Pruning Roses 401

One of my objectives in teaching people about gardening is to keep it simple so that people can easily digest and use the information. A quick Google search and you will  find whole books on rose pruning and care. I'm going to give you the basics- which really is all you need to know. Rose people will shake their collective fists at me for saying this but you can prune any bush type garden rose this way.

The rule of thumb I was taught is to prune your roses in the spring when the forsythia is blooming. If you don't have forsythia or have no idea what forsythia is just prune in the spring when the buds break- they will look like this.

The reason to prune in the spring and not the fall is often roses will have cane die-back in the winter and depending on how bad the winter is the die back can be significant. If you prune in the fall then have a very cold winter with little snow you may end up with a dead rose or one sticking out a few inches above the soil. Winter die-back on canes looks like this.

So,  basically what you are going to go is get rid of all but 4-5 main canes and cut those right above an outward facing bud. That is- see I could write a book! Here is a visual.

Yes it looks like you are hacking the plant and leaving almost nothing but trust me by mid June your roses will look amazing. So here is how I do it. I have two David Austin roses up at the top of my drive way, this is what they look like now before pruning.

The fist thing I do is stand back and pick out 4 to 5 canes that I am going to keep and cut out the rest. Next I will cut the canes I have left to a height of about 3 feet. I look for a healthy bud that is facing outward away from the plant. This is important because you want your roses to be open in the middle to allow air to circulate, this will keep disease at bay.

Removing an old cane

I make the cut at an angle just above the bud

After the cut

Here is what they look like when I am done.

A few weeks later with their new growth

As for rose care I have read all kinds of advise including adding everything from egg shells to coffee grounds to the soil.  I have always just added a little compost in the spring and mulched with old leaves. My roses are fantastically healthy but they are planted in good soil and get plenty of sun which is really the key.

*A note on David Austin roses- these are my absolute favorite roses. they tend to get less diseases then standard hybrid tea roses and they have a fragrance that will knock your socks off. They are a little more expensive that what you will find at home depot but totally worth the extra money.

Happy pruning!

The walflowers of the perinnial world

I have probably told everyone I know what my favorite plants is and I probably said a different plant to each person. Really to answer that question I would need more specifics are we talking about; a shrub, wildflower, cut-flower, native or tree? I guess to sound like a mother with 10 children- I have many favorites. Here is a list of a few that I think have been overlooked. These are a few of my full sun and part sun favorites.


Amsonia is one of the few true blue flowers that bloom late spring to early summer.  Don't cut these plants after blooming because their foliage turns bronze in the fall and the flower heads form interesting seed pods. They do hold as a cut flower but has a milky sap so you will have to change the water after picking them. This plant is also deer resistant and drought tolerant which is a nice bonus. They grow in zone 9-4.

Astrantia is popular in Europe but not here for some reason. They have long blooming paper like pincushion flowers in subtle pinks, red and purple. They prefers a moist but well drained soil part shade and will bloom from June-August in zone 9-5.

Angelica- This is the plant in my garden that everyone says "what is that?!" Huge foliage close to the ground and the flower stock can get 4 feet high. It looks like Queen Ann's Lace on steroids- do not plant this if you don't like insects- everything want to pollinate this plant- it is like the LAX for the insect world. It is a great attractor of beneficial insects to your garden.It blooms late-spring to early-fall in zone 9-4.

This purple variety is a show stopper in the garden

Lathyrus vernus- perennial sweet pea. I love garden club plant sales for plants like this. I had never heard of this plant, what a little cutie! It blooms early spring for me in part shade/ full sun. It looks terrific mixed with spring bulbs. After the flowers go by it forms little pea like seed pods.I haven't seen this in nurseries but it is available from White Flower Farm. From what I could find it is hardy from zone 7-5.

Lysimachia- gooseneck loosestrife. *WARNING* Plant this plant where it can cannot take over the world because it will! this is a great plant for crappy soil in an area you really don't want to deal with, it make a great 2-3 foot ground cover. I have it in a patch under a tree sounded by grass, I will mow the little bastards that try to spread out in the lawn. That said it is a no fuss great plant that reminds me of ocean waves when it blooms and is an amazing cut flower!

