Re: Repeat summer rose bloom
David King wrote:
>
> I absolutely insist on rose blooms almost year round. I work like the devil
> to try to deadhead my 30+ roses and I have only one (a gift) that is not a
> repeat bloomer. After the spring flush, I will usually only have two or
> three weeks when I can't have a bouquet including at least one rose flower
> in every room of my small house. A trick I've yet to master is getting a
> consistent flush for Christmas, which has more to do with unpredictable
> temperature than for any want of effort on my part.
>
> When cutting the plant in Summer, I do not do anything that I would describe
> as "cutting them back". I take out an errant cane here or there, but I feel
> my work is more appropriately called "deadheading". Bucket and pruners in
> hand, at least an hour of my Saturday mornings or Sunday afternoons are
> mostly spoken for by my desire for more blooms.
Hi David
Your deadheading technique is just the thing to encourage a regular
trickle of blooms throughout the growing season, but for anything like a
major flush you would need to prune more drastically. By cutting back
the entire bush at least half as hard as for a full winter pruning you
can induce a real flush of bloom about six weeks later, but you will
miss out on the intervening scatter of flowers. Perhaps you might like
to try this on selected bushes while leaving the rest to give you the
more limited but regular colour meantime.
(Myself I tend to go mostly for the little-and-often style too.)
Moira
Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz>
Wainuiomata, New Zealand. (on the "Ring of Fire" in the SW Pacific).
Lat. 41:16S Long. 174:58E. Climate: Mediterranean/Temperate
