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 ...
Best wishes Phillip!
ReplyDeleteI move Vancouver on June 3. Any chance you'll be having another Open Garden later in the summer?
ReplyDeleteYes, possibly but you can contact me and we can arrange a time!
DeleteLucky visitors!
ReplyDeleteI'm only now finding out about your site - we moved from the Hazel Dell area 4 years ago to the northern Olypmic Peninsula. Very nice to see your garden on the website, I only wish we had paid better attention on one of our countless walks to Safeway, etc. How was the turn-out, this year?
ReplyDeleteSure wish I lived nearby, but glad that I have your “blog” to visit. Hope that it went well, and you had a good turnout.
ReplyDelete