Shaping up Roses

LESLIE CRAWFORD

n the world of roses, January is all about pruning. I didn’t pay attention to roses for many years because to me they were mysterious, high-maintenance plants that required a lot of pesticides. I didn’t really “get” roses until I heard a talk by the late Phil Ash, a legendary San Diego rosarian and a very entertaining speaker. Phil made me sit up and pay attention, explaining roses in a way that made sense, taking the mystery out of the care and making roses doable for a novice. Roses are heavy feeders. After you’ve pruned them, they are going to need food. If you want to mix your own rose fertilizer you can use the organic mixture from Patti Million’s little book, “A Year of Million Roses: Rose Care in Southern California.” The mix is: 1 cup bone meal or superphosphate (0-20-0); 1 cup cottonseed meal; ½ cup blood meal; ½ cup fish meal; and ½ cup Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate). Easy enough, but you might have to buy bigger quantities of all these ingredients than you can use. An alternative is to buy a bag of Ada Perry’s Rose Fertilizer.

Ada was another legend in the San Diego garden world, writing horticulture articles for the San Diego Union and California Garden, the San Diego Floral Association’s magazine. Ada worked for nurseryman Walter Andersen and developed her rose fertilizer mixture many years ago. Now Walter Andersen Nursery is the exclusive supplier of Ada Perry’s Rose Fertilizer.

Happy gardening.

‘Rosie the Riveter’ in front of the John D. Spreckels Center.

IFor hands-on experience, the annual rose pruning workshop will be at the Harlow Rose Garden at Coronado Public Library on Jan. 4 at 9:30 a.m. Rosarian and San Diego Master Gardener Rita Perwich will provide instruction as participants help prune the rose garden into shape for the year, so come prepared with your gloves and clippers.

Phil Ash's guidelines for 'Whacking Back Roses'

• Irrigate the day before you prune. • The end goal of pruning rose brushes is to have fresh, healthy canes (branches) in an urn shape. • As a rule, cut one-third to one-half off. • Important! New growth that starts at a bud-eye won’t grow thicker than where the cane was cut. A bud-eye is found just above where a leaflet set is attached to the cane. • Cut where a bud-eye is facing outward on the plant. Leaflet sets point in the direction the bud eye will grow. • Are the canes old and tired? Are they dead, brown, and non-producing? Whack them off. • Cut out canes crossing over in the center or blocking airflow through the rose. • When in doubt, whack it off. Roses will survive. • After pruning, pick off all remaining leaves, bag them and discard. Clean up thoroughly around the plant. This helps keep pests to a minimum. If you need to treat your plants for pests, ask for non-toxic solutions at your favorite nursery. • Leave floribunda roses twiggy. • Keep the long canes of climbers. Cut 6- to 10-inch stubs off them.