can be taken as required but the growth should not be reduced to less than three strong leaders.

Now to shorten the remaining leaders to a uniform height. At this time of the year to about the fourth or fifth bud on leaf-node up from the base of the plant. Choose a bud on the outside of the stem and make a slightly sloping cut about a quarter of an inch above the bud and sloping away from the bud itself. Then prune the other leaders to a uniform height. Seal all open cuts on the larger branches with pruning paste or petroleum jelly. Sometimes it is not so easy to find a bud or a leaf-node on what appears to be a perfectly smooth stem, but if you examine the stem carefully you will usually be able to spot a variation in the stem where a leafnode will eventually form, so prune to that variation. Miniature roses need very little pruning, just the removal of unhealthy growth and a general tidy up. Standard roses are pruned in a similar way leaving several strong. leaders with an upward curve. Climbing roses are best pruned immediately after they have finished flow-

ering but if these have been left unattended they can be pruned now by reducing the main leaders by about one third and at this stage examine the ties which hold the stems to the support and renew if necessary. Again cut at least one leader right down to base leaving at least three main ones. Ramblers and oldfashioned roses do not usually need a great deal of pruning other than cutting away any diseased or dead-wood and giving a general tidy up but ramblers will benefit from a really hard prune about every three years with removal of sufficient leaders so that those remaining retain a good open fan shape. Having survived all this, clear all prunings and dead leaves etc from the surface of the ground and preferably burn them. Lightly hoe the surface of the soil where you have tramped it down like a concrete road and firm the earth around the root stocks. Perhaps I had better not suggest that you commence your spraying programme right at this moment but that you retire indoors to r.urse your wounds.