On Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:36:42 -0500, tazmainiandevil
wrote:


Hi,

I just joined this forum as there seem to be a lot of smart gardeners
posting here and I desperately need some advice.

I have taken over a very big garden that was once well planted then
completely left for several years. I'm currently trying to resurrect any
of the plants that I can, and need advice on pruning, as I feel a good
pruning this time of year will leave me with a much better chance of
helping these guys. However, there are several roses, and two grape
vines that I am wary of pruning.

What I need to know is, how hard should I go with the basic old roses,
back to just 4 to 5 canes? One of the roses has stunning white flowers,
but it is very spindly and prone to disease, do I give up, or can I
prune health into it? Another is a climber with two strong canes coming
from the ground, and I am not sure how to approach cutting back the
spindly/strong canes coming from the main stems. Or maybe I should take
it back to the ground? It seems pretty well established.

The old grape vine is really straggly and it's hard to tell what's alive
and what's not. I unburied it last year from brambles and strung it up
on a trellis made of tree prunings and it fruited, so it's obviously got
some go in it. Again, I am really unsure as to how hard to prune the
vine, and how to know where to cut. Would I be better off waiting until
spring when I can see shoots to guide me?

I'd really appreciate some help with my mammoth project! I have about a
million other questions, but these will do for now.

x


Not enough information. But here's the basics for roses. Wait to
prune until you see little red "buds" on the stems (that already
happened here in TN). Remove all the dead canes. Remove any canes
thinner than a pencil. Next, remove canes that are crowded, out of
place, or anaything to improve the balance and air-circulation of the
plant. Early spring is the best time to prune, unbury the crown if
needed and apply a half inch layer rotted cow manure and fish
emulsion. Be careful with climbers, they can leaf out a large canopy
shading the underneath and holding excessive moisture leading to black
spot.