"Caterbro" wrote in
:
(Shiva) wrote in
m:
There seems to be a whole circuit we travel with this rose-growing
thing, with many common stops along the way, where most of us
eventually rest, even if only for a while. I am at the one labeled
"Discover the Joy of Guiltless Shovel Pruning!"
Where are you?
io'm still agonizing over where to put 4 6" Dr. Hueys that
cropped up out of an old bed. I put stakes so they can be carefully
mowed around whilst i find the perfect spot for them!
I have a couple bay Dr. Huey's too. I'm happy enough with my full-sized
one to want more so I rescued a couple and now have them growing on their
own.
I tried shovel-pruning only once and was sorry (a Nearly Wild that wasn't
performing). I understand the necessity in some cases and have no trouble
refraining from anthropomorphizing my plants. Old bedding plants or
misbehaving shurbs get the boot reguarly. But with roses I don't seem to
be able to do it.
Just the other week I dug up two Jeanne LaJoie plants that have been with
me nearly ten years and have ill-performed for me. This is their third
permutation; first they were in pots, then in the ground, now back in
two-gallon containers while I rejuvenate their foliage and figure out
where they'll go next.
I have plenty of neighbors begging me to give them a rose garden that
looks like mine. Of course I won't do that exactly but I find that
donating my under-performers to the neighbors (or the neighborhood) helps
me feel that there's a second or third chance lurking for them, and often
the change in venue makes a world of difference. It's more a challenge to
me to prove to myself that the rose really has a raison d'etre...and that
I can find out what it is if I just explore what it really wants.
To each his or her own, though. Perhaps when I have two hundred roses to
contend with I'll be singing a slightly different tune.
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