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My neighbor's one throwaway comment changed how I prune my roses
Been growing roses for about 6 years now, mostly hybrid teas and some climbers. Last spring my neighbor, an old guy who used to work at the botanical garden in Portland, watched me chopping away at a bush and just said "you're treating them like hedges, not roses." At first I was annoyed. But he showed me how I was cutting everything to the same height and shape, basically topping the canes. He said roses need a more selective approach, cutting at an angle above outward facing buds, taking out the weak crossing stuff, keeping the center open. I tried it on two bushes that afternoon and the difference by July was nuts. More blooms, better air flow, even the leaves looked healthier. Now I do all 14 bushes that way every March. Anyone else get told something similar about pruning that changed how they do it?
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paige861mo ago
My neighbor told me my hydrangeas looked like I was mad at them, which was fair since I was just whacking them down to the ground every fall. Turns out you're supposed to leave the stems so the new growth has something to sit on, and now they actually flower instead of just making leaves all summer. The old guy down the street knows more than the whole garden center staff combined, and it stings a little. Funny how one sentence from some retired dude with dirt under his nails beats six years of me guessing. Mine just yells at me about my lawn, so at least yours had useful feedback.
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