Public Invited to Watch Rose Pruning Techniques

Amateur gardeners and rose fanciers in Southern California are invited to observe the art of rose pruning as practiced by volunteers of Pacific Rose Society at Wrigley Mansion in Pasadena, the headquarters for the annual Tournament of Roses, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. today.

For the past five years the society, now more than 80 years old and the oldest among the rose societies of Greater Los Angeles, has undertaken the yearly pruning of the more than 2,000 rose bushes at the Rose Garden.

The society is also responsible for designing and landscaping the Centennial portion of the garden in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Rose Parade, said Pacific Rose Society’s Bartje Miller.

The Rose Garden at Wrigley Mansion occupies about 3/4ths of an acre and features four major rose categories: Granda Flores, Hybrid Teas, Florabundas and Miniatures.

“The only time we’re not working the garden is when the rose bushes are dormant in February and March,” said Miller, who serves as the society’s garden director.

“After that, every Thursday morning for 10 months of the year, we’re out there deadheading the bushes.”

To rose pruners, “deadheading” means clipping dead roses and trimming the suckers, the subordinate shoots on the root of the bush. Those who rarely miss their weekly commitment include Bartje and Kenneth Miller (the society’s president), Bill and Wanda Knights, Bob Rowe, Cesar Navarro and Norman Nelson. At the peak of the blooming season, as many as 10 barrels of dead roses are dumped into the trash every week.

There are endless theories on the best way to prune, said Miller. “Each gardener has a different technique and you can learn something from each one.

“When Ken and I give lectures on pruning, he usually speaks first. When it’s my turn, I ask the audience to forget everything he’s said because I’ll tell them the right way. Ken prunes on a slant, one quarter of an inch above the bud eye. I cut level. My theory is that if the good Lord wanted roses to be cut on a slant he would have provided the animals, our first pruners, with buck teeth.

“Roses are very forgiving. Even if you don’t know what to do for them, they’ll bloom for you longer than any plant. Roses were in existence 900 years before Christ and survived for centuries without fancy clippers and modern technology.”

Any tips from the experts?

“If you want the biggest and best blooms, of course it helps to have a little knowledge,” said Miller.

“A good rule of thumb in pruning is to cut the bushes knee-high, remove all the leaves and then give them a dormant spray. I am ecologically minded so I use 1/4th of a cup of bleach to three gallons of water and that acts both as a disinfectant and as a dormant spray.”

What are her favorite roses?

“I like the sweet-smelling ones: Sweet Surrender, what an aroma, Mister Lincoln, an all-around red variety, Silverado, a beautiful lavender, Florabunda Graceland, a ruffly yellow, and the mellow yellow Gold Medal.”