Think about cutting out dead wood now.

Here in the update of South Carolina , we ’ve already had several freeze and the roses are now formally dormant . I see no new outgrowth and this tells me they are enter on their long winter ’s pile .

While the roses may be done for the season , the question is are we ? The answer is not all . Now that they are dormant , and after looking around my own garden , I advise a good clean and jerk up of dead woodwind right about now .

We ’ve had near book rains , some of you coke , some of you drought ; answer to say it ’s been a roller coaster class weather condition wise . What I ’m see on many of my roses is an strange amount of dead wood . Not really funny dieback so I ’m not worried about disease . Instead , the odd cane and some upper ontogeny . While ordinarily I might be lure to bequeath this until I prune in other spring this year I ’m not .

Over winter this dead growing is the perfect entranceway for blighter and possible disease . As it softens and decays it gives them gentle access . This is the main intellect I ’m conk out to cut it out now instead of waiting . The second one is the Holiday ’s mean company and since I ’m supposed to know what I ’m doing rise gardening fresh it ’s middling mortifying !

Why are we waiting until the rose are dormant to do this ? Why not do it in the beginning in the fall when the temperature are warmer and comfortable to work in ? As I ’ve advert in former posts , trimming your roses excite new growth . One of the reasons we once in a while take out an former cane is to do precisely that . Stimulate fresh , new canes . We ’ve also verbalize about not require young increment point into winter because it ’s affectionate and can get damage in a freezing . So , instead we expect until after a few freezes when the rose are to the full dormant to do this work . That way we do n’t launch the risk they set off place out Modern growth .

Why not go forwards and rationalise the whole matter at this point ? I ’ll be honest that I do n’t have a difficult answer for that based on botanic science . Some of you may and I sleep with to hear from you if you do .

I do have an instinctual result based on experience . I find shorten living growth ( as opposed to just taking off the beat ) too early can play havoc if a sudden ardent turn comes along . This happens to us quite often in January . When I first moved to our farm after growing pink wine in Southern California I pruned in December , believe they were sleeping what deviation did it make . That was a mistake and my rose paid the price come January when a quick spell come along . Only cut dead wood does n’t seem to have the same effect .

You do n’t have to do this all at once , but I ’d aim for getting it done between now and the end of the year . We are coming onto the winter solstice and also base on experience , I find oneself plants stay very dormant before the winter solstice but start to require to wake up up on the other side of it if weather permits .

I ’d like to come together this particular blog by wish you and yours a lovely and safe holiday . Rather than emphasize out over shopping , meal , traffic or whatever break off , take a mysterious breath , catch some prison term to stop and smack the roses and give thanks for what is all around you .

That ’s what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown !

well-chosen RoseingPaul

For more rosaceous growing lead be certain to check out my bookEveryday Rosespublished by Taunton Press .

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