Rose Fever By OZ
ROSE FEVER
Hundreds of roses pruned, hundreds of roses to go ! Audrey and I have been very
busy, taking advantage of the sunny spring-like weather of early March. There will be
much more in the next Rose Beacon about pruning techniques. For those who are thinking about an early start in the garden, lets review the basics of pruning. Remember the 3D’s, the dead, the damaged and the diseased. Start with the dead, it’s the easiest to recognize. Its usually black, brown , very brittle and dead! Then look to prune a quarter inch below pink colored bud eyes that are on the outside direction of the bush. You might have to prune out a good looking cane whose only crime is that of growing in the middle of the bush. Dress warm and enjoy the day outside.
Espoma has a wonderful line of products…here are my favorites including their percentages of N-P-K ( nitrogen, phosphate, potash ) information Rose-tone 6-6-4,
Plant-tone 5-3-3, and Holly-tone 4-6-4. We drove down to Agway to pick up some bags of Holly-tone, but just before we made our purchase we and made a unique discovery.
The Holly-tone is “rich in natural organics”, while the Plant-tone is “all natural and organic”. We bought four bags of Plant-tone, did we read too much into the labels?
We rejected the Rose-tone because it only came in 25 pound bags, while the others were available in 50 pound bags for the attractive price of two for $30.
Audrey and I have been taking the process one step further. After we have pruned several roses, they receive their first fertilization. Organics are the food of the day!
Each bush receives a cup of Plant-tone, which is covered by a blanket of manure.
As a side note, all the fertilizer that has been applied has been watered in by Mother
Nature during the weekend of March 8.
Over 200 words and I’ve only mentioned the secret of good rose growing ,“organics” three times, Lets step up the pace…organics, organics, organics, organics, ORGANICS !
The March 29th meeting will be all about good growing rose growing. You can’t be a good rosarian without being a good farmer. It all begins underground. You don’t think that the farmers are turning chemicals over and over into the soil, do you? On a smaller scale it is the manures, grass clippings, fish bodies, winter rye and more that make everything come alive in the ideal situation. We will be presenting a program on the wide
world of composing. Learn what and what not to put into your compost pile. Discover how to keep the pile “alive,” even speed up the process. You will even be able to build a compost bin instead of just having a pile, in one easy lesson.
On Sunday, July 30, 2000, Peggy Eastman wrote in The Cape Cod Times, From the Garden on Weir Creek…Osborn’s motto is “ the more you do for a rose bush, the more it will do for you.” I was right then, and I’m right now. What more could you do for a rose bush than to mulch it with a complete compost.
I’ve paid my $20 LCRS dues for 2008, I’ve paid for my seat on the bus trip to The Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden on June 7th, I’m going to the Yankee District Rose Convention in Mystic on the 15th and I’ve marked MARCH 29 on my calendar for the Composting meeting,…..all is right in the world ! ! OZ