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- To Prune or Not To Prune, that is the question...
Posted by Mulch Man on November 2, 2009, 22:16:29
So I have two books that state to prune my roses in the fall. And one book that describes Fall prunning as one of the worst things you can do to a rose climber (something about dormancy issues... ie pruning encourages growth when the plant should be dormant). The latter makes sense to me. Any thoughts? - Not To Prune !
Posted by lk on November 2, 2009, 23:27:16, in reply to "To Prune or Not To Prune, that is the question..."
Pruning in the fall opens up the stems to icy rain, snow and freeze. I always tell my customers and students to only prune in fall if the branch is hitting the roof or house or hanging or something like that.
Teh freeze and thaw we have so often plays havoc with freshly pruned stems and allows ice and snow to sit in crown of plant. Spring is better . - Re: To Prune or Not To Prune, that is the question...
Posted by Joe K on November 3, 2009, 18:21:54, in reply to "To Prune or Not To Prune, that is the question..."
I think that in our climate with potential for cold, wet and humid winters, it is best to wait until February to prune so as to not allow pathogens into the plant via an open wound, until right before it will naturally grow. Late February or early March should be the best time although I do know of people who prune in fall without problems, just because you could aid a pathogen does not mean that it will 100% take over. Watch rose books that may be for a different climate like California! Our climate has more challenges than a dry or milder (or both) climates. - Re: To Prune or Not To Prune, that is the question...
Posted by Ron (DE Zone 7a) on November 4, 2009, 9:36:45, in reply to "To Prune or Not To Prune, that is the question..."
I agree with Lorraine and Joe. Pruning almost anything in Fall is generally ill-advised. I think the whole concept of Fall pruning and garden "clean-up" is some carryover from our agricultural past, when Fall was harvest time.
Just about every plant does better if left alone in Fall and instead cut back or pruned in the Spring. And instead of raking and removing all the leaves that fall, in most cases we should be dumping them into our gardens, to protect everything for the Winter and enrich our soil in the Spring.
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