Pruning Bush or Dwarf Roses – And now to the pruning of roses that are not newly planted . I warn those who are not interested that it is a complex study , but if it is any incentive to the proofreader to learn on , I will be as brief as possible , if only for my own sake , for the printing machine is clamor for “ copy , ” and , alas ! How , and where shall I begin ? What does the amateur first want to know when he is told how to do anything in the garden ? Why does he require to recognize when to do it ?
Happy theme !
The best time to prune all roses that are commonly grown as bushes is , in the southern and south midland counties , the third week in March . An exception is made in the font of Tea roses , the pruning of which is deferred until the first week in April . But today , Hybrid Teas and true tea are so much assorted up that even the originate expert - and by this I mean the professional who grows nothing else but roses - even he is not sure to which course some of them belong .
As proof of this I could mention several roses that are classed in one catalogue as Teas , and in another as Hybrid Teas . I say this because the true Teas are not so hardy as the hybridize or Hybrid Teas , and while one may not prune the true Teas until April , the others are pruned in March . But perhaps this is a vain tip and not worth laboring .
In the northerly and north midland counties roses are pruned a fortnight later . In the descriptive lists given at the end of this chapter will be found the names of numerous rose for the amateur , and in many cases , particular of the need pruning are given , so that here I need not enter into detail of the varied pruning suit to unlike sorts . This knowledge , indeed , is only to be acquired by a wide experience among the unlike classes of roses , so I shall confine myself , to an account of the rule and practice of rose prune generally .
Let us first consider bush or dwarf rose ; those most commonly grown in this sort are Hybrid Perpetuals , Hybrid Teas , and Teas . It is among these classes that the amateur will detect the best roses for garden video display and for cutting . Apart from a cognition of the characteristics of each variety , which I can not here attempt to convey , the trimmer should first introduce himself with the habit and manner of increment of each sort .
Some grow much more powerfully than others ; some grow vertical ; others are inclined to spread , and so on . Such an conversance will give the lector a clue as to whether he must contract the shoot a footling or much . In any showcase , the first care is to cut out all growth that are delicate and deform easily to the trace ; these are quite useless . Then , all sparse and weak shoots that obviously can never bear a decent peak are to be cut out , and those that have grown towards the center of the works are either cut out or shortened to a bud that points in an outward direction .
If they can be spared , they are cut by completely . The experienced rose wine agriculturist aim at keeping the center of his plants receptive , and this is accomplished by cutting every growth to a bud that points aside from the center . This is quite one of the most crucial items the pruner has to bear in mind , and makes all the difference between good and bad pruning .
Then come up the peachy enquiry of , How long shall we leave each growth ? It is much more easy asked than it is satisfactorily answered . Something depends upon the -aims of the agriculturist . If he likes to have a sizable rose garden with each shoot more or less in its proper billet and to have . fewer blush of good quality rather than many bloom of sightly quality , then all growth of , say , the heaviness of a lead pencil or the slight finger , are foreshorten to within 3 or 4 buds of the base .
If measure rather than tone is the close in view , then such growths may be leave 6 or 8 buds long . In apparent Bible and bod , I can not get nearer to a precise account of my point ; in fact , I feel I am rather foolish to attempt so much . But having done it and having no eraser at paw , I will let it go , trusting to the tidings of the lector to make up for what I am lacking in clear verbal description .
Growths that are not so thick as a lead pencil are cut back to within two buds of their base . In this case , it does not matter whether you desire many or few efflorescence , for you may think yourself golden to get any at all ! If you are fortunate enough , by good cultivation , to get growths on the rose to which the pencil standard does not go for then , if you’re able to not by the law of averages adjudicate how long to leave them , I advise that you call in the dear qualified gardener to aid you out of the difficulty .
These remarks apply to the Hybrid Perpetual and the Hybrid Tea rose . The pruning of the Teas is so simple as scarcely to take doing at all . Not to continue in a self-contradictory strain , they are generally so well pruned by the wintertime that the gardener ’s knife is scarce required . The unassailable shoots are cut to within four buds of the base , and the weaker growths to within two bud .
If as many bloom as potential are wanted without esteem to size and manakin , then the strongest may be leave alone two or three buds longer . But I would strongly counsel the amateur who treasure the express admiration of his Friend and really wishes to see his roses at their secure , to prune hard rather than leave the shoots too long . It is for sure a case of ” spare the tongue and corrupt the rose ” so far as most of the roses usually grown are concerned .
Light pruning , as a rule , pose the institution of a rose that is bare at the base and full of weak , spindling growths at the top . It for sure does so if the grower does not cut hard the first year or two . All things considered , I shall pose as an advocate of arduous pruning , for I have found that the average rose lives longer and give more blooms deserving having than a rosebush that is lightly clip .
H. H. Thomas
