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Winter Rose Care & Pruning

Although major rose pruning is not done until late February into early March, there are a few things I do to get roses settled in for the winter. First, I wait until the first frost has occurred before I do anything. That happened on December 1 this year, a little later than normal. If you do any pruning prior to that, new growth will be encouraged, and it will just be nipped later. I will then do minimal pruning, about 1/3 of the plant or to about waist-high. It does not matter how you make the cuts. More precise pruning will be done in late winter. Giving roses a slight pruning at this time will decrease the damage from strong winter winds. Roses are not deeply rooted, and any long canes can spell trouble. Pick off any remaining leaves, if possible. I know that can be a big job if there are still many leaves left on the plant but you don't want leaves, especially diseased leaves, left to fall and harbor spores for next season. Clean the area around the base of the rose. Rake out ...

More Fall Color

Just a few more photos that I took earlier in the week. The first is Fothergilla (Fothergilla gardenii x major 'Mount Airy') which is a fantastic shrub, beautiful in all seasons. The fall foliage is particularly colorful. Visit my website to see photos of fothergilla in the spring.



I get more questions about Burning Bush (Euonymus alata "Compactus") than any other plant. I have no idea why.

This is Yucca 'Golden Sword' growing with Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans).

Comments

  1. Lovely pictures, Phillip, beautiful autumn colors, but the sage/yucca combination is striking! I would never thought of putting them together. Just great!

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  2. I had a Fothergilla at my previous garden and just loved it. Thank you for reminding me why I need another one.
    Fabulous pictures!

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  3. Love the fothergilla! I think a lot of people are confused about burning bush as an invasive. It's listed here in TN. I do get a lot of hits from Google about it.

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  4. Lovely Phillip. I always admire the burning bush but it has been so overused in landscaping... yours looks stunning however... I love the color and yours looks to have berries too.

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  5. I thought everyone already new burning bush! Funny that you should get so many questions about it.

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  6. Your Fothergilla is beautiful. I really must try that shrub.

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  7. Hi Phillip, Regional differences (and similarities) fascinate me! I too love fothergilla (check out my photo here)--it is indeed wonderful in all seasons and I'm glad mine will get so much taller over time, based on the height of yours. It's not commonly grown here, but it's certainly hardy. On the other hand, burning bush is very very common here, so much so that most people (even on gardeners) can ID it, kind of like tulips and dandelions! I was shocked you get so many emails about it... but maybe they're not from locals?

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  8. um... "on gardeners" should have been "non gardeners" but you probably worked that out!

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  9. Keep the visual feast coming please.

    I would so like to visit your garden Phillip

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  10. I have a dwarf Fothergilla. It's just as pretty but takes up less space.

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  11. You do a marvelous job of layering your plantings Phillip~~Your color and textural combinations zing! Gail

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  12. Your photos are spectacular..and so is your garden. My partner and I just moved into our half acre home last July. Hopefully one day, our landscaping will look as nice as yours!

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  13. Nice photos, Phillip. Interesting that so many have an interest in Euonymous. It is a beauty all right but I always try to steer people towards Nandina instead because of its year round red green foliage and red berry sprays. Love the yucca and sage. Very nice.

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