On 1/10/2014 7:29 PM, Higgs Boson wrote:
On Tuesday, January 7, 2014 10:20:36 PM UTC-8, David E. Ross wrote:
On 1/7/2014 8:21 PM, Higgs Boson wrote:

On Monday, January 6, 2014 3:55:25 PM UTC-8, David E. Ross wrote:

On 1/5/2014 8:19 PM, Higgs Boson wrote:


Climate here in So.Calif coastal has been anomalous (sp?) last few



years. Hot, cold, hot, no respecter of seasons.







Right now, it's not even our version of "winter"; more like 70-80



daytime temp. (Not that I'm complaining about the sunshine, but we



are in deep trouble for rain locally as well as in the mountains.



Little or no snowpack, big trouble for domestic water use and for



agriculture.)







My roses did not do their usual holiday season flush; just a few



blooms.







I neglected to feed several months ago. So now I don't know what the



hell to do! Normally I wouldn't feed until some time after I prune



(usually around 3rd week in January.







Is it safest to just proceed normally, rather than screw them up by



feeding now and pruning later?



Help!







HB











Prune right now. I've pruned 8 of my 14 roses. One (a miniature) will



not be pruned.







As soon as leaf buds start to open, feed.







--



David E. Ross



Climate: California Mediterranean, see



http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html



Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary



David Ross -- Are you noticing anything different last few years?

IOW, have you always pruned on that schedule?



TIA



HB





Yes. I generally start by Christmas, prune at least on rose on New

Year, and try to finish by 15 January. My peach tree is done. Four

roses are still in bloom, but they will be cut this coming weekend.

Then I must do my three grape vines.



What is different is when the first bloom occurs after pruning.

Generally, roses had their first blooms in the second half of April. In

in 2013, they were well into bloom a month before that.



Besides an extreme drought, this is a relatively warm winter here in

southern California. So far, there have been only 100 hours of below

45F temperatures since the beginning of November and none since 21

December. By this date last year, we had slightly more than 181 hours.

Two years ago on this date, we had less than 86 hours. I am quite

concerned about my peach tree, which requires abouit 300 hours of winter

chill.

Seriously, David, would it be worth your while to bank the
surrounding area out to the drip line with ice cubes? It would be expensive, yes,
but might help get you a crop this year.

I had a peach tree for 15 - more like 20 - years that bore up a
storm; couldn't keep up with the picking. And my area is much milder than
yours. Can't remember my variety; it was a golden oldie standard cling.
What variety is yours?

HB


The roots don't need chill as much as the flower and leaf buds. I would
need a cage about 8 ft tall and 10 ft in diameter, filled to the top
with ice -- from November until mid-March.

The variety is 'Santa Barbara', which is a low-chill variety. However,
"low-chill" does not mean "no chill". This one produces much nicer
fruit (when the squirrels let me have some) than its predecessor
'Ventura'. The fruit is about as good as 'Golden Blush' -- my first
peach in that location -- which I could no longer find. All three were
free-stone. 'Santa Barbara' and 'Golden Blush' are sweet, juicy, and
quite flavorful. 'Ventura' is less juicy.

Peach trees reach their peak of production in about 12 years and then
decline. Many commercial peach orchards start over after 15 years. I
keep mine a bit longer.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary