GARDEN FANATIC: Rosey perfection has its thorns

The quest for perfect roses in your garden begins with the major rose pruning events that occur during July “” flower cutting, deadheading, grooming and disbudding. I absolutely recommend the Felco line of pruning shears; not only are they the finest available, but one pair will last a lifetime. My father used his same pair of Felco No. 2s for more than two decades, changing only its blades.

Cutting flowers is arguably the most enjoyable summer pruning job, after all, many of us grow roses so they may be appreciated indoors. Flowers that don’t make it indoors should be deadheaded. Remove flowers as soon as they have faded and the petals are about to fall. It prompts the rose toward developing additional flowers.

Catharine asked, “Where should I make the cut when I remove a rose flower?”

I replied rose leaves are compound, meaning they are composed of leaflets, and there is always an odd number of leaflets to one leaf. The general rule is to cut just above an outward facing leaf with five leaflets.

Cut higher at a three-leaf set and the subsequent growth will be weaker and produce smaller flowers; if one cuts lower at a seven-leaf set, you’ll be removing a lot of stem.

Cutting at the proper site will be about halfway down the flower stem.

At this point the rose will have the optimum strength to develop its best flower and remain attractively bushy.

Take the opportunity to remove unwanted growth from dieback (stems which die in a downward direction from improper pruning) and blind growth (stems which continue to develop without producing buds).

Many rosarians recommend grooming on a constant basis during summer pruning. “Grooming” consists of removing all yellow leaves and spindly growth from a rose. Clean up any fallen flower petals and foliage from the ground to minimize future insect and disease problems.

Disbudding is the way to develop full-sized flowers, one to a stem, from roses that usually flower in clusters. Many grandiflora and hybrid teas produce large flowers in such tight clusters none can open properly. This can be avoided by removing side buds from the dominant, central bud.

I spent time grooming our garden last weekend, discouraged a bit by the feeling that rose care can seem overwhelming.

Then I made my way to Graham Thomas, his blossoms a pale yellow and full of sweet promise. I couldn’t wait to share them with my beautiful wife.

STEVE KAWARATANI is married to Catharine Cooper, and has two cats and five dogs. He can be reached at (949) 497-8168, or e-mail to [email protected].