{"id":3344,"date":"2019-02-12T21:44:26","date_gmt":"2019-02-12T21:44:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/?p=3344"},"modified":"2019-03-06T19:59:52","modified_gmt":"2019-03-06T19:59:52","slug":"build-your-rose-pruning-proficiency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/?p=3344","title":{"rendered":"Build Your Rose-pruning Proficiency"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Monterey\nBay Rose Society will hold a series of rose pruning workshops again this year.\nThis group of dedicated and community-spirited rosarians offers to share its\nexpertise, so that gardeners who also appreciate the Queen of Flowers will\nenjoy fine blossoms during the coming season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Species\nroses grow nicely with little or no care by gardeners. We occasionally read\nstories about \u201crose rustlers,\u201d who are rose lovers who are fascinated by early\nrose varieties that have been lost to cultivation, and find them still growing\nunattended in cemeteries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In California, for example, these historic varieties could date back to Gold Rush days. For a sampling of Sacramento\u2019s \u201ccemetery roses\u201d, visit the website created by eminent garden photographer Saxon Holt,<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Modern roses, particularly the popular hybrid tea\nroses, grow best with regular care and feeding. We prune modern roses to\nstimulate new growth, support good health, and promote desirable form. Well\nestablished roses respond quite well to dormant season pruning: they come back vigorously\nafter even heavy pruning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have\nroses in your garden and lack confidence in your pruning talents, resolve to\nbuild and apply those skills this year. We are now within the rose\u2019s dormant\nperiod, so the next few weeks is good time to schedule such a project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are various ways to learn about rose pruning. When I need to learn about some aspect of gardening, I generally open relevant books in my collection or the library, or search the Internet\u2019s vast resources on gardening techniques. To learn about pruning roses, a good place to look online is the website of the American Rose Society<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another\nstrategy involves searching the Internet for \u201cpruning roses\u201d or a similar\nphrase. It\u2019s also OK to use a natural language search, e.g., \u201chow should I\nprune my rose bush?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When your\nsearch yields multiple \u201chits,\u201d you can visit selected sites to find a tutorial\nthat emboldens you to venture into your rose garden with clippers in hand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some\ngardeners will learn best from a video demonstration. If that is your\npreference, direct your search results by clicking on \u201cvideo\u201d at the top of the\ncomputer screen. With today\u2019s technology, it is easy to record a video\ndemonstration and distribute it via the Interest. It is not easy, however, to\nproduce a video recording that communicates effectively, so you might benefit\nby viewing several short video clips. This can be done in one sitting, and\nreveal both different presentations of basic technique and variations in the\nmethods of different gardeners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although\nmuch can be learned about rose pruning from printed and digital resources, the\nopportunity to learn directly from a friendly expert will be ideal for many gardeners,\nespecially when the expert hands you the clippers and talks you through the\nprocess. The rosarians of the Monterey Bay Rose Society will offer the\nfollowing free pruning workshops in the near future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n