ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 1, 1996 TAG: 9612030142
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Dear John
SOURCE: JOHN ARBOGAST
Garden roses require care in late fall in the Roanoke region to ensure their survival through the winter. Proper care also helps make sure the roses will have excellent vigor next spring and will require less pesticide next summer.
Certainly, roses are a landscape crop that require much maintenance and, as a result, might not be as popular in our rushed society as in prior years. However, rose breeders have worked to meet demands from both environmentalists and busy gardeners to produce new varieties that don't require as much spraying as the old favorites.
Roses stay green and in active growth later in the fall than most deciduous shrubs in the Roanoke area. The green leaf color signifies the continued reception of sunlight for making food, which is being stored in the canes and roots. Because most bush-type roses have grown tall during the autumn weeks, there is the temptation to do heavy pruning. This urge must be resisted.
Instead, the only fall pruning that is advisable while the garden roses are still green is the prompt removal of faded blooms. Then, soon after the bush roses shed their leaves and go dormant, all long canes can be lightly pruned so that winter winds don't push and pull the shoots, which could loosen or damage the plant.
At the time the pruning is done, sanitation of both the canes and beds is a good idea. This will help reduce the chances of rose-disease organisms lingering over the winter, ready to cause new infections next year.
In the sanitation process, rake and remove, as far as possible, all leaves that have fallen from each plant. This is important because some of the fallen leaves might have had black-spot disease. Also, prune and remove all cane portions that show reddish-purple black-spot disease blemishes, and/or tan or chestnut-brown spots surrounded by deep purple edges, possibly with cracks (symptoms of stem canker diseases).
Fall fertilization of bush-type roses is usually not recommended, because their culture is more like that of annual flowers that are fertilized in the spring to encourage lush growth and blooming. Keep in mind that nitrogen fertilizers that are not used by plants can leach through soil and become ground water or stream pollutants.
Place winter protection over the graft union of bush-type roses soon after they have become dormant and the ground has chilled. This is mainly important for newly planted roses that have just completed their first year in the ground.
It is OK to place winter protection over all your roses, though. For this protection Roanoke-area rose growers don't have to make a soil mound over roses like folks in northern climates do. Instead, placing a 10-inch mound of coarse mulch over dormant rose canes to insulate the graft union is sufficient. In early spring, the mulch can be pulled back; then spread around the rose bed just as soon as new shoots emerge and the first spring feeding is done.
Area rose gardeners with questions are invited to call the Extension Master Gardeners Greenline at 857-6208.
Q: My Christmas cactus has finished blooming already and now has lost the beauty that I was hoping it would have for the holidays. What went wrong and will it bloom again this season?
Are you sure you don't really have a Thanksgiving cactus? Such a plant exists.
Did you keep your cactus on the dry side in early fall? This practice can be used to force a Christmas cactus to form flower buds.
Has your cactus been in a cool room, especially cool at night, since early fall? That is another practice that stimulates Christmas cactus flower bud formation.
If your plant really is a Christmas cactus that bloomed off schedule, it might produce a few more blooms in mid-to-late winter if kept in a cool location.
Send short questions about your lawn, garden, plants or insects to Dear John, c/o The Roanoke Times, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va. 24010-2491. We need your mail, but this column can't reply to all letters. Those of wide appeal will be answered during the weeks that the subject is timely. Personal replies cannot be given. Please don't send stamps, stamped envelopes, samples, or pictures.
Gardener's checklist
Jobs for the first week of December:
Tie cone and broad-shaped evergreens in the landscape (examples: yews, junipers, arborvitae, etc.) to slightly compress the shrub size and reduce the potential for winter snow or ice damage.
Winter indoor plant tips: turn frequently to ensure uniform light distribution and straighter winter growth; remove plants from areas of heat or drafts; don't keep soil constantly wet; fertilize little if at all.
Check stored fruits and vegetables and remove all with areas of decay or disease.
LENGTH: Medium: 91 linesby CNB