On Sun, 18 Jan 2009, Kase wrote

"Kate Brown" wrote in message
...
OK, this is such an iggerant question but is it OK to prune roses now? We
missed pruning them in November, when we usually take them down a third or
so (then another prune in Feb/March), and then it was too frosty to do
anything. Now the temperatures are reliably above freezing, should we do
a bit of pruning, or wait till February and do the lot then?

We're in Blackheath, London, quite high and colder than central London but
warmer than the countryside.

--
Kate B

I actually pruned mine yesterday - didn't get the chance to do them before
Christmas, but with the warning of the gales I decided that I didn't want
them blowing around and damaging the roots (they were 1.5 metres high). Took
them down to 18 inches and they are not moving in the wind any more. Will
take them down again at the start of March, shaping them and removing
obviously dead or straggly wood as I go. I've never had a problem with
pruning my HT roses since I planted them three years ago, so long as it is
done the first time after most of the leaves have dropped and the second
time just as the buds start to swell. But between the two, apply plenty of
blood, fish and bone and cover with organic matter - making sure that the
scion is covered to ward off suckering. And as soon as the buds start to
swell, start the routine of spraying against blackspot (they usually have
greenfly in residence by this point also!)


There are greenfly in residence already...
quite a lot are frozen, though!

Thanks to you and everyone else for the reassurance - will get out at
the next opportunity and hack away.


--
Kate B

PS 'elvira' is spamtrapped - please reply to 'elviraspam' at cockaigne dot org dot uk if you
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