The correct way to prune roses is just one of the many care and feeding procedures that will be covered at this years seminar. 

 

October 17 from 12:00 until 5:00 is the time for this years rose care seminar.

As always the Seminar will be held here at Roses inc. rain or shine.  The green house makes a prefect rainy day meeting spot. We will be serving lunch and soft drinks from 12:00 Until 12:30.  We would appreciate a $5.00 per person donation to cover the price of the food but as always the Seminar is Free.  Every one is asked to bring a chair. 

At 12:30 we will start a Rose's year at planting time whether it be in the Spring or the Fall and take the rose (and you) through a complete year of care.  I promise it will be a fun afternoon full of learning.  Bring your pruning tools.  A how to sharpen pruners demonstration will be part of the learning day then everyone will have the opportunity to practice their pruning skills with one of our staff if they desire. Please invite your friends who have an interest in growing the Queen of Flowers.

An RSVP would be appreciated by phone to 455-7673 or e-mail to astelljes@cox.net so I can be sure and have enough to eat and drink for everyone.  I hope to see you here for another great afternoon in the Roses.

 

NEWS FLASH

Roses do not set blooms for your enjoyment! 

They set blooms to produce seed to reproduce themselves.  This fact is very important for us to take into consideration during this time of the growing season.  

Roses, if not permitted to set seed (hips) will continue to bloom until they set hips or freeze and for them to be naturally prepared for winter they must be allowed to set hips in time for the seeds to mature before the hard freezes start.  Our part in all of this is to STOP dead heading the roses now.  This doesn't mean that you can not take any of their beautiful flowers, it just means you should not take them all.  Pick a half dozen or so of the flowers that are mature and leave them on the bush for the remainder of the year.  This will allow the bush to set hips on those flowers and hence it will signal its root system that it has completed its goal for the year and the root system can start delivering the "antifreeze" to the top of the bush that will protect it from the coming cold.  I have practiced this procedure for many years and I have never wrapped my roses for the winter and my winter losses are very minimal. 

 

The other thing you need to stop now is fertilization.  If you continue to fertilize after the first week of October you will most likely have a lot of new growth on the roses that will not be able to withstand the cold.  Top dressing your beds with well composted manurers or other natural nutrients will not hurt because the bacteria necessary to turn these products into useable nutrients are dormant in cold weather.  

 

One last point I would like to make that may change your fall rose chores.  Do not cut the bushes back or prune them in any way other than to remove dead canes in the fall.  The top of the bush helps to keep the roots warm and sheltered in the winter.  They do however need 4" of pine mulch on the ground around them right up to the main stem.  The mulch should cover the bud union.  I will talk more about winter procedures in next month Everything Roses Monthly. 

 

 

This time of year the Voles and Gophers are very active.  They are storing away as much food as they can for the coming winter and they love rose roots.  Be vigilant and watch for the signs of their presence and react quickly.  Roses inc. carries what you need to effective rid your garden of these pest.  A word of caution.   Mole bait will not kill Voles or Gophers nor will Gopher bait kill Moles.  There are many products on the market for the control of these pest but only a couple of these products are efficient to rid your yard of these pest.  Please call me or come by Roses inc. for more information on controlling these pest.