rose pruning - wk 16

This morning is clear and cold as we all head next door to Government House to learn all about the fine art of pruning roses.

Before

 We start out in the pottager garden to practice on some 'less important' roses lining the wall before being let loose on the rose garden past the tennis court. Anne, Jerry and Mick take us through some of the main points to think about with pruning roses:

• Ideally prune to a open 'vase' shape. 
• Prune out any central, inward growing or crossing growth. This opens up the airflow in the centre of the bush which is important to minimise problems like powdery mildew and black spot.
• Where you have the choice of old growth and strong new growth next to each other - remove the old wood and leave the strong new growth to replace it. 
• Remove any dead, damaged or diseased wood.
• Prune to an outward facing bud.

After

Other points to consider:

• Stop and contemplate before making the cut. Don't rush.
• Think about the pruning in stages. Perhaps only take one branch out this year and the other the following year after the bush has recovered and put on some good new growth.
• Prune off non flowering stem growth. These are short bright green stems that will not produce flowers.
• Don't leave to many cuts on the one branch. All these changes start to make the bush look unattractive, better to prune it off at the base and promote strong new growth.
• Know your rose! Each need pruning in different ways. Some thrive under harsh pruning and others (like some David Austin varieties) resent it and don't do well.
• And VERY importantly - use the right tool for job. Ideally you should have some secateurs for smaller cuts, some loppers for bigger cuts and a fine pruning saw for the big hard to reach cuts.
• Hygiene, hygiene, hygiene. Clean tools with a squirt of metho each time you move to another rose.
• Use gloves (that almost goes without saying if I wasn't being marked on it!)

John shows us how its done on a climbing rose.

Later back in the RTBG mixed border section we get to prune a different variety of types of roses. First we look at some hybrid teas edging the bed near the fuchsia house. Here I really feel I am starting to get the hang of what to look for now and tcheck with Jerry as I go, who agrees on each of my cut choices. After this we walk to the other side of the Eardley-Wilmot wall to run through pruning of climbing roses. Cut choices will differ a bit with climbers and you really need to have in mind what you are doing in stages each year. Weighting down branches with soft ties will send of lots of vertical shoots that helps to cove the wall. John talks us through a prune and I'm pleased to see that I would have made similar choices if i was doing it. maybe I am getting the hang of this now! Maybe I just have the right personality for it - a bit ruthless and ! :)


'Before' - David talks us through tackling a particularly prickly shrub rose.

 Back in the mixed border to tackle some large old fashioned shrub roses. These are the older species roses that have a different habit and growth to the modern shrub roses. Old Fashioned roses are very hardy and can cope with the even the most challenging of conditions. Some of the old fashioned roses only flower once in spring and put on heaps of growth in one season. regular pruning will mean lots of healthy growth and abundant flowers up to 1.5m.

'After' - You can see here the open centred vase shape
and reduction in overall height and volume.

Later everyone gets stuck into the rest of the shrub roses and climbers on frames - literally nothing is safe and the sound of secateurs snipping and loppers chopping creates a winter chorus throughout the mixed border. Much fun and hopefully not too many dodgy cuts is had by all.

How many pruners does it take to spoil the bush I wonder?

The next week I convince my lovely close friend who has 18 or so roses in her front garden and an intermittant case of carpel tunnel that I am definitely the girl for getting onto her winter pruning. She is thrilled and so am I, as I really get to practice and refine my skills while it is fresh in my head. I work my way through plenty of carpet roses to be cut off at the ground (not a huge fan of these now to be honest! very prickly and stubborn!) Then onto some modern hybrid teas, smaller floribundas and a couple of miniatures dotted throughout the beds. Lastly 3 huge shrub roses that are enormous and have such thick strong growth that I mainly use the pruning saw. I've seen these stunning blooms in summer and they are gorgeous. My friend informs me they are cuttings from old roses in the garden at the historic 'Prospect House' in Richmond where she used to work.

All cut back.

Also worth mentioning because it was so good......I stole the RTBG idea of using a large square of shade cloth spread on the lawn next to the bed to throw all the cuttings onto. Shade cloth is perfect for this because the thorny prunings stick into it just enough to stop bits falling out whilst you lug it to the burning heap.

Rust?

After 7 big loads and 5 hrs later I am one happy girl covered in cuts and jabs - rose pruning should be classified as a blood sport! When my friend returns from work she is extremely happy and thankful so that's great. Only of her large shrub roses was a little unhappy, with the leaves covered in rust and the stems darkly mottled right down to the base. I decide to document this and look up possible causes and treatment at a later date to get back to my friend on how we can manage it. Good for my Pests & Diseases unit!