Skip to main content

Featured

Rose Pruning Again

Late February to early March is the time for the major pruning of roses. Back in December, I did a preliminary pruning , now is the time for the last major pruning before the spring season begins.  First, a comment on hybrid tea roses. This is what most people have in their gardens. I only have a few hybrid tea roses. These are the roses that need the most drastic pruning. Basically, you cut all the canes down to about 1 foot, making the cuts right above an outward-facing bud. The result will be something like this -  Most of my roses fall into the shrub and climbing categories. These roses are pruned differently and not as severe as the hybrid teas. For shrub roses (and many of the David Austin English roses fall into this category), I first take out the older canes completely to the ground. The older canes are easy to spot - they will be thicker and darker in color. After thinning out the older canes, I remove any canes that are damaged, crossing one another and canes that ...

Chinese snowball


Speaking of viburnums, here is another popular variety that is truly a traffic stopper. Chinese Snowball (Viburnum macrocephalum) features the big pom-pom type blooms that start out pale green and mature to sparkling snow white. It is a fast grower and will attain great heights in only a few years. This shrub is about twelve years old and towers about 12 feet. I've started pruning it since most of the blooms are appearing near the top but I've yet to find clear instructions on how best to do this. I plan to reduce some of the older limbs this year after the blooms fade.

Apparently this was once hard to locate in nurseries. I've received countless e-mails inquiring where to buy it but those are dwindling now so perhaps they are now easier to find.

Comments

  1. Beautiful. They don't have a long bloom period but they really put on a show for a brief time. Some of my favorite shrubs.
    Marnie

    ReplyDelete
  2. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great picture! I love the combo! Wenus says hello! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Seems one of the comments above is a bit of a hijack.

    Beautiful photo Phillip. I like the statue in front of the viburnum.

    Rob

    ReplyDelete
  5. The positioning of the statue and the flowers make it seem as if there is a thought bubble coming from the statue! I wonder what she is thinking? Maybe "now where have my arms gone?"

    Beautiful plant, I love viburnums!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I like the way the balls seem to be falling down onto or floating up out of the statue's head. I do love viburnums and this one is, as you say, a show stopper.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Viburnums surly offer a shrub for every gardener and every garden. These look to formal for my wilderness, but they look lovely in your garden. Twelve feet tall and still growing! Be careful on that ladder when pruning this tall guy! gail

    ReplyDelete
  8. THis is a gorgeous viburnum. I love the statue in front too. Great composition.

    ReplyDelete
  9. These are beautiful! My seeds are doing so well. I will forever be grateful for the information you gave me back at : http://momingarden.blogspot.com/2009/03/ordering-who-do-you-trust.html

    Happy Spring Dear Garden Friend.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love the snowball bushes. I have one that's still got a while until it blooms. I'm not sure what variety it is, the blooms don't get nearly that big.

    ReplyDelete
  11. My neighbor has one and it is glorious right now! I am so envious!

    Cameron

    ReplyDelete
  12. lovely photo! I have never heard of that one. I will have to hunt it down.

    ReplyDelete
  13. This looks like a relative of the old Snowball bushes that were in every yard when I was a kid. They bloom with such abandon - no holding back.
    Must have been tough, too, because we dreadful children used to pull off the flowers to throw at each other in floral snowball fights.

    Wish I had one now!

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

    ReplyDelete
  14. These virburnums are as stunning as hydrangeas - just beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I have three of these from Lowe's in Tupelo, MS that I planted last year and they are doing great, getting ready to bloom. I love them!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Stunning! I want a snowball bush in my yard but haven't yet found them in any of the local nurseries. I love how big this one gets. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I usually am able to get these for the nursery, coincidentally enough from a grower in Alabama. They go unnoticed until someone sees them blooming around town and comes in looking for that "big green hydrangea".

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts