Subscribe
Best Of
Links
Categories
Archives
Search
Children can be frustrating. Children can be very frustrating. Children can push you and push you and push you, and . . . you can’t push back. But you can go outside and prune your roses.
I find pruning roses extremely satisfying. I don’t know much about it; I’m a novice. But from what I’ve read: it is a good idea to remove all the old foliage (take that, powdery mildew!), to remove any twigs pencil-sized or smaller in diameter, and to remove any canes crossing other canes. Also, generally, the aim is to get a nice vase shape with more free space for air circulation in the middle. In practice, as far as I can tell, this means lots of cutting. My bushes went without care for many years and so extensive pruning has been the order of the day.
I have purchased and tried several different pruning implements. (Unfortunately, I tend to think half the joy of any new activity is purchasing the “right” equipment. I need to keep this tendency of mine in check by being careful not to adopt new activities too often. It is the only thing that helps). Corona brand implements: thumbs down. Poor design, no power. Fiskars: Ahhh, heaven. Power, sharpness, leverage.
Anyway, have you ever cut off a big, big branch with a satisfying snap? And then another and another and then the smaller branches and the twigs, till there almost wasn’t anything left? The feeling of power and of order made from disorder transforms me. My stress and anger rush away, and suddenly I have accomplished something. I may not have the power to make my children behave, but by golly, I am in charge of how those rose bushes are going to look. And right now they look . . . pathetic. Like someone with very harsh, very extreme views on pruning got a hold of them. And she did, I assure you. Every rose bush I have has now been whittled down to a few key branches–which were probably cut too short.
I don’t know–my overly harsh practices may mean that I end up losing all the rose bushes. But at least I get to keep the kids!
Comments
2 Responses to “Prune Roses Not Children”
Leave a Reply
[...] all the branches affected by mosaic. There aren’t many right now, because I have done several radical branchectomies in the past. But apparently, once any branch shows symptoms, the entire bush is infected (which [...]
[...] back when I deadheaded all my roses promptly this year. [Yes, they recovered beautifully from their harsh early spring pruning and I had many beautiful blooms.] However, it was past dusk when I finished and there was no time [...]