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 ...
I think these shots look great, Phillip. The color seems more vivid to me.
ReplyDeleteI am in agreement about Blogger changing the quality of photos, it's so frustrating! That said, your photos are fantastic.
ReplyDeleteOh good - I thought it was just me!
DeleteYes Blogger compresses the photos. Also interesting if you go back to a really old post the quality gets poorer still--I would guess that a photo without pageviews gets relegated over time to a more and more compressed state??
ReplyDeleteBeautiful garden, beautiful photos. The Cedar and the Wiegela are choice. What is the purple/lavender flower in the last photo?
I didn't know that about the old posts. I will go take a look. That flower is Cleome 'Senorita Rosalita'.
DeleteAs always, your garden looks gorgeous. I like those zoomed in photos too! Have fun with the new lens.
ReplyDelete