Tending to the rose

THE GARDEN FANATIC

“I gather roses from

thorns ... “

-- JEROME, ROMAN

CHURCH FATHER

“The roses you lifted to your lips ... lucky roses!”

-- CHARLIE CHAPLIN

The rose is my flower of choice. What other thorny plant can

bestow its master with such elegant blossoms? Of course, one must

earn the trust and respect of a rose. Water, fertilizer, vigilance

against pest and disease, mulching and proper pruning will win its

heart.

The quest for perfect roses in your garden begins with the major

rose pruning events that occur during the summer -- flower cutting,

deadheading, grooming and disbudding. Although the initial cost of

acquiring may seem a bit extravagant, I absolutely recommend the

Felco line of pruning shears; not only are they the finest available,

one pair will last a lifetime. My father used his same pair of Felco

No. 2s for well over a decade, changing only its blades after they

wore out.

Catharine asked last Sunday, “Where should you make the cut when

you remove flowers?” I replied, that rose leaves are compound,

meaning they are composed of leaflets, and there is always an odd

number of leaflets to one leaf. The general rule is to cut just above

an outward facing leaf with five leaflets. Cut higher at a three-leaf

set and the subsequent growth will be weaker and produce smaller

flowers.

Cutting at the proper five-leaflet site will be about halfway down

the flower stem. At this point the rose will have the optimum

strength to develop its best flower and remain attractively bushy.

Take the opportunity to remove unwanted growth from dieback (stems

which die in a downward direction from improper pruning) and blind

growth (stems which continue to develop without producing buds).

Many rosarians recommend grooming on a constant basis during

summer pruning. “Grooming” consists of removing all yellow leaves and

spindly growth from a rose.

Disbudding is the way to develop full sized flowers, one to a

stem, from roses that usually flower in clusters. Many of the

grandiflora and hybrid teas produce large flowers in such tight

clusters, none can open properly. This can be avoided by removing

side buds from the dominant, central bud.

I spent hours grooming and spraying the roses in our garden last

holiday weekend -- discouraged a bit by the insistent munching of

leaves by worms and the never-ending rust and powdery mildew. Like my

friend, Jan, I sometimes feel that rose care can seem overwhelming.

Then I made my way to Graham Thomas, his blooms a pale yellow and

full of sweet promise. I couldn’t wait to share them with my

beautiful wife. See you next time.

* STEVE KAWARATANI is the owner of Landscapes by Laguna Nursery,

1540 S. Coast Highway in Laguna Beach. He is married to local writer,

Catharine Cooper, and has three cats. He can be reached at (949)

497-2438, or e-mail to [email protected]