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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 ...
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Waiting for the fall color



Despite us having a drought-free summer, I am afraid that we have been paying the price for it this fall. It has been extremely dry for over a month now. There has been rain around us, especially in Colbert County, but every time a mass of rain heads this way, it tends to break up when it gets to the Tennessee River. Last weekend the weather forecasters screwed up big time when they predicted a 70% percent change of rain and we ended up getting nothing! They are saying the same thing for this coming Monday but I am refusing to listen to them.

Yesterday, I turned the sprinklers on in areas that needed it the most. Really the entire garden looks pretty pathetic. The garden wall area (above) was the only spot worth photographing. 

Also, the Hardy Orange (Poncirus) is covered with small fruit.  


The fall color has yet to arrive but it is usually late here - sometimes well into November. I have noticed a few trees around town changing color.

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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  1. sweetbayNovember 15, 2014 at 11:24 AM

    I have noticed that a long dry spell before the leaves change is a real death knell for fall color. Luckily that didn't happen here this year, but in dry years past the red maples -- usually our chief source if color -- would barely change and the leaves would just fall off.

    Drought is very frustrating.

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