Earlier this year we moved the rose garden to make way for the vegetable patch. It’s actually a bigger plot so we had to buy more bushes to supplement those we already had. We put the solar fountain into storage a few weeks ago and, apart from the odd straggling bud, this year’s floral display is well and truly over. Anyway, up until a few years ago I always pruned during late February / early March until I read somewhere that if you prune late autumn, when the plants are entering dormancy, it encourages early blooms. Since then it’s been my habit to prune early November before the frosts start, i.e. now. It was overcast this morning so I was trying to drum up the enthusiasm to pull on the wellies and dig out the secateurs. As a delaying tactic, I decided to consult the Gospel according to Dr D. G. Hessayon (he of the “Expert Series”) and found that he preaches pruning in early April in my part of the country. I did a quick trawl on the Internet and discovered that he wasn’t alone. Well, I’m afraid I have to disagree on this point. There are a number of advantages to pruning now: the rose mildew fungus overwinters in young shoots so pruning helps to eradicate it, and stronger winds and freezing / thawing soil during winter can destabilise roots, especially if the plants are relatively newly planted, so less plant mass on top can help the roots underneath. I also have a third reason, another top tip from my horticultural course. This year we underplanted the roses with spring bulbs for a longer display of colour, so I don’t want straggly rose branches obscuring our view of the tulips and allium from the conservatory. Still, this doesn’t get the job done and now it’s so miserable outside even the cats and dogs are refusing to step paw outdoors.
P.S. I’ve just been listening to Rob Newman (formerly of The Mary Whitehouse Experience) on 6 Music waxing on about the benefits of allotment gardening. So it’s official. Gardening is the new rock ’n’ roll …
