"I suppose everyone continues to be interested in the quest ..."
–Mary McCarthy
"Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing."
–Oscar Wilde
The quest for perfect roses in your garden begins with the major rose pruning events that occur during the summer... flower cutting, dead heading, grooming and disbudding. However, there is little reason to visit your garden unless you are "armed" with quality hand shears. Something is always happening with roses... broken stems from the last windy day, blind growth that needs to be removed, or a flower from your Abraham Darby that beckons to be brought indoors. The simple truth is that we have no choice but to be prepared to prune.
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 has used his same pair of Felco #2’s for well over a decade, changing only its blades after they have worn out. Mark the day you bought your Felco... you will remember me in your prayers thereafter.
Cutting flowers is probably the most enjoyable summer pruning job. After all, many of us grow roses so they may be appreciated indoors. Those flowers that don’t make it indoors should be dead-headed. Remove flowers as soon as they have faded and the petals are about to fall. It prompts the rose toward developing additional flowers, instead of ripening seeds.
I am constantly asked, "Where should you make the cut when you remove flowers?" I reply, 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 a five leaflet set. Cut higher at a three leaf set and the subsequent growth will be weaker and produce smaller flowers; if you cut lower at a seven leaf set, you’ll be removing a lot of stem.
Cutting at the proper 5 leaflet site will be about halfway down the flower stem. At this point the rose will have the optimum strength to develop it’s best flower and also remain attractively bushy. Take the opportunity to also 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. This is simply removing all yellow leaves and spindly growth from a rose. Remove any fallen flower petals and foliage from the ground to minimize potential insect and disease problems.
Disbudding is the way to develop full sized flowers, one to a stem, from roses that usually flower in clusters. Some 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.
Catharine and I face the daunting task of caring for more than 70 roses. From my side, if only I had more time, more space, more money... I could have even more roses. Catharine continues to be supportive of my garden aspirations, and as quite a gardener herself, encourages my scheming... as long, of course, as I keep her Felco sharpened. See you next time.
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