Posted on 08/18/2008 4:56:06 PM PDT by Little Bill
LB,
There is a regular gardening thread on FR, although there haven’t been many threads lately (all those posters are busy harvesting their gardens right now).
However, freepers gardengirl, gabz, and Diana in Wisconsin are three of the many experts that come to mind.
So I’ve pinged them for you. Good luck.
THankx
roseanne barr is a nut case. Oops wrong thread.
So far it's worked for me.
how about rose.com ibtz if there was ever one
Here’s a good primer on pruning roses:
http://gardening.about.com/od/rose1/a/RosePruning.htm
Treat yourself to a professional-grade pair of hand pruners (I recommend Felco #7) and some leather, to the elbow, rose gloves. ;)
If I understand correctly, you are cutting off the stem with 5 leaves?
If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now.
It's just a spring-clean for the May Queen.
Bill, I believe tk's advice means you would leave those 5 leaves on the stem. By cutting "ABOVE the crotch of a stem that has 5 leaves" it would leave the 5 leaves.
Trithkeeper, please correct me if I'm wrong.
If you are looking to extend your hedge try this one.
Paul’s Himalayan Climber. Grows to 30 Feet.
I am planing to prune at 4 feet an hope to spread the plants, as a bush.
I have read about this stuff but have no experience.
I have that rose in a tree in my backyard. Very pretty the way it cascades down, but sadly too short a bloom season.
Making a Rose Hedge
The Antique Rose Emporium, Texas
http://www.antiqueroseemporium.com/culture.html
There are two basic types of hedges - formal and informal.
A large, informal hedge can replace a wall or privacy fence, or be used to disguise or soften an existing one. Members of the Shrub rose class, most of the Hybrid Musks, several of the Species roses, and individual varieties from other classes such as the China rose, Mutabilis, or the Rugosa, Sir Thomas Lipton make excellent subjects for an informal hedge. This type of rose planting requires almost no care at all other than the basics of feeding, watering, and removing the occasional dead cane.
Roses can also be used to create a neat, formal, everblooming hedge that offers a great deal more color and interest than the traditional green mustache of shrubbery that hides the foundations of many modern houses. The keys to a formal appearance are not in trying to keep the bushes all precisely the same shape (continuous production of new bloom stalks will always make the bushes slightly irregular) and choosing one specific variety rather than trying to mix and match. China and Tea roses are excellent for hedges in the 4 to 6 foot range, with Polyanthas useful at shorter heights.
In order to create a really thick hedge, the rose bushes can be planted in a double row or staggered in zig-zag fashion to maintain appropriate intervals between plants.
If the bushes are pruned back hard the first year or two, they will fill out vigorously with uniform thick growth. After the plants are established, the hedge can be simply sheared to the required height once or twice a year (late February and late August in the South) and left alone to bloom.
There’s still time to change the road you’re on
Yes, exactly. After I posted it I realized it didn't sound very clear. Thanks for the input, you said it better than I did.
LOL. For thirty years I have wondered what he was saying...thanks!
I’m afraid I can only give you bad advice on Roses :)
I have about 10 bushes, but I don’t know enough about them to make them anything more than straggly little things. I saw the thread and hoped to be enlightened.
I did get some good advice.
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