roses Archives | Diana's Designs Austin

February Tip: Take your shears in hand

RosePrune Just as most plants in the garden are starting to shoot up, it’s time to whack back your roses. Oh no, you say, I couldn’t possibly do that. But if you want healthier plants and more prolific blooms, take your shears in hand.

It’s important to prune roses to reduce thin, weak or crowded stems and to increase airflow through the plant. Pruning off inward-facing canes improves circulation and helps prevent pests and diseases. Shaping the healthy stalks by cutting them back by one third or more helps maintain a compact plant.

If you have climbers or one-time bloomers, wait until after they have finished their spring blooming because they bear flowers on last year’s wood. For continuous bloomers, a thorough spring pruning in Central Texas is usually done between the middle of February and the first week in March. Don’t worry if your rose has already sprouted growth, it’s still important to prune them now – they will reward you if you do. The ever-blooming varieties will then put on a show all summer because they bloom on new growth, which is prompted by pruning.

Make sure you sterilize your pruners with alcohol before you begin. This prevents the possible spread of any diseases. You’ll need to use curved-edge, scissor-like pruners, to prevent crushing the branches, and long handled loppers, and a pruning saw. You’ll also want to use long leather or extra thick rose gloves – sometimes I think those thorns actually reach out to grab me. I’ve found a great tool for pruning my roses — it actually grips the branch after it’s been cut. Then you simply release the handle and drop the branch into your brush bag without endangering your digits.

Read the full article.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:02-06:00February 28th, 2015|Tips|Comments Off

Prune Roses now for beautiful blooms

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Carefree Beauty Rose Just as most plants in the garden are starting to shoot up, it’s time to whack back your roses. Oh no, you say, I couldn’t possibly do that. But if you want healthier plants and more prolific blooms, take your shears in hand.

It’s important to prune roses to reduce thin, weak or crowded stems and to increase airflow through the plant. Pruning off inward-facing canes improves circulation and helps prevent pests and diseases. Shaping the healthy stalks by cutting them back by one third or more helps maintain a compact plant.

Screen-shot-2013-05-28-at-2.06.24-PM If you have climbers or one-time bloomers, wait until after they have finished their spring blooming because they bear flowers on last year’s wood. For continuous bloomers, a thorough spring pruning in Central Texas is usually done between the middle of February and the first week in March. Don’t worry if your rose has already sprouted growth, it’s still important to prune them now – they will reward you if you do. The ever-blooming varieties will then put on a show all summer because they bloom on new growth, which is prompted by pruning.

Make sure you sterilize your pruners with alcohol before you begin. This prevents the possible spread of any diseases. You’ll need to use curved-edge, scissor-like pruners, to prevent crushing the branches, and long handled loppers, and a pruning saw. You’ll also want to use long leather or extra thick rose gloves – sometimes I think those thorns actually reach out to grab me. I’ve found a great tool for pruning my roses — it actually grips the branch after it’s been cut. Then you simply release the handle and drop the branch into your brush bag without endangering your digits.

Hybrid Teas and Grandifloras

First, begin at the bottom and prune off any dead, old, brown or non-producing canes. Next, take out canes that are rubbing against or lying on other canes. Then cut stems that are growing in toward the center of the shrub. Cut off any growth of suckers at the base of the bush. Finally, cut remaining stems that are smaller than the diameter of a pencil.

The pruning and shaping cuts should be made at a 45-degree angle, about ¼ of an inch above a dormant bud, or eye, that is facing the outside of the plant. The eye looks like a small round and swollen bump on the branch and is not sprouting. Other, growing buds are already on their way to producing – pruning these dormant buds will promote more new growth and result in profuse blooms. The result should be a rose that is about two feet tall with about a half dozen canes.

Climbing roses

Climbing roses are pruned so as to encourage them to grow upward, instead of creating a compact bush. With these roses, trim as you would with Grandifloras, but allow more long, vertical canes to grow unless they are dead, unhealthy or are outgrowing their space. Then trim the horizontal side branches to about 5-10 inches, making sure the cut is above a bud eye and is aimed up at a 45-degree angle.

Floribundas and antique roses

These roses are generally not pruned as dramatically as the others. For these bushes, follow the same basic process, but cut fewer of the main canes off of the bush and prune only about 1/3 off the remaining healthy branches. For antique roses, you only need to remove the dead or crossed canes and give it a light pruning on last year’s growth. If they get too lanky, you can eliminate some of the older canes as needed.

Once pruning is complete, be sure to clean up and dispose of any leaves that have dropped around the base of the bush, just in case they contain fungi spores. Use a dormant spray, available at most independent nurseries, immediately after pruning. This will ensure that there are no remaining insects and fungi.

The American Rose Society recommends waiting 3-4 weeks before applying a rose fertilizer, but local sources recommend feeding right after the roses have been pruned. In our warm climate where the plants are already budding out, it should be safe to feed immediately after pruning.

And, as with all plants, apply an ample layer of mulch around the rose bush, being careful not to place the mulch right up to the base of the plant. This will prevent water evaporation, lessen the likelihood of weeds and protect the plant from extreme heat when the weather starts to warm up.

Local Landscape Designer and Garden Coach Diana Kirby provides landscaping tips at http:/www.dianasdesignsaustin.com and writes a garden blog at https://www.dianasdesignsaustin.com

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:02-06:00February 28th, 2015|Articles|Comments Off

Some plants like bare feet in the winter

By now, most central Texas gardeners have experienced at least a light frost if not a hard freeze. Our summer-loving perennials are fading, losing blooms, dropping leaves and going to seed in preparation for winter dormancy.

