By Niki N. Kefala
Agriculturist
niki.kefala@greenfox.gr
As February comes to a close, there is always one day, at least, when one smells the yet distant, but surely coming, summer.
We’d like to think that the winter frosts are behind us, allowing us to start pruning the undisputed queen of the garden, the rose! Our goal is to achieve, alongside the spring-growth, a rich flowering. Therefore, we arm ourselves with well sharpened scissors, a tiny saw, a pair of gloves for protection against thorns, and off we go…
When pruning roses, certain guidelines need to be followed, which are in turn adapted to their specific type, such as shrubby, climbing, woody, or dwarf roses. Upon beginning the pruning process, we need to use our shears to remove all dead and unhealthy branches from the plant’s base, and do the same with those turned towards the center, to keep it ‘empty’, and with those tilted externally.
For shrub roses, wood roses and dwarf roses, ideally we’d form a ‘cup’ shape, leaving 3 to 6 shoots, depending on the plant’s age and strength. The bigger the plant is, the more shoots we leave untouched. In each shoot we make sure to have 3-4 healthy buds. Newly-planted roses, or roses that were left unkempt for years, as well as weak plants that we’re looking to nurse back to health, should be pruned strictly (no more than three branches with three buds each).
Make sure to cut each shoot on the diagonal, at about a 45ο angle, at least 1 centimeter above the last bud, which should be faced externally, in order for our plant to take the desired shape, the ‘cup’ we mentioned, but also for it to be sufficiently ventilated.
With regard to dwarf and wood roses, one should follow the same steps, but be less eager to prune the plant, leaving 5-8 shoots and more buds. For dwarf roses, later on, in the budding phase, less buds will result in larger flowers.
On the other hand, as far as climbing roses are concerned, we maintain the equivalent number of shoots and buds. However, since there is no ‘cup’, the pruning will depend on the surface we want to cover. Therefore, the upper ‘active’ buds need to be at the lowest point of the surface and support area, because otherwise the surface will remain uncovered and the rose will develop on top of it, facing stability issues down the line.
When we’re done pruning, we diligently gather all debris and either burn or remove them in order to minimize disease spreading in the new season. If large saw cuts were needed, the wounds have to be covered with a special sealing and healing paste. Next up, we lightly dig around the tree pit to ensure there are no wild weeds and old leaves left around. We sprinkle a good dose of complete fertilizer and cover with a generous quantity of natural compote. Lastly, it is necessary to protect the rose with copper spray.
During the pruning procedure, you have an excellent opportunity to keep the cuttings in order to obtain new plants. Choose branches that are between 20 and 30 centimeters in length from your favorite roses. The branches need to be unlignified and robust; unlignified are the branches upon which the thorns are hard to detach. After removing any leaves, be sure they have 2-3 buds on them, with the top one situated one centimeter above the cut. Furthermore, be particularly careful to keep the lowest bud intact.
The cuttings should be ploughed in preferably sandy soil and at a slight angle, so that one bud remains outside the soil. See that the soil is constantly wet during the first few days.
That’s it for February, which is the plant’s main pruning period, but your rose, like the true coquette that she is, will demand a lot of attention during the rest of the year… It will require trimming towards the end of summer, to freshen it up a bit, revitalize it and give it the strength to offer a second flowering, autumnal yet just as rich!
In the interval between spring and autumn, the caring does not stop, as you should remove all withered roses that have started wilting, along with a part of the shoot, its length depending on the plant’s size, variety and robustness. For bushy and generally vivid roses, whose shoots are at a certain height, above 50 centimeters, the part to be removed equals that of 6-7 leaves, while for miniature roses and shorter varieties, the length is reduced to 2-3 leaves bellow the rose. During the entire year, you mustn’t skip on removing voracious, asymmetric or infected branches, as well as wild root sprouts. Like we said, she’s a coquette!
After all that, rest assured that you’ve treated your favorite plants in the best way possible. You can expect the first spring roses and more!
There are many legends about roses all over the world…
Some say that the flower was born from the smile of Eros, goddess Aphrodite’s son!
Some talk about the beautiful and smart young Rodanthe, whom goddess Artemis transformed into a rose with many flowers and many thorns, to protect her from the wrath of a group of drunk friends!
Also, did you know that the ancient Phoenicians had masterfully carved roses on their coins?
As you can see, everyone, since the dawn of time, focuses on the multicolored fragrant flowers, and nobody cares about the thorns…
