Well, we are past the days of extreme cold, icy fog, and the long awaited Vasant Ritu is finally here...! This is one of the best times of the year for a
Delhi gardener... The sun is nice & bright and temperatures pleasant – that
is what most of the flowering plants need, don’t they! No wonder the famed
Mughal Gardens (at Rashtrapati Bhawan) are open to public at this time of the
year. I have been there once (two years back I think) and was disappointed, but
I think now Mr. Mukherjee being the resident, I must make another trip.
January/ February is also one of the best season for roses.
The onset of spring is also the time when you would need to prune your rose
plants. And how would you know that the ‘spring’ has really set in? While you
can rely on the Hindu calendar month and ‘Basant Panchmi’ – your roses are the
best tellers themselves!
It is that time when you would see new shoots
developing from the stems as well as new leaves at the top of existing shoots.
If the sun has been (and is expected to, check weather forecast) be a daily
visitor for the next couple of days , then, YES, this is the time...!
The idea behind pruning is to encourage new growth and
better blooms. So, here we start.
Take a hard look at your rose plants:
- Remove any dead (black/ brown) wood.
- The stronger stems should be trimmed back a bit
(2/3rd is a good thumb rule)
- The weak stems should be removed.
- Dead flowers should be removed (you should not
wait for spring for this. This should be a regular maintenance part)
- Remove sucker growth:
o This
is very important in the home gardening context, as most of the roses that we
buy are grafted ones.
o The
word ‘sucker’ is actually incorrect, because the ‘target’ plant is grafted on
an inferior plant. So, in a way we are calling the ‘original’ plant the
‘sucker’ :p
o The
‘inferior’ plant will not produce any blooms. Poor baby L, however, it doesn’t know this very well and will try to
produce its own shoots, especially during the spring time!
o For
clearing the suckers, it is important to carefully look for the ‘grafted
joint’.... any growth below this (whether from the root or on the stem) is a
‘sucker’. refer the picture below.
o You
need to remove these ‘sucker’ stems because this will stunt the growth of the
rose plant (‘target’).
o If
it is a sucker growing on the stem, carefully cut it from as close to the stem
as possible...
o If
it is a sucker growing from the root, try to extract it from the roots, as
shown below.
o Again,
you should not wait for spring for this. Removal of suckers should be a regular
maintenance part, however, you would notice a considerable jump in sucker
growths during spring and monsoons.
Once you are done pruning... Don't forget to put in some extra rose food to assist blooming... This should preferably be done 1-2 days after pruning. If you are a weekend gardener, just put it at the same time, lest your forget it altogether!
Time to say happy pruning gardeners!
