ROSE PRUNING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 193, 15 August 1936, Page 6

ROSE PRUNING.

TIME TO COMMENCE

,Tliis is the time to prune the roses, and it ie quite obvious that with such a large family of many diverse characteristics of growth it is impossible to give any advice that will be applicabll to all. To begin with, growers of roses should make themselves familiar with the names of the roses they are growing. Certainly most of the roses grown to-day belong to that evergrowing and popular cla-ss, the hybrid teas. Even with these, different varieties do best if some little peculiarity is "iven attention. In most districtsthis is the best time for pruning. Where late frosts are experienced it may be advisable to leave it for a few days, but as a general thing this is the best time. When pruning see that the knife or secateurs is sharp. Make the cut-| just above an outside bud or eye*. Make ] a slightly slanting cut, and have the, highest part of it just above the bud, not on the side of the branch away from the-bud. First cut away all growths j that are overcrowding the centre, and then cut right out all weak growths. Now cut the strong shoots back, leaving only about four to six eyes, making the cut above an eye that points outwards. Very strong shoots may be left with six eyes; weaker shoots should be cut back to four eyes. To beginners it seems strange that weak growers should be cut back harder than' strong growers, but the point is that a rose bush must be allowed to have only as many shoots as it has strength to support. A weakgrowing rose can support fewer shoots than a strong grower, therefore it is cut back hard, leaving perhaps three or four buds for it to concentrate its strength upon, whereas a strong grower may be left with as many as six buds, and will have sufficient strength to develop them well. Some roses send out an occasional long shoot. This should be cut hard back. Newly planted roses Sliould be cut back at pruning time, leaving only four eyes. It is most important that this should be attended to, as it affects the future vigour of the plant. Climbing roses should be treated in the same way as dwarf roses when newly planted. That is to say, the shoots should be cut back to four eyes. You will then get fine, vigorous growth as a start for your plants. In subsequent years climbing roses need careful handling if you want a good supply of flowers. The best flowers are produced on shoots that are one year old. Pruning then, consists in cutting back, directly after flowering, some of the older shoots that have flowered. Try to keep the rose to young shoots growing from as near the base as possible. So many climbing roses have long bare stems, and all the growth at the top. By pruning hard back at planting time, one gives the rose a start in this direction. Rambler roses should have the shoots that have flowered cut out as soon as the flowering is over. This encourages the plants to produce new shoots, and it is on one-year-old shoots that the best flowers are produced. Therefore, to have a rambler a mass of flowers, pruning must take place a year previous to flowering. That is to say, pruning must be done as soon as the flowering is over. Banksia roses bloom on the twiggy growths. As soon as the flowering is over cut back the old flowering stems. All that is needed after this is to cut the tips off the long shoots that are produced. Briar roses also should be cut back as soon as they have finished flowering. These roses also flower on the wood that is produced during the previous summer. Do not shorten the tips of the shoots 011 briar roses, as it is on the ends of the branches that the best flowers are produced.