|
 Gardening
Galore
Pruning
In my travels
over the past few weeks, I have come across Rose bushes which I have
just had to help - spindly leggy growths full of rosehips and short
thin terminal flower stems; scale insect-infested shoots at the
bottom with spurs of dead wood resembling porcupines. I just had to
get my secateurs and do a little surgery.
A quick look
and you can see the dead wood. This is cut out first at the base
into live wood if possible. Any stems crossing over each other or
growing into the centre of the bush are removed next. Cut back about
a third of the main branches as low as possible – ground level or
below should produce some strong replacement stems to reshape the
bush.
I always prune
to an open centre – wine glass style - the branches growing out from
the centre. When cutting back top branches, choose the bud you are
cutting back wisely, so it is growing out to keep your centre open.
The idea of the open centre is to get maximum light penetration and
air circulation, which helps prevent disease especially fungal
diseases, which thrive in dark, humid environments.
The skeleton
branches kept, should be cut down by a third to a half, to an
outward facing bud. This should encourage strong new shoots that
will give you, good long stems ideal for cutting.
I often also
see Rose bushes that have been dead headed by just pulling off the
faded flower or hip. From this you will get small, spindly shoots
that make more flowers. If you cut back a third to an outfacing bud
you help develop a better skeleton of stems and tends to reduce
blind shoots with no flowers. These should be cut out anyway. These
are what make a Rose bush look like a porcupine.
Pruning any
shrub is similar in practice – remove dead wood, open the center,
cut out all spindly branches. Cut back into thick wood to get good
strong re-growth.
Bougainvillea
is often cutback hard into a ball shape, or hedge but by cutting off
this fresh wood, a lot of the flowering wood is cut out. So you end
up with a giant pin cushion with little or no flowers.
When cutting
flowers for the vase, try to cut early in the day with dew still on
the plants. Cut and put into a bucket of water or vase as soon as
possible. If time has lapsed between cutting and putting into water,
cut an inch or so off the bottom of the stem to stop airlocks in the
stem.
Change water
daily to prolong the life of cut flowers. Strip stems of leaves that
are going to be under water. This stops leaves rotting in the water
and blocking the tube in the flower stem that take up water. Try
some of the non-rose cut flowers using these tips. They should last
for about four to seven days.
The author of our monthly column is a horticulturalist who can be
contacted on email at
pete@kantemba.com
or by phone on 096 747-990 for your gardening queries. Pruning
services are also offered.
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May 2004