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Warm weather speeds up need for rose pruning

Spring growth is already coming out; act before fungi strike

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED JAN 15, 2021

This bee appreciates a Marilyn Monroe rose
blooming in mid-January. However, roses need to be
stripped of all foliage now to prevent fungal
infections in the spring. (Photos: Debbie Arrington)

Nature is putting pressure on plants -- and us gardeners.

All this unusually warm weather is prompting rose bushes and other deciduous shrubs to force out new growth.

When it comes to roses, many of us are still pruning our bushes -- or just started.

What happens when new leaves come out while the bush is still clinging to its old foliage? That new growth is super-prone to fungal infection.

Spores of powdery mildew, rust, black spot and other fungal disease are hiding on those old leaves -- on and off the bush.

Record warm days are likely in the next week. That will speed up rose growth even more.

These old leaves above must go!
Below, lots of new growth already
on this Pink Promise rose, which
still has healthy mature leaves.

With that in mind, here are a few timely reminders for rose pruning:

* Prune tall. Even if pruning the bush down to just waist high, that's something. Otherwise, new blooms may open far above your head. It's hard to smell roses when your nose can't reach them.

* Make your cut about 1/2 inch above a bud or node (where a leaf was attached) facing away from the center of the bush. That encourages outward growth and better air circulation, another way to cut down on fungal disease.

* Strip off ALL the old leaves. They carry problems and the bush needs room for new foliage.

* Pick up the old leaves and debris on the ground under and around the bush. That fallen foliage harbors more fungal disease.

* Change your mulch. This is important particularly if you had a bad outbreak of fungal disease or spider mites. Discard the old wood chips, etc., and replace with fresh mulch (such as wood chips, leaves or compost).

* Hold off on feeding your roses until February. It's warm now, but that could change. If we suddenly plunge back into cold days and frosty nights, all that tender new growth can be at risk.

------

Note for newsletter readers: Kathy in her shrub pruning post on Thursday mis-typed one of the common names of Podocarpus. It is fern pine, not fern palm, corrected on the blog but not in time for the newsletter. (Bad finger memory to blame!)

Funny thing is, that plant is not a pine, either, and even has been reclassified recently from Podocarpus gracilior to Afrocarpus gracilior, a new genus. So goes botanical naming!

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Keywords:

fertilizing gardening Sacramento pruning roses mulch January dormancy weather

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Garden Checklist for week of April 21

This week there’s plenty to keep gardeners busy. With no rain in the immediate forecast, remember to irrigate any new transplants.

* Weed, weed, weed! Get them before they flower and go to seed.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Smell orange blossoms? Feed citrus trees with a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden is really hungry. Feed shrubs and trees with a slow-release fertilizer. Or mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash.

* Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias.

* Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom.

* Mid to late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce seedlings. Choose varieties that mature quickly such as loose leaf.

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