Clover- why you want it in your lawn

In honor of Saint Patrick's Day !

As Americans we have been sold on the idea that a good lawn should be a perfectly trimmed carpet of green all season that has nothing else growing in it but grass. This has not always been the case in fact up until the 1950's grass seed mixes included clover in them.

Your lawn should look like this or you fail!

Clover was included in lawn mixes because it is more drought resistant then grass,doesn't brown when dog's pee on it,  can stand compaction and it can add nitrogen to the soil. Clover is in the legume family, all legumes have a unique way of using bacteria in the soil to help the plant actually pull nitrogen from the air and store it on little node on it's roots. There is a lot of science behind this I won't get into here but essentially they add nitrogen (fertilizer) to the soil.

If this is so why do they tell us clover is bad and we don't want it in our lawn? Here is the story. By the 1950's weed killing chemicals were being used in large scale food production like wheat and corn. The companies manufacturing these chemicals thought they might make some money by expanding to the home market. The problem with these broad leaf herbicides is they killed everything except the grass- including clover. As companies are good at this kind of thing, they stated selling seed mixes with out clover and sold the idea that a lawn free of anything but grass was the look of a real American lawn.

clover and grass mixed lawn- so happy!

If you want to add clover in your lawn the best kind to use is white clover (Trifolium repens) also called Dutch clover. You can usually find clover at a farm supple store or on line here or here. This type stays pretty small and is easy to add to your lawn just as you would grass seed from mid-March to mid-April. The easiest way  to seed it is to mix the tiny seed in soil, compost or sand then hand spread it in sparse patches of the lawn. One thing to note is you will not be able to use broad leaf "weed" killer on your lawn or it will kill your clover. If you neighbors will shun you for having dandelions you can spot treat to kill them or manually dig them out of your lawn.

White clover in flower

 

 

 

I leave my grass clippings on my lawn and haven't fertilized in the 10 years I have had my home but have a green healthy lawn. Let this little plant save you time and money!

My lawn with a pretty bouquet

Shade Plants - Beyond Hostas and Heucheras

 If you are like me you may get sick of seeing and using the same shade plants over and over again. I have found myself searching at nurseries for something a little different. Here is a list of plants that I have grown and loved that work in shade.


Lenten Rose (helleborus) blooms late winter Feb-May and is hardy from zone 9-4a. How could you not love something that starts to flower while there is often still snow on the ground. They like moist but well drained soil and grow best in part shade but I have one in almost full shade that seems to thrive. They have clusters of pendant flowers in colors that range from almost black to every shade of pink you can think of. Helleborus are slow to establish but long lived and if they like where they are a very easy plant to grow. They also make an excellent cut flower!

Foam flower (tiarella) is a small mounded plant who's flowers looks like little bottle brushes. They have pretty leaves that hold up all season and even in a mild winter. They work well in shade to part shade with moist rich soil and can even form a ground cover. They are hardy from zone 8-3.

Perennial foxglove (digitalis grandiflora) June-July and are hardy from 7a-4a. This is not the incredibly tall foxgloves of old English gardens they are only about 2-3 feet high with soft yellow flowers with brown speckles but unlike other foxgloves this one is a true perennial. After they bloom if you cut the flowers stocks back the may flower again in the fall. this guy does best with well drained soil and part shade.

Snakeroot (cimicifuga) 'Brunette' A common problem with shade gardens is that most shade plants bloom in the spring- this guy blooms in July-August. I like this variety for it's almost black leaves which really makes a statement.They have long airy upright spikes of white flowers and a prefers moist but well-drained soil. They are hardy from zone 9-3.

Ladies mantel (Alchemilla) This is one of those plants I will tell people is my favorite, I have many favorites but what ever. It has a wonderful chartreuse flower flower which looks great blue or purple cut flowers. The bloom time is long, starting here early June and blooming for about a month.They can spread easily by seed if you don't cut the flowers back after they bloom, I'm personally  happy to see little babies but some people are not. They are hardy from zone 8-3.

In flower

After a rain droplets of water stay n the edge of the leaves