garden therapy

According to my gardening guru (aka Mom), January is the month when you are supposed to prune and feed your roses in order to achieve the most beautiful flowers come spring. 

So Tuesday, I took advantage of the unusually warm weather and pruned all 24 (yes 24) of the rose bushes beautifying my backyard. It took a while, but I love gardening, and it was a gorgeous day to be outside. (Plus, gardening is a great workout... as evidenced by the pain in my hamstrings yesterday from all the kneeling and squatting :P)

If you don't have a gardening guru mom to teach you how to care for your garden, here are some quick tips I learned from mine the first Spring I was in my house... back when I only had 18 rose bushes :)

First, you need to make sure you're properly equipped...

Tools -- I use both pruning shears (the small pink things at left) for small, thin stems and branch cutters (the long-armed silver tool) for thicker branches on the stronger bushes. Make sure they are sharpened, as dull blades will damage your roses.

Protective Gear -- Your most important must-have is a good pair of rose pruning gloves. The "mud" gauntlet gloves here are my third and thickest pair so far. The hands are leather and the arm covering "gauntlet" is suede. They are awesome because they protect my oh-so-delicate skin from both thick rose thorns and an angry, toothy cat who doesn't like medicine shoved down her throat.

When you've got your gloves on and your shears and cutters at hand, you're ready to prune. In the winter, it's best to prune the bushes down to just the main thick stems (those thicker than a pencil) that are still green on the outside and cream on the inside. This gets rid of any potential dying or diseased leaves or stems on the plant that formed over the summer and fall blooming season. By doing this, your plant will grow back healthier in the spring. 

It's also a good idea to remove any dead branches completely, and cut back any branches that are touching each other to prevent fungus from growing between them. 

Finally, this is also your opportunity to "shape" your rose bush. Don't like that there is a wonky branch growing crooked off to the left that makes the plant look totally lopsided? Trim it back and if you're lucky it will grow in a different direction next time ;) 

When pruning branches, always make a slanted cut. Look for either "lines" on the branches where new growth shot off or a bud sticking out and make your cut just above that.

The red triangle on the stem above is a new bud.
So I made my cut just above it.

Since I seriously prune all the plants back in winter to promote fresh growth, my roses -- which started off between three-to-seven feet tall -- all end up between one-to-four feet tall when I'm done. They also look sad and painfully dangerous thanks to all the very visible thorns.

But they won't stay that way for long, because I also take this January pruning time to fertilize/feed each plant. I don't think you have to feed your roses in January (most people say start in spring before the first buds start to grow and then feed them again two months later), but I do. Extra nutrients can't hurt... and it keeps nasty bugs away. I always use Bayer Rose & Flower Care, readily available at Lowe's and Home Depot.

You need 1 capful of food per rose bush.
Sprinkle it in a circle around the base of the plant.
Work the granules into the soil.
Water.
Repeat in 8 weeks. 

Come late March/early April, new leaves will start appearing on the plants, like the dark ones here, that then turn green. And soon after that, flowers will bud and bloom.

I can't wait -- free flowers all over my house are the best!