While it may seem like it’s break time in the garden, now is actually a great time to plant a number of things. Nurseries are now stocking up on bare root plants – a wide variety of plants, vegetables and trees that are available for sale with their roots exposed instead of planted in containers with soil.

Bare root plants are dormant, dug up by the grower and kept cold until they are shipped. They weigh less without soil and containers and are much easier to ship, therefore, they are a great value because they cost less. Once the plant is placed in the ground and watered, it will begin to grow again.

According to Jeff Ferris, of the Natural Gardener, “It is less expensive to plant a bare root tree. If a bare root tree and a container tree are planted at the same time, with the exact same care and conditions, they will reach the same height at the same time.”

Larger container trees take longer to overcome the setbacks and shock of transplanting from the grower and having their roots cut to place them in containers. So buying a smaller, bare root tree will give it a better start and cost less, too.

What kinds of plants are available bare root?

Fruit and nut trees
Berries
Vegetables
Roses

Fruit trees

Most fruit trees require a specific number of “chilling hours” to grow and fruit properly.

This is the number of hours of winter temperatures between 32° to 45° F to break dormancy and induce normal bloom and vegetative growth. Varieties with a chilling requirement that is too low are likely to bloom early and be more susceptible to frost. If the chilling requirement is too high, they may be very slow to break dormancy and may abort fruit.

According to Texas A&M University’s Agricultural Extension Service, Travis County has approximately 700 average chill hours. (Bear in mind, “average” is a very slippery slope for central Texas gardeners, given our seesawing weather patterns in recent years.)

The specific varieties listed below meet the appropriate chilling requirements for the Travis County. (In an “average” year!)

Peaches (Well-adapted to our extreme climate swings)

TexStar
La Feliciana
Spring Gold
June Gold
Bicentennial
Sentinel
Harvester
Red Gold
Dixiland

Plums

Methley
Morris
Ozark
Premier
Alfred
Bruce

Pears (Easy fruit trees to grow, require least pruning and insect control)

Ayers
Magness
Orient
Maxine
Keiffer
LeConte
Moonglow

These are generally the most popular fruit trees grown in our area. Apples, apricots, citrus, figs, pecans, persimmons and others can also be grown successfully in central Texas. Ask your local nursery expert about well-adapted varieties of these trees.

Some trees are self-pollinating, however most fruit trees require cross-pollination. These trees need pollen from another tree to produce fruit, and the tree must be a different cultivar. Pollen from its own flowers or those of another tree of the same cultivar will not successfully pollinate the female parts of the flowers, due to incompatible timing. Be sure to check with the nursery to determine if a specific variety needs a pollinator to produce fruit.

Berries

Grapes (Nearly half of all species of grapes are native to Texas. While wild mustang grapes are prolific here, they aren’t as versatile for table use.)

Blanc Du Bois
Champanel
Golden Muscat
Carlos
Jumbo
Magnolia

Black berries

Brazos
Womack
Shawnee
Rosborough
Navajo
Arapaho
Brison

Strawberries

Chandler
Sequoia
Douglas
Tioga, Fresno, Tangi

Raspberries

Dorman Red

Vegetables

Artichokes

Green Globe
Imperial Star

Asparagus

Martha Washington
UC 157
Jersey Giant
UC 72
Jade Cross
Long Island Improved
Diablo

Roses

There are at least 100 varieties of roses that grow well in central Texas – far too many to list. For specific varieties, from climbers to floribundas, the A&M horticulture website has an extensive listing at:

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/PLANTanswers/publications/roses/south.html

How to know if the plant is healthy

If you’ve never bought bare root plants before, they might look like dead sticks. But there are ways to make sure you’re getting a good specimen.

Check for mold or mildew on the roots. If the mold coverage is very light, you can clean it off. But, if mold covers the roots or the root feels soft, the plant is dead.

A healthy specimen will have lots of intact root “hairs.” Check for broken roots, you can cut off the root at the bend but never cut a healthy root to accommodate the size of your hole.

The plant may smell earthy, but should not smell bad or rotten .

The branches should not be damaged. A few broken twigs are okay.

Roots, rhizomes, and other parts should feel heavy. If they feel light and dried
out then the plant probably will not grow.

At most local nurseries, customers wrap and bag their own fruits and vegetables – placing the plant and some sand in newspaper, wetting the newspaper and then placing it in a plastic bag around the plant. I always get a kick out of the process, feeling like I somehow have a more personal connection with the plant after I’ve lovingly wrapped it up to bring home.

How to plant and care for bare root plants

Once you’ve taken your plants home, remove any packing material, such as sawdust or sand and soak the root portion of the plant in water, several hours for woody plants and 10-20 minutes for perennials, asparagus, strawberries, etc. It is important to get bare root plants into the ground quickly.

Dig a hole that is wide enough and deep enough to put the plant in without

bending or crowding the roots. Place the plant in the hole at the same level it was grown by the nursery — where the roots start and top shoots begin (the crown). Don’t cover the root graft or the crown of your plants. Spread the roots out evenly and don’t backfill the holes of trees with anything other than the soil that was dug out to create the hole.

Water the plant thoroughly, making sure that the soil around the roots is moist. And finally, mulch the plant to help protect it. Water new plants regularly until established.

Bare root trees will probably need to be staked for one year.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:25-06:00December 10th, 2010|Articles|0 Comments

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