West Seattle Gardening questions

[JoB]

ok guys…

am i too late to drastically prune roses here?

they have black spot and some other fungus.. and were obviously not pruned last year…

what’s going to happen if i prune them close to the ground and treat them here at this time of year?

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[Sue]

Jo, I don’t know a thing about roses (nor most garden things) but there is a WSB advertiser on the side bar who mentions Garden Coaching – I bet you could hire her for advice or help on that. I keep meaning to call for advice on how not to kill everything in my rental house’s garden. :)

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[JoB]

there is also a good book shibaguyz told me to go get.. i just haven’t gotten north to that nursery yet:)

I am frantically shuffling just to try to keep the weeds from completely overpowering my rental garden…

and i know the owner cared about her roses…

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[herongrrrl]

You can probably get away with a moderate pruning, even this late. Usually around here they say not to do it after April 1, but given that we had some late cold weather it might be ok. I wouldn’t do a tradtional heavy pruning this late in the game unless advised otherwise by a professional, which I’m not!

If there’s already substantial new growth on them, maybe just prune off the stuff that’s mildewed, and give the new foliage a good dose of copper sulfate spray (last time I checked, that was still considered an organic remedy for black spot and other rose fungi). Clear weeds from the base of the roses, too, because that’s one place the spores like to hang out.

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[JoB]

I m afraid there is substantial growth on them already… i was pretty sure it was too late to trim them back as much as i would have liked.

i cleared weeds.. i pruned lightly.. and i am using a systemic.. which i hate to do.. but i think it is the only thing that will actually save them…

thanks for weighing in on this…

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[JayDee]

JoB:

As far as roses go, next year cut them back near the Presidents holidays. Doing so now would be too much of a shock. Add a tablespoon or two of Epsom salt around the base of each rose bush–it supposedly helps them form thicker wood–thicker wood being better for new growth.

I’d also strip all yellow/black leaves from the bushes–Black spot is a matter of when, not if here.

Good luck – JayDee

(BTW, years ago a crank who believed he was Jesus kept faxing our work number with his latest idea about pyramids, UFOs, and the second (i.e. his) coming. His nom de plume was Jesus of Burien or JoB for short–Whenever I see your handle, I think of poor JoB.)

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[Anonymous]

JayDee, that story is going to stick in my mind forever:)

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[JanS]

JT… does this mean that we can call her something besides Joanne?

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[Anonymous]

JanS, that was totally my plan!

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[JoB]

ok..

one biblical reference was enough… now i am being linked to some poor wacko who thought he was jesus?

trust me.. i have no misguided pretensions in that direction.. not even sainthood:)

i rue the day i didn’t sign on a JB instead of JoB when i found Jo already taken:(

it is interesting how our sign in names.. as innocent.. or not.. as they may be.. carry implications we never thought of.

as long as i am being thought of fondly, i guess that should be enough for me..

you were thinking of me fondly, weren’t you ;~>

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[JayDee]

JoB:

Someday when I see your handle, I will think Jo___ B___ rather than the other. The other person was but mildly demented, taking those spray-paint utility markings in the street as a sign for the camera crews coming to film his arrival. Once you looked at the world from his point-of-view, it did seem anything would make sense.

Good luck with the garden, and remember that you can always recycle the failures as Yard Waste.

JayDee of Alki…

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