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 ...

The garden is waking up

Yoshino Cherry
My last post was exactly one month ago and I was posting photos of the snow. A lot has changed in just a few weeks and it is beginning to look a lot like Spring! A cold front brought rain and colder temperatures today but the first part of the week was great. I have been pruning and mulching. 

Here are a few photos taken yesterday -

Jacob's Ladder "Stairway to Heaven"
 
Star Magnolia

Anenome nemerosa
Epimedium
Epimedium 


Saucer Magnolia "Rustica Rubra"





Camellia "Taylor's Perfection"


Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Comments

  1. Beautiful, just beautiful. As long as there's no frost or freezes, the rain and cool keep blossoms from blasting before they're finished. I love when we burst from almost nothing to everything in bloom at once.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Spring has definitely sprung for you! You are ahead of us here in Lincolnshire, Uk, as our Magnolias are not out yet, nor are the Epimediums. What delicate little flowers they are.The magnolia is a lovely rich colour too. We have had some spring like days, but it has felt like winter again today - so frustrating, as all I want to do is get outside and garden!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Very jealous of your beautiful spring blooms... And wondering if the Jacob's ladder could be hardy here...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Goodness, your garden is so far ahead of mine. I have a few daffs and Hellebores blooming. Love that cherry tree. Beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Isn't it wonderful when your garden wakes up from winter? We've had an especially nasty winter, so spring has never been more welcome. Only trouble is, winter came back! Is this your new garden? I seem to remember you selling your old house? I'm sure it was hard to leave, but oh so much fun to start over!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Doesn't spring just make you smile? Everything in my yard is looking great, with the exception of the Buff Beauty rose I purchased last year.
    :( I'm so sad, it is still just a baby plant, and it had struggled with blackspot last year. It was looking great, and putting out new leaves, and something came by and munched in in half! There's only one set of new leaves left, and I'm hoping it will send up new growth. I was so hoping it would get settled and take off this year.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow. Your epimediums look FANTASTIC!

    >jealous<

    I've had a small clump in the garden for a couple of years, but have never seen them flower. No new growth yet on my epimediums in Middle TN, but your photos give me hope I may at least see some fresh foliage soon.

    We were down in the lower 20s (!) this past weekend. I don't have a saucer magnolia myself, but I know of a couple in the neighborhood (including at least one in my neighbor's yard) and all the flowers on it seem to have been fried. So it looks like saucer magnolia is a risky proposition here given the potential for warm spring temps (70s last week) followed by hard freezes.

    Happy Spring!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow! What a change from last month! I am so glad spring is here. The Yoshino cherry is wonderful! I do not have one of these great trees, but every spring I want one. After seeing Taylor's Perfection on your blog a few years ago, I bought one. I have been very pleased with its flower production, even as a young shrub. I also love my epimediums! They are a great ground cover in the woodland garden.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I can't believe the difference from your post of a month ago! The snow has well and truly gone and left a host of blooms in its wake. Oddly, your garden is ahead of mine, despite all your snow. I haven't seen any magnolias out anywhere yet, and yours are opening nicely.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Things are in a similar state here, thank God!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Every time I see Taylor's Perfection on your blog I think I have to have it. lol It's beautiful. The Yoshino cherry is gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts