From Eula's Kitchen Window

Well, looking out my kitchen window this morning I see a lot of new growth showing on the roses that were pruned the first of January. The little birds, skittering around on the ground by the bushes are having a good time looking for some food, probably aphids and some other small insects trying to hide in the foliage. Sometimes they get so noisy fighting over who is going to feed where. I am sure there will be enough food for all.

Well, our prunings should be finished - or almost finished - in our own gardens, after the busy January and first Saturday in February, presenting programs for nurseries, home pruning demonstrations and Master Gardeners. To me it always exciting to meet the people, work with them and give as much information as we can to help them with "rose growing". There are always many questions that are asked and one of the most asked is how to prune climbers. I always answer that question by actually demonstrating whenever I can.

So, if you have pruned, now it is time to do some other preparations for your roses. You can use your Dormant Oil/Kopr combination to go over the soil, hopefully to help control the rust that we had so much of this past year. If your roses are like mine at this time, there is a lot of new foliage. The first foliage is so pretty.most of the time it is a dark red. Of course, we must keep up the watering, too, however that is done in your garden - either with the garden hose or an automated system. All of my roses are on drip irrigation, so right now they are getting water three times a week, mainly because we had the bad winds that really dried things out. Just watch signs from the roses to tell you when they need the moisture. The foliage will tell you if it is getting dry. And of course, if we have rain, then you will need to adjust your watering accordingly. I feel it is a little too early to feed, which I won't do for at least another month. Also watch for aphids as they like fresh new foliage. You can blast those off with a good stream of water from the garden hose and the roses will thank you for it as that is what will help keep them clean. Maintenance is so important in the garden to help control problems before they begin.

Well, this is all at present. Happy gardening, and I'll see you at the March meeting.