One of the very first things HHH and I bonded over was our undying love of watching over our roses. In particular, we both adore Hybrid Tea Roses, which produce one beautiful rose atop a long stem. We like others, as well, but these big ones are favorites of ours. How grand it would be if they came in blue, but sadly, they don’t.
When I moved to Winterpast, beautiful roses were already growing here. Although the home had been vacant for awhile, the roses thrived, surrounding a lush, green lawn. Winterpast doesn’t just have a nice yard, it has gardens so beautiful they are inspire one to plant more of the same.
Over the course of a few months, HHH and I added eight rose bushes. I picked them out and he dug the holes in the hard desert soil. The butter-yellow, “Happy Go Lucky” began as my favorite because of her name of the bush. Our two bushes never stopped blooming the entire growing season. Yellow roses with thick, lush blooms.
Last year, we discovered a wonderful brand of roses. Although there one producer that has better name recognition, the roses best suited to our area are grown by Weeks Roses. They are healthy, hearty, and beautiful. No longer will I wait for bare roots to arrive from the other company. I’ll simply go the nursery that sells bushes by Weeks.
Now that the rose bushes are dormant, the time for pruning is near. Dormant plants in the yard need pruning to increase production and health for the next season. If you have fruit trees, roses, grapevines, summer flowering shrubs (like hydrangea), deciduous shrubs, or ornamental grasses, they need pruning while they are dormant.
One great thing about the times in which we live is the availability of information. With the help of internet, you can learn to write with masters or paint like a pro. You can take drawing lessons. You can also learn everything you need to know about pruning. With a visit to You Tube, you can find out exactly when and how to care for your trees.
We watched tutorials before pruning the trees at the rental. We’ll watch them again before we start on the fruit trees of Winterpast. Interestingly enough, even the angle of the cuts are important to protect the health of the plant.
When focusing on roses, you’ll need good leather gloves. This type of glove will save you from thorns and a wide variety are available. When cared for, they will serve you for many seasons. Long sleeves and jeans will also help to protect you from nasty scratches. Some refuse planting roses because of the thorns. For us, the beauty outweighs a few scratches.
It’s important to choose the right type of shears. For roses, you want to use very sharp bypass shears that will make clean cuts. The alternative is a shear that only mashes the stem and isn’t not for this purpose.
As you trim off dead stems and leaves, try to achieve an open plant. This will allow for plenty of sunlight and air to reach all the stems and buds. Cut 1/4 ” above outward facing buds, or swellings. The lower you prune your hybrid tea rose, the longer the stems and bigger the flowers. When you are finished, be sure to clean up all the debris under the plant, leaving no hiding spots for disease and pests.
Properly pruned roses produce beautiful blossoms and will bring you pleasure for years to come.
This weekend, we’ll take time to clean up the leaves and spray the grasses that have started to sprout. HHH and I will be deciding on which heirloom seeds to buy. We need to order potato, garlic, and onion starts.
Tomorrow, we’ll be enjoying our very first class on bee-keeping. Gardening heals the soul and feeds the mind. We can’t wait to import and care for 50,000 little friends.
Whatever you do this weekend, spend just a little time getting outside. Half of January is gone! Don’t let the winter beauty go to waste.
More on Monday.