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FALLBROOK/BONSALL VILLAGE NEWS THEVILLAGENEWS.COM HOME AND GARDEN Plant your roses now for a floral spring Frank Brines


Consulting Rosarian Special to the Village News FALLBROOK – January and


February are excellent months for planting roses in this area. Roses planted now have plenty of time and mild conditions to establish their root systems and form relationships with soil fungi so they can become real show stoppers in the garden as early as May. A wide selection of roses are available this month and next at local nurseries. Many nurseries and retail suppliers have websites where one can order roses. These plants tend to be fresher, as they come from the source. Whatever their source, roses usually arrive “bare root,” potted, or packaged. Bare root plants are just that, usually packed in wood chips to keep the roots damp and viable. They are the slowest to thrive and it is best to get them early and planted immediately so they have the maximum amount of


time to become established. Potted roses make the quickest and most successful transition to the garden, but they also tend to be more expensive and not as plentiful in selection. Where should new rose bushes


be planted? If one did a great job caring for their roses in 2011, now is a good time to “shovel prune” those that didn’t perform well. And rather than tossing that plant in the green waste barrel, consider giving it away. Some plants that do poorly at one person’s home may perform better for someone else. That doesn’t mean the original gardener is a failure; it’s just that another gardener may have just the right combination of environmental variables that the particular rose variety needs for success. Moving ones out that didn’t do


well will leave one with a vacant spot in the garden where a new rose bush can be planted. And that can be done without removing any more soil from the hole. However, because the previous


Children shouldn’t play


with matches SAN DIEGO – Many children


have a fascination with fire. Fire is colorful, unpredictable, and forbidden. Each year wildlands and canyons burn, areas where children sometimes play unsupervised. Many fires are also started in the home. Cal Fire advises that children


should be taught a healthy respect for flame and fire. Millions of dollars in property is lost every year due to these fires, and many children and adults are needlessly injured or killed. Children must be educated in fire safe behavior; matches and lighters are tools not toys.


rose did poorly, it’s a good idea to assess the spot. Does it have good drainage? Many gardens in our area have a very dense layer of clay beneath the topsoil that can prevent drainage. Even with our recent rains, holes


dug in a rose garden should not show standing or pooling water. If they do, there is a problem that isn’t going to be solved by planting a new rose. One can try digging deeper to see if they can break through that layer in order for the water to percolate away. One can also apply a “soil buster” product available at local stores that specialize in soil conditioners. It is also possible to apply some gypsum powder at the bottom of the hole, in hopes that it may help loosen the clay. If the hole is dug deeper to


improve drainage, a new challenge has been created. Loose soil reintroduced into the hole will tend to settle with each watering. If the new rose is grafted – that is, if it isn’t growing on its own rootstock – settling may bury the graft, and that can encourage suckers from the rootstock. Suckers draw away sugars and nutrients from the main plant; also, suckers tend to produce leggy plants with uninteresting blooms. To help prevent all suckering, before placing the new plant into the hole, press the soil down firmly. If the soil is high in clay, packing


down the soil can introduce yet another problem. It can press out air pockets and make the soil less permeable to water and to roots. To avoid this problem, fill the hole with a good potting soil formulated for roses. The “bud union” or base of the plant should be 1-1/2 to 2 inches above the soil line. Mix some organic fertilizer


January 19, 2012


that is slightly higher in phosphate to the soil at this time of year when planting new plants. The long lasting, slow breakdown, and slow release of the fertilizer will be available by the time the soil warms up in spring. January is a good time to plan


your pruning schedule, but it may be a little too early to actually prune, depending on your microclimate. Pruning too early runs the risk of exposing tender new growth to killing frosts. A good rule of thumb is that new growth appears about three weeks after pruning, so the


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major annual pruning should be completed by the end of February so major blooms appear eight to 12 weeks later.


Frank Brines will be giving a


free pruning demonstration at Rose Haven Heritage Garden on Jan. 21. Rose Haven is located at 30500 Jedediah Smith Road (the cross street is Cabrillo Avenue) in Temecula.


To comment on this article online, visit www.thevillagenews.com.


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